[Français ci-dessous] The caravan visited the remarkable Songhai project, in Porto-Novo, Benin. Also referred as the Songhai movement by its founder and director, Godfrey Nzamujo, the project has become one of the main references in West Africa in what comes to the development of endogenous agroecological approaches adapted to local food systems, through merging modern…
[Français ci-dessous] The caravan passed in the communities of Aplahoe and Bohicon, in Benin, to visit farmers working with the project Insect as Feed for West Africa (IFWA). In the last five years, IFWA’s transdisciplinary team has developed, tested and disseminated sustainable techniques to produce insects to feed poultry and fish, such as the production…
[Français ci-dessous] The caravan team gave an open class about agroecology and the contributions of research for development to make food systems more sustainable at the University of Abomey-Calavi, in Cotonou, Benin. The class counted with the presence of around 45 students from agronomy and food sciences but also other disciplines such as engineering. Four…
[Français ci-dessous] The fourth conference organized by the food systems caravan and our local partners INRAB and the IFWA project was held in Cotonou, Benin. The event counted with the participation of around 80 academic and non-academic actors, such as representatives from NGOs, the private sector and public institutions. The title of the conference was…
[Français ci-dessous] The caravan visited the inspiring Obrobibini Peace Complex, nicely nested in the lush hills next to Busua, a coastal village in Ghana. The learning centre of the association is surrounded by a productive agroforestry system, designed according to the principles of dynamic/syntropic agroforestry and aims at setting an example for the region as…
[Français ci-dessous] The caravan’s period in Ghana was very inspiring! We crossed different climatic zones, from the drier savannah in the north to the rainforests in the South West, and many different cultures with their own architecture, food and traditions. Before we continue to Benin, we would like to briefly summarize our Ghana stage! On…
[Français ci-dessous] The caravan visited a group of farmers working with the organic resource management for soil fertility project (ORM4Soil), which is testing the effects of organic inputs on yields and soil fertility. A group of around 20 farmers from Kade, in the eastern region of Ghana, is using three local organic resources which were…
[Français ci-dessous] Some participants of the food systems caravan conference in Accra went on an excursion to the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant, a public-private partnership started in 2012. The participants were able to see how urban organic residues, mainly from households, are separated at the facility in order to produce compost. Plastic and metal…
[Français ci-dessous] The third whole day conference organized by the food systems caravan took place in the campus of the University of Ghana, in Accra, and had as a title “Transforming Food Systems in Ghana: The potential of Agroecology in times of climate and biodiversity crisis”. The conference counted with the presence of around 70…
[Français ci-dessous] The caravan was warmly welcomed by the rural communities of Durbar and Kalbeo, near Bolgatanga, for a couple of sessions dedicated to traditional food which counted with a degustation of around 15 indigenous food dishes. The activities marked the World Food Day, which celebrates the founding date of FAO of the United Nations,…