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On Friday July 26, 2024, a large number of growers, processors and journalists visited the Centre National de Spécialisation sur le maïs (CNS-Maïs), run by an INRAB agricultural research center, at Niaouli in the commune of Allada. The aim of this thematic visit was to introduce new cultivation techniques, processing machinery and climate-resistant seeds, while reinforcing fruitful exchanges between the center's managers and producers.

Faced with a lack of research dissemination, the "Technologies et Innovations Agricoles pour l'Accroissement de la Résilience des Systèmes de Production et des Exploitations Familiales en Afrique de l'Ouest et du Centre"(TARSPro) project organized a visit to the CNS-Maïs, aimed at agricultural stakeholders. The aim of this initiative was twofold: on the one hand, to inform producers and processors of the new technologies available, and on the other, to provide journalists with precise information that they could relay to the general public.

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" Research seeks, research finds, but it doesn't always reach the final beneficiaries. We need journalists to disseminate our technologies so that producers can benefit from them and improve their yields and well-being ", said Dr. Alice Djinadou Kodoura, TARSPro-PRSA/FSRP-IREACH focal point.

The CNS-Maïs, which was the subject of the visit, houses a technology, plant and animal innovation park, as well as a section dedicated to post-harvesting. " We have chosen technologies that are really effective in boosting agriculture, which have been collected and implemented here at the park," explained Angelo Djihinto, Scientific Director of the Institut National de la Recherche Agricole (INRAB).

The technologies they contain have been on show to agricultural players since last week, during themed visits. July 28 marked the turn of processors to discover the innovations presented in the center. " We're bringing those who need to use these technologies to see all kinds of technologies in one place. In other words, we can take a day, call producers and show them the plant technologies ", confided Alice Djinadou Kodoura.

Practical demonstrations

During their visit to the Centre National de Spécialisation sur le Maïs (CNS-Maïs) in Niaouli, participants were exposed to a variety of agricultural technologies and innovations. They discovered improved short-cycle maize varieties, specially designed to adapt to climate change. As for cassava, four varieties were presented: two disease-free purified varieties and two beta-carotene-enriched varieties with yellow flesh.

For soybeans, optimized sowing density techniques have been introduced. Park technician Oud Sakek Moussibaou explained that the soybeans grown here are non-dehiscent, meaning that the pods do not burst at maturity, thus increasing yield. He also mentioned that growers can improve their yields by adjusting plantation spacing.

Visitors learned about new rice varieties, such as Benin Riz 2p, which is drought-tolerant and compatible with corn.

In fish farming, the park has developed prototype ponds adapted to plateau areas and techniques for rearing fish in tubs, enabling rearing in any location thanks to the use of half-canopies that preserve the aquatic ecosystem.

In terms of post-harvest equipment, the park offers machines for ginning and winnowing, as well as equipment for manufacturing multi-nutritional blocks for feeding small ruminants. CNS-Maïs valorizes corn waste for animal feed, illustrating a circular economy approach. The visit also enabled participants to discover processed products, including tomato purée.

The park manager emphasized that INRAB does not produce GMOs, but basic and pre-basic seeds for seed companies. The park acts as a showcase for these technologies, enabling growers to choose and adopt those that best meet their needs. Certified seeds are also available.

Players commit to technology dissemination

For producers, research information is transmitted via the Agences Territoriales de Développement Agricole (ATDA). The aim of the July 26 visit was to strengthen this information channel, hence the presence of journalists led by theAssociation des Journalistes et Communicants spécialistes de l'Agriculture du Bénin. The association's president, André Tokpon, said he was delighted with the meeting, which enabled media representatives to find out more about the TARSPro project and get in touch with agricultural players. This will lead to the production of more journalistic elements linked to their field of specialization.

" It's very interesting. We congratulate the government and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries for their constant efforts to reduce hunger in our country, as the malnutrition rate is still galloping ", confided Edith Mireille Deguenon, President of the Association Nationale des Transformateurs de Maïs du Bénin(ANTMB). She pledged to disseminate the innovations seen during the visit to other members of her association.

To combine business with pleasure, the organizers of the visit distributed kits of various processed products and seeds to the participants.

Alice Djinadou Kodoura, TARSPro project focal point, presenting a kit to President André Tokpon

The installation of the technology park is the result of funding from TARSPro, the Programme de Résilience du Système Alimentaire en Afrique de l'Ouest et du Centre (PRSA/FSRP) and the Innovative Research Extension and Advisory Coordination Hub (Pôle de Coordination, Innovation Recherche, Vulgarisation et Conseil, IREACH). The funds were entrusted to the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF) and INRAB.