Défis liés à l’adoption du biochar et du warrantage par les riziculteurs de Boukoumbé et de Zogbodomey

Nestor Alokpaï a, ?, Fresnel Etcho a, Julien Tandanon a

Abstract

Despite the importance of rice in Benin, its production and marketing remain  hampered by multiple constraints. To remedy  this  situation, initiatives and innovations have been introduced at the level of several  rice-growing cooperatives through the Agricultural Council by certain NGOs. This article  aims to highlight the challenges related to the  adoption of biochar in a cooperative in the  Koutangou village  (Boukombé) and  warrantage in a cooperative in the  Avlamè  vi llage  (Zogbodomey). The purpose of introducing biochar was to improve  soil fertility, while that  of warrantage aimed  to solve the problems of selling off crops and marke ting rice. This study  was conducted through a qualitative research approach based  on the  study  of perceptions through the  realizati on of focus groups  based  on interview guides.  The data  collected were related to the factors  of success and failure  as well as those  of the potentialities and challenges of the adoption of biocha r and warrantage as the case may be. The results showed  that  the use of biochar faces certain challenges, including the application of normal  doses of chemical fertilizer whose  purchasin g is a constraint in this area,  and the  need  for secondary treatment for the  biochar to " maturity" before  its application. This la st constraint is poorly  understood and  seems  difficult  to respect  for most farmers  and  the  renewal costs of the  PhilRice  carbonizer offered  by the  NGO. Regarding warrantage, the  challenges are linked  to poor  organization and  poor  control  of the activity, failure  to respect  the payment of capital  gains to members, parallel sale of products, and failure  to respect  the standards of quality  by some members. Finally, the results  showed  that  many  challenges stem from a failure  in the delivery  of agricultural advi ce by NGOs.