The beetle Dinoderus porcellus Lesne is a serious storage insect pest that causes important losses by destroying stocks of yam chips. In the aim to found an alternative control method to the use of synthetic insecticides for its management, the virulence of the entomopathogenic fungi Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin (isolate Bb115) and Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin (isolate Met 31) against adults of D. porcellus was evaluated under laboratory conditions (25 ± 2 °C and 70 ± ...

Yam (Dioscorea spp.) is cultivated in many villages of DR Congo as a means to sustain food security and alleviate poverty. However, the extent of the existing diversity has not been studied in details thus, considered as an orphan. A survey covering 540 farmers in 54 villages was conducted in six major yam growing territories covering three provinces in DR Congo to investigate the diversity, management and utilization of yam landraces using pre-elaborate questionnaires. Subject to synonymy, a total ...

Palm oil is an important commodity contributing to livelihoods of many communities, GDP of governments and the achievement of several sustainable development goals (SDG) including no poverty, zero hunger, and decent work and economic growth. However, its cultivation and continuous expansion due to high and increasing demand has led to many negative effects and subsequent calls to make production sustainable. To this end, information is needed to understand the negative and positive impacts on both ...

Information and communication technologies (ICTs), specifically those that are digital and interactive, present opportunities for enhanced intermediation between actors in Ghana’s agricultural extension system. To understand these opportunities, this study investigates the capabilities of ICTs in support of seven forms of intermediation in the context of agricultural extension: disseminating (information), retrieving (information), harvesting (information), matching (actors to services), networking ...

Striga hermonthica is a widespread, destructive parasitic plant that causes substantial yield loss to maize productivity in sub-Saharan Africa. Under severe Striga infestation, yield losses can range from 60 to 100% resulting in abandonment of farmers’ lands. Diverse methods have been proposed for Striga management; however, host plant resistance was considered the most effective and affordable to small-scale famers. Thus, conducting a genome-wide association study to identify quantitative trait ...

Maize streak virus (MSV) is a major threat to cereal production, hence food security in sub-Saharan Africa. The virus is spread mainly by insect vectors. The leafhoppers composition and distribution of potential MSV vectors were evaluated, and the performance of various control techniques against the vectors assessed in the major maize production areas of Cameroon. These techniques included the use of botanical extracts of Azadirachta indica A Juss. and Chenopodium ambrosoides L. Mosyakin and ...

Fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, is threatening food security in Africa and thus sustainable management strategies are required. The pest has spread to over 44 countries in Africa since its first detection in 2016, causing maize yield losses valued at between US$2,531 and US$6,312 million per annum. Owing to FAW’s damaging potential, many untested management strategies, including those of doubtful efficacy, are being used by smallholder farmers in Africa. We analysed existing and ...

We examined the phylogeny and intrageneric classification of eristaline hoverfly genera from the Afrotropical Region using mitochondrial genomes. Genome skimming was used to obtain (nearly) full mtDNA and nuclear rDNA (18S, 28S) genomes of 120 museum vouchers from eight genera and 98 species. Phylogenetic reconstructions of mitogenomes and mitogenomes + nuclear rDNA yielded comparable phylogenies while that of rDNA only resulted in poorly resolved phylogenies. Phylogenetic analyses focused on six ...

Keywords: Cocoa (Plant) Theobroma Cacao||Farmers||Value Chains||Agricultural Research|| Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) are central to sustainability standards and certification programmes in the global cocoa chain. Pruning is one of the practices promoted in extension services associated with these sustainability efforts. Yet concerns exist about the low adoption rate of these GAPs by smallholder cocoa farmers in Ghana. A common approach to addressing this challenge is based on creating enabling ...

Smallholder farming in sub-Saharan Africa keeps many rural households trapped in a cycle of poor productivity and low incomes. Two options to reach a decent income include intensification of production and expansion of farm areas per household. In this study, we explore what is a “viable farm size,” i.e., the farm area that is required to attain a “living income,” which sustains a nutritious diet, housing, education and health care. We used survey data from three contrasting sites in the East ...