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If you were looking for proof that theworld has gone crazy, you would simplyneed to look back to the last few months

of the past century and the opening monthsof the new one. You would conclude thatwhilst some of humanitys folliesregionalwars and climate change induced by humanactivities to mention but twocontinueunabated and unchanged, respect for thetraditional laws of the market place appearsto have been absolutely forgotten.

Energy prices have soared to levelsunknown since the 1970s, pushing up theprice of a bus journey from Yaound to

Douala in Cameroon to over $7. In Europe,a young airline headed by a lad in blue jeanssells tickets that allow you to fly from Eng-land to Spainthats over five times the dis-tance from Yaound to Doualafor less than$20, and it claims this is profitable. In the

Netherlands, in March 2000, a companyselling services on the Internet announcedannual losses of $10 million and was soldon the Amsterdam stock exchange forabout $25 billionmore than some ACPcountries net worth. No wonder marketanalysts, and the man and woman on thestreet, are left shaking their heads in incom-prehension.

Driven by the need to maximise profitsand obsessed with cost-cutting efficiency,companies worldwide are rushing tobecome the fittest of all, and to thus ensuretheir survival. The method many choose is

the time-honoured practice of buying outsuppliers and taking over competitors. Ithas happened in market places ever sincetraders first came together to barter andexchange. Nowadays, the language used bysuch companieshostile take-oversreflects

SPORE 86 PAGE 1

Organisations join forcesMerger mania ! 1

Essential oilsTheme for a dream 3

Communication and developmentThe art of communicatingon paper 4

IN BRIEF 6

LINKS 10

PUBLICATIONS 11

BETWEEN US 14

VIEWPOINTChange managementWhat rates of change are needed? 16

Website: www.cta.nl

Informationfor agricultural

developmentin ACP countries

Number86APRIL 2000

In this issue

Change is in theair in the ACP

world. You can see it in theclimate, the political environmentand the institutional framework.

Early in June 2000 a newpartnership agreement will besigned in Suva, Fiji, between theACP Group of States and theEuropean Union. It will be thesuccessor to the four LomConventions. More about that,and the implications for CTAsrole, in future issues.

Other changes are highlighted in

this issue ofSpore. There is newsof a change of Director at CTA,and we look at the implicationsof the wave of mergers as thehuge companies that dominatemuch of our lives grow evenlarger.

We also consider communicationbecause it can lead to changes inattitude which, in turn, lead tochanges in action andperformance.

Dont forget to write in and letus know how all these changes

are affecting you and the wayyou work!

Organisations join forces

Merger mania!The past few months have seen a spate of major companiesgetting together across the globe. It really is wild out there inmerger mania land, with big organisations gobbling up smallones and giants climbing clumsily into the same bed. There arebig implications for ACP agriculture and food security.

PhotoStonePictures


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the rough-and-tumble of such transactions,whereas other terms, such as strategicalliances and permanent partnerships, areless than economical with the truth indescribing how big fish eat small fish.

At first sight, it would seem that the direpredictions made in the heady 1960s,about the control of the world economyfalling into the hands of a few transna-

tional corporations, are now coming true.It is easy to make a simple calculation, par-ticularly in the area of agriculture, toprove this point of view.

During part of the past decade, the UScorporation Monsanto expanded its activi-ties from its established base of chemicalengineering into the Brave New World ofgenetic engineering, focused on seedmanipulation. Where has this taken thecompany? It is an often told story: the com-pany identified a smart way to lock farmersinto a permanent relationship by ensuring

that they had a need for their products.One ploy was to introduce the so-calledterminator gene into improved seed vari-eties of essential crops. By halting the natu-ral process whereby plants generate theirown seeds, this gene would mean thatgrowers would no longer be able to selectand store seeds from one harvest for grow-ing the next. The idea has not gone ahead,at least not yet. Opinions are divided aboutit, to put it mildly. The chair of the Mon-santo board passionately believes that byensuring the continued high quality of itsseeds, his company would make a signifi-

cant contribution to world food security, aswell as to its long-term profit margins. Cyn-ics say that the latter objective, seen asgreed, far outweighs the moral objective,seen as self-interested protectionism. So itmay seem, but people who sit in board-rooms have a mixed bag of motives fordoing what they do: a wish for personalwealth, a feel ing of responsibility to theworkforce and the companys dependentcommunities, a similar responsibility toshareholders and customers, and a generalsocial commitment to, for example, equi-

table and sustainable food production.Monitoring trends

The dramatic implications of the Monsan-to initiative were seized upon by such bod-ies as GRAIN in Barcelona, Spain, and theRural Advancement Foundation Interna-tional (RAFI) based in Manitoba, Canada.The mission of these non-governmentalorganisations is to promote and protectexisting seed supply systems as part of thefabric of todays rural world, with specialemphasis on countries of the South. Theymonitor trends that may endanger that

equilibrium and they campaign against anyundesirable developments. And campaignagainst the terminator gene they did, tosuch effect that Monsanto, not helped bysome classic public relations blunders,announced towards the end of a turbulent

1999 that it was suspending its work onthe programme.

