Diapositive 1

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Republic of Benin Ministry of
Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries
Roots and Tubers
Development Programme (PDRT)
SUPPORT FOR IMPROVING CASSAVA PRODUCTIVITY IN
BENIN Paper presented by Idrissou BAKO,
National Coordinator of the PDRT, in the context
of the IRTCM Workshop (Douala, 1416 November
2007)
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OUTLINE OF THE PRESENTATION

• Introduction
• 1- Activities carried out
• 2- Results
• 3- Constraints
• 4- Future outlook

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• The PDRT began its activities in September 2001
  for a period of 7 years. It is financed by IFAD,
  WADB and the Government of Benin.
• General objective
• To contribute sustainably to reducing poverty by
  increasing incomes and improving the living
  conditions of rural households in general and the
  most vulnerable rural women in particular.
• Specific objective
• To rationalize RT production, processing and
  marketing activities for the benefit of
  disadvantaged rural households in agro-ecological
  zones suited to these crops.
• Target groups
• 330 000 rural households (RT growers and
  processors, young people with or without
  schooling) with special attention to women.

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• Intervention approach
• Participatory approach
• DoDo
• (the programme team acts as supervisor in the
  identification,
• mobilization and management of these external
  skills)
• Programme organization based on 4 components
• Support for improving productivity
• Support for processing and primary marketing
• Support for grass-roots institutions
• Programme management.

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• Improvement in cassava productivity
• Specific objective
• To ensure a sustainable increase in cassava
  productivity.
• Anticipated results
• 15 000 growers have gained knowledge about soil
  fertility management and have adopted it on 7 000
  ha spread over 312 villages.
• Specific inputs for cassava growing are available
  and accessible to growers.
• Sustainable and appropriate technical packages
  for cassava growing are introduced.
• Cassava yields have increased by 75.

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• 1. Activities carried out
• Creation and/or strengthening of a support and
  advice mechanism for growers by making
  development and production advisers available to
  them
• Training and advice to growers on implementing
  the technical packages in general and fertility
  development in particular
• Formulation and implementation of a research and
  development programme to provide cassava growers
  with inputs (cassava cuttings, fertilizer etc.)
  and appropriate growing techniques for cassava
• Revitalization of cassava seed farms in the
  country and support to farmer-multipliers in
  establishing good-quality stockyards

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• 2. Main results
• Research and development
• Formulation of a research and development
  subprogramme on sustainable production of RTs in
  general and cassava in particular
• In collaboration with the National Agricultural
  Research Institute of Benin, development of
• The technical package for sustainable cassava
  production based on soil fertility management
  techniques (agroforestry, improved fallows, crop
  rotation, intercropping cassava with leafy, bush
  and grassy legumes),
• 7 new drought- and disease-resistant cassava
  varieties,
• 1 specific fertilizer formula for cassava.

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• Pre-extension and extension of the positive
  advances of research and development
• In collaboration with the Directorate of
  Agricultural Advice and Operational Training, the
  programme undertook
• Pre-extension of innovations developed with
  research such as

• technical packages for sustainable cassava
  growing,
• new varieties of cassava,
• specific fertilizer formulas for cassava and
  yam

• Extension of techniques of

• rapid multiplication of cassava cuttings

Photo Rapid-multiplication techniques for
cassava cuttings
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• Boosting the skills of cassava growers
• 312 village cassava growers groups set up, 249
  of which already have a legal status for
  cooperative action
• 18 communal umbrella structures of professional
  organizations set up, all having an established
  legal status
• 272 local trainers identified and strengthened
  with regard to training and support for growers
  of RTs in general and cassava in particular
• Training of 12 000 cassava growers in technical
  packages for sustainable production of RTs in
  general and cassava in particular, on 799.5 ha of
  cassava demonstration plots.

Photo Growers training session on a
demonstration plot
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• Production of productive plant material
• Establishment of a system to supply improved RT
  seed to growers through
• In vitro production of 2 500 plants by the IITA
  and the Science and Techniques Faculty of Abomey
  Calavi University,
• Planting of 21 ha of prebase cassava cuttings by
  the National Agricultural Research Institute
  (INRAB),
• Planting of 107 ha of base cassava cuttings by
  the Directorate of Agriculture and multipliers on
  scattered farms,
• Planting of 756.35 ha of certified cassava
  cuttings by farmer-multipliers in the villages
  covered by the programme,
• Establishment of 22 scattered farms to produce
  base cuttings,
• Establishment of a network of 312 multipliers of
  certified cuttings throughout the villages
  covered by the programme.

Photo INRAB and Directorate of Agriculture
production plots for prebase and base cassava
plant material
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• Environment
• 1 192 awareness-building sessions on the use
  of improved species of the glyricedia genus and
  specific developments organized
• 674 487 ha of land with a highly degraded
  environment developed for growing RTs in general
  and cassava in particular

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• IMPACT ON BENEFICIARIES
• Improvement among small farmers in the
  productivity of RTs in general and cassava in
  particular through
• increase in cassava yields of 9 to 20 tonnes
  per hectare

Photo Roots and tubers (cassava and yam)
obtained from the application plots of the
growers trained
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• Creation of a production and distribution chain
  for prebase, base and certified productive plant
  material of RTs in general and cassava in
  particular

Photo A farmer-multiplier of base cassava
cuttings

• 3 650 ha of application plots using the
  technologies extended (improved varieties, rapid
  cassava multiplication techniques, use of
  specific fertilizers for cassava cultivation,
  improved fallows and intercropping of cassava
  with other legumes) established by the growers
  supported

Photo Growers application plots using the
settlement technique for yam and new varieties of
cassava
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• Improvement in growers incomes thanks to
  receipts from improved harvests from application,
  demonstration and/or multiplication plots
• Use of profits from the sale of harvests to
  contribute to the operation of consultative
  village committee (CVC) banks, investment in the
  growing of other crops, childrens schooling etc.

Photo A house built by a grower using income
from the sale of his yam harvest
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Private actors and their roles in achieving the
results Individual growers - Participation in
organized training - Adoption of technologies
learned during training - Application of
technologies learned on their own plots -
Production of certified cassava cuttings
Village growers
groups - Organization of growers to
participate in planned activities -
Establishment and management of demonstration
plots - Production of base cassava cuttings
Non-governmental
organizations - Training growers in improved
cassava production technologies - Training and
support to growers in applying improved cassava
production technologies on demonstration plots
and their own farms

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3 Constraints 1. The continuing problem of
organizing the production chain for cassava
planting material at three levels (prebase, base
and certified), despite actions pursued in this
area, for example with the Directorate of
Agriculture. 2. The failure before the close of
the programme to carry out extension of new
varieties of cassava that are agro-ecologically
suitable (high yielding and resistant to drought,
disease and pests) and specific qualities for the
manufacture of alcohol, starch and baking flour,
introduced in association with the National
Agricultural Research Institute. 3. The failure
before the close of the programme to carry out
extension of several sustainable cassava
production techniques developed by research
institutions in partnership with the PDRT, most
of which are now at the pre-extension stage.
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• 4 Future outlook
• Boost the specific seed-producing mechanism for
  cassava, guaranteeing the availability of
  certified plant material for all production
  localities.
• 2. Carry out extension on new varieties of
  cassava that are agro-ecologically suitable (high
  yields, resistance to drought, disease and pests)
  and have specific properties for the making of
  alcohol, starch and baking flour.
• Bring the process of institutionalizing
  village-level cassava growers professional
  organizations to the national level.