On a wall at the AfricaRice Research Station. Ndiaye, Senegal, 16 June 2010Transplantings of new varieties of rice. Nerica (New rice for Africa) is thought by the Centre to bring hope to millions of rural Africans. Some farmers’ organizations have denounced the results of field test as not being up to predicted volumes and as being an expansion of agro-business that threatens “to destroy the basis of African food sovereignty : the small producers and their local systems to use seeds sustainably.” Ndiaye, Senegal, 15 June 2010Transplantings of new varieties of rice. AfricaRice Research Station, Ndiaye, Senegal, 15 June 2010Transplantings of new varieties of rice. AfricaRice Research Station, Ndiaye, Senegal, 15 June 2010Transplantings of varieties of rice under study. Nerica (an acronym for New Rice for Africa) is a cross between two species of cultivated rice : Oryza sative (an Asiatic species) and Oryza glaberrima (an African species). Some have described this hybrid as “the African miracle rice” because it contains a high concentration of protein, it is adapted to poor soil and dryness, and resistant to weeds, pests and disease. It can do without fertilizer and pesticides, has a shorter growing season than classical rice, etc. For others, it appears to be the tip of an agro-food industry on the dark continent that will force producers to purchase their seeds every year. AfricaRice Research Station, Senegal, 15 June 2010On a wall at the AfricaRice Research Station. Ndiaye, Senegal, 15 June 2010A research assistant takes measurements of photosynthesis as a way of studying the vitality of different strains of rice under different moisture conditions. AfricaRice Research Station, Ndiaye, Senegal, 15 June 2010An Ivorian scientist is pollenating in a greenhouse by placing the pollen grains of the male parent or doner plant in the grains of the emasculated parent (female) plant. AfricaRice Research Station, Ndiaye, Senegal, 15 June 2010AfricaRice Research Station, Ndiaye, Senegal, 15 June 2010A doctoral student at CIRAD, studying thermal stress in different varieties of rice. This is in order to better describe the reaction of a plant under different micro-climatic conditions, within the framework of research on climate change. AfricaRice Research Station, Ndiaye, Senegal, 15 June 2010On a wall at the AfricaRice Research Station. Ndiaye, Senegal, 15 June 2010The head of the ISRA research station ((Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles) showing a plot of Nerica rice. Oryza sativa (an Asian species) and Oryza glaberrima (an African species). Some have described this hybrid as “the African miracle rice” because it contains a high concentration of protein, it is adapted to poor soil and dryness, and resistant to weeds, pests and disease. It can do without fertilizer and pesticides, has a shorter growing season than classical rice, etc. For others, it appears to be the tip of an agro-food industry on the dark continent that will force producers to purchase their seeds every year. Fanaye, Senegal, 15 June 2010At the ISRA research station (Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles) some stalks of corn and wheat pinned to the wall in an office. Like the case of Nerica rice, the introduction of Obatampa corn is welcomed or criticized depending on one’s perspective. In the case of wheat, Senegal would like to return to the crop after 30 years of having ceased production. According to planners, since eating habits have changed (bread, pasta,...) the revival of production could help the country achieve its material objective of food security, help in the struggle against poverty, and permit the country to balance its commercial trade. Fanaye, Senegal, 5 July 2010The head of the ISRA research station showing fertilizer pellets made with the Matam phosphate that they are testing. Fanaye, Senegal, 5 July 2010The introduction and application of a Chinese technique of transplanting rice as it is needed. This technique requires the use of plastic trays on which the seeds are sprouted. Although in Senegal the more frequent method is to throw the seeds directly into the water, which results in greater losses and more weeds. Sino-Senegalese research centre, Guia, Senegal, 6 July 2010After a lunch break. Sino-Senegalese research centre, Senegal, 6 July 2010A weather station (abandoned for lack of funds) at the regional agricultural research station. Here they are studying cross breeds of alpine goats and peanut agriculture. Same agricole, Mali, 25 July 2010The manager of the regional centre for agriculture research (IER) shows the weather station abandoned for lack of funds. He can only record the amount of rainfall and report it to the national weather office, but he has no way to predict weather changes (which is essential for planting, for example). Same agricole, Mali, 25 July 2010The office of the bureau chief of an agricultural substation of the Ministry of Agriculture (IER). Segala, Mali, 27 July 2010In the office of the bureau chief of an agricultureal substation of the Ministry of Agriculture (IER), the measured rainfall over several years. Segala, Mali, 27 July 2010On the wall at the AfricaRice Research Station. Ndiaye, Senegal, 16 June 2010A research engineer visits the “showcase” (demonstration beds) of INERA (l'Institut de l'Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles). These demonstration plantings are intended to popularize by example the results of research in new varieties of corn, rice, forage plants, millet, fonio, sorghum, soybean, manioc, peanuts, genetically modified cotton, etc. Here it is manioc. Farako-Ba, Burkina Faso, 4 October 2010A researcher in the cotton division of INERA (l'Institut de l'Environnement et de Recherches Agricole) visits a parcel of genetically modified cotton (GMC) from Monsanto. In 2009 cotton represented 60% of Burkina’s export revenues (the leading producer in sub-Saharan Africa) where it provides employment for over three million people. Here as elsewhere farmers are divided on the question of whether to go into GMO production (the cost of the seeds, worries about health effects, the environment...). Farako-Ba, Burkina Faso, 4 October 2010A research engineer visits the “showcase” (demonstration beds) of INERA (l'Institut de l'Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles). These demonstration plantings are intended to popularize by example the results of research in new varieties of corn, rice, forage plants, millet, fonio, sorghum, soybean, manioc, peanuts, genetically modified cotton, etc. Here are forage plants. Farako-Ba, Burkina Faso, 4 October 2010In a laboratory at INERA (l'Institut de l'Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles). Farako-Ba, Burkina Faso, 4 October 2010Air drying at the INERA research station (l'Institut de l'Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles) at Saria. This man is stacking sesame that was cut a few days earlier in order to let it dry properly. The whole crop is to be used as a “multiplier” for seeds. This will set aside provisions for the farmers for next season. One hears sometimes of the strain of sesame developed in Burkina as “the other white gold of Burkina Faso” because sesame, sold for export, is a source of revenue for the country and the producers. Burkina Faso, 11 November 2010Planting grain in a field surrounded by hedges (the euphoriacea family, which can be used for latex) intended to stabilize the soil, guard against erosion, block the wind and protect the crops from large animals. A sub-station of the agronomic group of the Ministry of Agriculture (IER). Bema, Mali, 1 August 2010On the wall at the AfricaRice Research Station. Ndiaye, Senegal, 16 June 2010
