N2Africa Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa

We are pleased to announce a scientific seminar to discuss and present the outcomes of the first four years of N2Africa. The event will take place in Nairobi from 28 to 30 of October 2013. Invitees include the N2Africa steering committee, our major partners and other stakeholders in the project representating all the N2Africa countries, from the scientific and development community as well as government representatives. The first two days will be spent sharing experiences among N2Africa partners.

N2Africa always has plenty to report – working across some many countries and regions! It’s hard to select a few highlights and although we actively solicit articles the Podcaster is formed largely by contributions offered. We are currently full speed ahead with preparations of the full proposal for a Phase II of N2Africa. As you will have read in earlier Podcasters we are expanding activities to Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda, and together with Ghana and Nigeria these will be the focus countries.

It was with great shock and sadness that we learned of the untimely death of Dr. DKC Dhliwayo. Dr Dhliwayo, or DKC as he was known to colleagues and friends was the Head of Chemistry and Soil Research Institute (CSRI) of Zimbabwe`s Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanization and Irrigation Development. The CSRI hosts the Soil Productivity Research Laboratory in Marondera that produced rhizobium inoculants that have been so key to the activities of N2Africa.

We were sad to learn that Tom Corby passed away in January shortly before reaching his 100th birthday. Tom was one of the absolute front runners in research on the legume-rhizobium symbiosis in Africa, and in the world. He established the inoculant production factory at Grasslands, Marondera in 1962, which produces inoculants to this day. In 2011, Tom wrote a short history of the establishment of the factory called "The Bagacillo Legume-Inoculant".

In South Kivu province of DR Congo, seed systems for most crops are almost non-existent. As a result, a large share of the seed being planted is obtained from open air grain market or derived from previous year’s harvest. The good news is that the situation is slowly changing. Through N2Africa, farmers are increasingly becoming aware of the benefits accruing from using quality seeds.

Post harvest handling and storage of grains constitute a major challenge for farmers, especially in the rural areas of Rwanda. Especially insect pests cause major losses during grain storage. Farmers use several storing technologies but most of them are not effective, expensive or present health risks due to misuse or overuse of chemicals such as insecticides.

The dissemination activities in DRC consist of various types, of which the large-scale dissemination activities (field days, exchange visits, international women’s day, radio broadcasts, etc.), organised by the NGO partners PAD, DIOBASS and SARCAF, are moments of sharing experiences and an opportunity for mutual enrichment.

Dans le territoire de Kabare par exemple, les femmes accompagnées par DIOBASS membres des association des villages de Bugorhe, Kabamba, Cegera, Katana, Kavumu, Nyamakana, Cirheja, Lwiro et Kandere ont echangé sur le rôle de la femme et des technologies promues par N2Africa pour le soutien à la sécurité alimentaire dans notre pays.