Project Title
DEVELOPMENT OF SAT_PMR, A PLATFORM OF USSD AND INTERNET-BASED TECHNOLOGIES OF CROPPING CALENDAR-INFORMATION SYSTEM (CC-IS) FOR STAPLE FOOD CROPS IN BENIN
Principal Investigator
Prof. Achille Assogbadjo, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi.
05 Po Box 1752, Cotonou, Republic of Benin
Email: assogbadjo@yahoo.fr
Short Bio
Achille Ephrem Assogbadjo is an agronomist and forester with a special interest in non-timber forest products, wild edible plants, orphan crops, and crop wild relative species. He is a full Professor of Conservation Genetics, Forest Ecology, and Ethnobotany at the University of Abomey-Calavi in the Republic of Benin. He doubles as a visiting Professor at Université Félix Houphouët Boigny in Côte d’Ivoire, University of Costa Rica in Costa Rica, University of Florianopolis in Brasil and Chuo University in Japan. Prof. Assogbadjo holds a PhD in Applied Biological Sciences and his areas of expertise include population genetics, ethnobotany, conservation, and domestication of forest genetic resources. Prof Assogbadjo has to date won 25 research grants and 10 regional or international research projects, and participated in more than 150 international conferences and 20 training workshops in Africa, Europe, South and North America, Asia and the Middle East. He has contributed to more than 248 peer-reviewed papers and 26 books. Prof Assogbadjo is belonging the National Academy of Sciences of Benin and to more than 20 scientific networks and research groups worldwide. He has been granted 12 International prizes and awards, including the Georg Forster Research Awards provided by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Germany), and the Young African Research Award provided by the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT) of Egypt. He has been nominated for the honorary title “The Name in Science” by the decision of the Socrates Committee (Oxford, United Kingdom), recorded in the World Register of Outstanding Scientists of the 21st Century with awarding a Medal of Frame for Contribution to World Science.
Project Duration
18 months
Project Summary
Challenges in food production are becoming more complex. Factors affecting food production include climate variability and climate change in addition to the lack of good quality seeds and access to agricultural inputs. As a strategy to enhance climate change adaptation, this project will develop the SAT-PRM to boost crop productivity through the application of climate-smart cropping calendars and practices. SAT-PMR is a digital platform that will use weather predictions and field data to make adjustments to cropping calendars and agronomic practices of three main staple food crops of Benin. SAT-PMR will deliver USSD and internet-based technologies of the Cropping Calendar-Information System (CC-IS) for cassava, cowpea, and maize. The project will reach out to over 2000 farmers across four agricultural development poles (PDAs) where the target crops are a priority. Farmers will receive updates through USSD messages or consultations via web-apps, to inform their decisions on sowing time, crops/varieties to grow, and recommended practices to alleviate climate change effects. This would enhance the resilience the agricultural system and thereby contribute to improved food security in Benin. The project will also build the capacity of Msc. students on the Integration of farmers' Knowledge and Artificial Intelligence to incorporate climate-smart agricultural solutions into digital tools and statistical modeling of climate change effects and mitigation/adaptation approaches. Four to six scientific articles will be published in peer-reviewed journals.
Objectives
Main objective: Enhance the capability of adaptation to climate change among the Benin food crop producers for enhanced productivity
Specific objectives include:
- OS1: Update climate smart information on the recommended cultural practices for the major staple food crops of Benin
- OS2: Digitize climate smart cultural calendars and recommended practices, to be made available for crops producers
- OS3: Enhance farmers’ access to the agrometeorological data through development of USSD and internet-based applications.
- OS4: Develop the capacity of young scientists in climate change adaptation and digitization of climate-smart solutions to agriculture
Choice of crops and project areas
This project will focus on three major staple food crops, representing the most consumed in each category of crops, viz maize (Zea mays L.), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata Walp L.), and cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz).
Research Approach and Conceptual Framework
Expected results
Overall, the project will achieve improved adaptation to climate change effects through better accessibility, prediction and adoption of climate-smart solutions to agriculture
- Updated cropping calendars for major food crops (Maize, Cowpea, and Cassava ), based on weather predictions available in the AFRICLIM, AGRHYMET, AgriMeteo database
- Improved accessibility to agrometeorological information, digitized agricultural calendars and practices to farmers
- Availability of USSD and internet-based applications developed to ease access of farmers to information and sources of agricultural inputs (seeds, fertilizer, irrigation kits, etc). over 2000 farmers will be reached
- One MSc. student trained on the use of AI to incorporate climate smart agricultural solutions into digital tools, and on statistical modeling of climate change effect and mitigation/adaptation approaches.
- Four to six scientific articles are published in peer-reviewed journals.
Liste des Participants
| No | Nom | Genre | Institution | Adresse Email |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prof. Achille Assogbadjo | M | FSA-UAC | assogbadjo@yahoo.fr |
| 2 | Prof. Jules Degila | M | IMSP-UAC | jules.degila@imsp-uac.org |
| 3 | Dr. Pélagie Hounguè | F | IMSP-UAC | yenukunme.houngue@unimi.it |
| 4 | Dr. Ida Tognisse | F | IMSP-UAC | ida.tognisse@imsp-uac.org |
| 5 | Dr. Eileen B. Nchandji | F | Alliance CIAT-Bioversity | e.nchanji@cgiar.org |
| 6 | Dr. Titilayo Dotchamou | F | FSA-UAC | alphonsinedotchamou@gmail.com |
| 7 | Dr. Eric Agoyi | M | FSA-UAC | ericagoyi@gmail.com |
| 8 | Dr. Symphorien Agbahoungba | M | FSA-UAC | agbasympho@gmail.com |
| 9 | Dr. Valere Salako | M | FSA-UAC | salakovalere@gmail.com |
| 10 | Dr. Frejus Sodedji | M | FSA-UAC | frejusariel@gmail.com |
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