While the campaigners were premature-ly celebrating their victory, Monsanto

went ahead and continued a long-termstrategy of mergers with related compa-nies. The largest of its many steps alongthis road was to join forces with the Amer-ican corporation Cargill, the largest seeddistributor in North America, with activi-ties worldwide. In January 2000, the

Monsanto Corporation effectively disap-peared from the map, by renaming its lat-est incarnation. Even if its work on theterminator gene continues to be suspend-ed, the fact remains that much of the

worlds future seed supplyand, equallyawesome, of its research on new vari-etiesis now concentrated in the hands ofone transnational conglomerate.

Similar trends are taking place in relat-ed fields of life science research: compa-nies involved in the manufacture of agro-chemicals, vaccines, and veterinaryproducts and pharmaceutical companies

like Ciba-Geigy, Rhne-Poulenc, Bayer,Hoechst have been moving in and out ofmergers in the last few years, creating mas-sive corporations with misty new nameslike Novartis and Aventis. The conse-quence of pooling programmes andpatents again concentrates the knowledgeof professional researchers with, some say,grave results for the future of Southernresearch, the ownership of indigenousknowledge, and the availability of scien-tific information. Their merging alsotightens the links between research andthe market place, with worrying forecaststhat medical research priorities will be dis-torted. Some critics predict that researchon new and resurgent strains of malaria

will be dropped, since it is not as prof-itable as, for example, research on cosmet-ics based on plant materials from therainforest.

All along the food chain, mergers areconcentrating power and profitability andare apparently eroding whatever flimsyinfluence the small farmer, trader, shipper,or processor ever had.

In the field of finance, global mergers of

banks are further marginalising ACPnational banking services, enforcing atti-tudes of retrenchment and risk reduc-tionnot the sort of thinking that willencourage the innovative, and ultimatelyprofitable, rural savings and credit

schemes that are often essential to foodsecurity.

Mergers and margins

Perhaps the largest clouds on an alreadystormy horizon are in the allied fields oftelecommunications and information. InEurope, North America and the Pacific Rimcountries, transnational media corporations

of unimaginable size are taking control ofthe means to exchange information,whether verbal, written or electronic,through mass media or between individu-als. What, the everyday ACP agricultureprofessional may well ask, are the possibili-ties now for rural communication net-works? How can the African InformationSociety (the jargon term for an Africa thatparticipates fully on the global Internet anduses ICTs in all aspects of its economies andculture) flourish if it is primarily seen as aloss-making venture, with perhaps some

market potential in five decades from now?And once the means to share are controlledby a few, and out of control of the many,will these few not start to dictate the con-tent too? What will be the future for all ourexciting networks of decentralised marketinformation systems, womens banking pro-grammes, alternative and fair trade, or spe-cialised research?

Merger mania is in the air, and not justin commercial enterprises. Non-govern-mental organisations in Europe are merg-ing madly, as did the Dutch developmentco-funding agencies BilanceCordaid.

Environmental movements and tradeunions, nationally and globally, have seenthe values of pooling their work. Nationalgovernments are slowly learning the bene-fits of partially merging, or at least shar-ing, their agendas. Regionalisation,

whether in ACP or European terms, is alsoa form of merging.

It might seem kind of funny, but merg-er mania may provide new opportunitiesfor people who tend to think of them-selves as being on the margin. Most merg-ers are in fact subject to the scrutiny andcontrol of the stakeholders, in this case,the shareholders of transnational corpora-tions (TNCs). Their accountability isoften greater than that of many of theorganisations that claim to operate in, andeven to represent, civil society.

Maybe the sincere partnerships devel-oped by such TNCs in the food chain asDanone, Nestl and Accor with suppliersand trade unions provide a model formoving forward, and away from a fear ofmergers. Partnerships and openness therehave to be. After the first wave of ACPindependence there were several schools

of thought that promoted self-reliance andautarchy, and de-linking from the restof the world. Globalisation, which barelyallows such thinking today, may not beours in the making, but surely it has to beours in the taking.

Organisations join forces

SPORE 86 PAGE 2

PhotoCorbis/J.McDonald

Mergers, conquests, value-added partnerships:

whats in a name?


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It takes just a tiny drop of oil from theylang-ylang plant rubbed into the chest,and the user is carried away on the wings

of the scent. Sedated, restored, rested, ener-gised, even seduced the effects are varied,and in the mind. The treatment knownas aromatherapy - has physical effects, andcan have subtle effects on the mind andemotions.

Essential oils have been used for thou-

sands of years, not only in aromatherapy,but also in perfumes, pharmaceuticals andfood flavouring and, as a more recentinnovation in bio-pesticides. The marketis well-established, at an estimated E 1.2 bil-lion per year. With the growing interest inhealthy lifestyles in Europe for example,demand is rising steadily.

Essential oils are found in the cells of var-ious plant organs, ranging from the roots,bark and leaves to the seeds, fruits and flow-ers. There are more than 3,000 essential oilsknown today, of which more than 500 are

sold commercially. The term itself shows theimportance attached to them: it is accredit-ed to Paracelsus, a 16th century physician,who believed that the oil extracted from avegetable contained the total flavour. Hedescribed it as the quintessence, meaningthe pure, highly concentrated essence of athing. In ancient philosophy, the fifth (inLatin: quintus) and highest essence after thefour elements of earth, air, fire, and water,was thought to be the substance of the heav-enly bodies and latent in all things.

Heavenly they may be, but essential oilsare all around us. The oil of the clove leaf

contains eugenol and is used in toothpaste,and the oil of the clove bud is used againsttoothache; the oil of citrus seeds is used inbeverages; rosemary oil is used as a sedative.

Good for employment

The traditional artisanal methods of pro-duction, usually by distillation, expressionand solvent extraction, cannot easily providethe consistent levels of quality demanded onthe export market. Traders in essential oilsare now demanding the use of modern, andcapital-intensive equipment. The Phael Flor

company in Madagascar, for example, hadto invest more than E 300,000 in industrialplant to produce export quality oils fromorganically grown geraniums, pepper, cin-namon, camphor, ginger, vanilla and cloves.The scale of their operation which

accounts for less than 10% of national oilexports - is impressive: they employ morethan 50 people in their processing and dis-tribution activities, and generate employ-ment for several hundred plant producersupstream.

As an agro-industry, the essential oil sec-tor is an important contributor to a nationsagricultural economy, and balance of trade.This is well understood by several ACP

countries: investment projects are currentlyunderway in Benin, Ghana, Malawi, Mali,Rwanda, Togo and Zimbabwe. In Mali, forexample, the UPROCOHE company istypical of start-up enterprises, having to dealwith the standards set by the InternationalStandards Organisation, with the need toobtain special packaging materials (sinceessential oils must not be stored in plasticbottles) and importing equipment. Othercountries, ranging from Guatemala to Aus-tralia, are hoping to corner their share of themarket and world competition will

undoubtedly grow.Some ACP countries are already wellestablished: in the Indian Ocean, theComoros, Seychelles and Mauritius havesignificant production, although they areovershadowed by Madagascar, which pro-duces more than half the worlds cloveessence and one-third of its ylang-ylang oil,from which it derives annual export earn-ings ofE 5 million. It even exports ylang-ylang to Jamaica, where it is blended withlocally-produced lemon grass oil. AndJamaica itself is well-placed with its virtualmonopoly on the production and trade of

allspice (Pimento officinalis).

Fools rush in

Great potential exists for many ACP coun-tries to produce and market essential oils,but if the recent experience of Madagascaris anything to go by, a lot of work is requiredto get the sector operating smoothly.Between 1992 and 1997 millions of dollarswere invested by local banks and companies:the World Bank, the UN Industrial Devel-opment Organisation, the ACP-EU Centrefor the Development of Industry, and the

German, United States and European devel-opment cooperation agencies. In the appar-ent gold-rush, dozens of enterprises were setup, but many failed through lack of atten-tion to consistent supply of plant materials,quality control, plant diseases, and technol-

ogy selection. One lesson learned was theneed to better organise the sector with theassistance of a professional association,

SYPEAM, which now provides support toproducers through training and technicalinformation.

It is a rewarding, but exacting market toconquer, and one where quality counts. Butthere are abuses: because of the oils concen-trated nature, unscrupulous traders some-times blend in synthetic oils. Not only couldthis get noticed in quality inspections bypurchasing agents, but it will also lead torejection by customers, who believe thatonly natural products contain the life ele-ments that are central to the oils invigora-

tive or restful values.The market for essential oils is attractive,but it is also volatile, especially now that itis in fashion. Yet, if high standards can bemaintained, it could reward you with thesweet smell of success.For further information:

International Federation of Essential Oils andAroma Trades (IFEAT), Federation House,6 Catherine Street, London, WC2B 5JJ, UK.Fax: + 44 171 836 0580. Website: www.ifeat.org.uk

Essential Oils World, PO Box 72, Chipping Norton,Oxon, OX7 6JU, UK. Fax: +44 1608 659 257Website: www.cotpubco.demon.co.uk/cosweb/eswhome.html

SYPEAM(SYndicat Professionnel des producteursd'Extraits Aromatiques alimentaireset mdicinaux de Madagascar)B P 1348, Antananarivo 101, MadagascarFax: +261 2022 26921Email: [email protected]: www.sinergic.mg/sypeam/default.htm

SPORE 86 PAGE 3

Essential oils

Theme for a dreamMaking money out of essential oils extracted from plants is like

taking a magical mystery tour. ACP growers and producers needto meet a lot of conditions, but success can be sweet.

How would you like your ylang-ylang oil?

Steamed or squeezed or diluted, and then exported?

PhotoCorbis/R.vanderHilst

PhotoA.

Rival

PhotoTexarome


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Designing a newspaper, a folder, atechnical leaflet or an extensionchart, submitting a funding pro-

posal, or sending a summary or a fullreport to decision makers, are all acts ofcommunication grouped together as thepaper media. They are the preferred and

somewhat inflexible methods of com-munication for researchers, extensionworkers, groups and associations, businessleaders, NGOs and farmers.

Effective communication involves achoice of writing style and presentation

which varies according to the intendedaudience, the message to be communicat-ed, and the medium to be used. Thesethree facets are always interlinked, but, atthe outset, it is the choice of audience

which determines how it should beaddressed. After all, you do not addressscientists the same way as you address a

group of farmers, students or children.When a researcher is communicating

his findings to other researchers, he uses astructure and a style which bear nothingin common with the style used to dissem-inate the same findings, or a press release,or a training brochure, about them. Therules used in the different types of docu-ments change, but the underlying logicstays the same: it is about helping thechosen audience to best understand themessage.

And so the same basic text can be usedin variety of ways. A scientific article canbe used, for example, as the basis for writ-ing a technical leaflet. This assumes, ofcourse, that the original text and the mes-sage to be passed on are suitable for re-packaging. It would be wrong, for exam-ple, to tell a group of farmers about a

SPORE 86 PAGE 4

The verb to communicate has a lot of synonyms: speaking,divulging, passing on, publishing, conveying, explaining,informing, exchanging, corresponding To communicate ismore than just being in contact with the outside world asimple handshake has the same effect. It is more about expecting

a result. And so it is in development, where there are competingmessages and demands for attention from various centres ofpower. Amid all the noise, the top priority has to be aboutcommunication leading to understanding and action.

Communication and development

The art ofcommunicatingon paper

Look good!

An illustration (photo, drawing, cartoon, etc.) always gets noticed by the reader first, beforethe words. A picture can inspire or trigger off a dream, and is at least as powerful as a text.A photograph is not an ornament; it can bring home a message. It provides a second level ofinformation to the text, which it also makes more attractive by creating more space, some-thing most readers find inviting.

A diagram, or a sketch, especially when clear and simple, is a good way to explain how some-

thing works. It is often used in how to guides.

A table can help the reader absorb information through a graphic visualisation of, for exam-ple, statistics (through graphs and charts).

The use of cartoons is growing in extension work, reminding us how much they help in get-ting a message across. A great help here, if you are not a gifted artist yourself, is to use orcopy the extensive set of drawings of people, objects and animals in Where there is no artist,available from the publisher.

Intermediate Technology Publications, 1997, ISBN 1-85339-391-6, 123 pages, 14.95 E 23.40.103-105 Southampton Row, London, WCIB 4 HH, UK.Fax: + 44 20 7436 2013 - Email: [email protected] - Website: www.itpubs.org.uk

IllustrationH.

Larkins

A good picture keeps the readers eye.

Try it out first with some typical readers.


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series of experiments conducted on awater pump if the real message to be com-municated is about how the pump works.

A range of materials can be used forwritten communication, each one of themwith a distinct structure that is derivedfrom the content, use and target group. A

network newsletter, for example, serves asa forum for exchange which brings togeth-er members or subscribers around a sharedactivity. Technical leaflets, on the otherhand, aim at passing on a piece of knowl-edge or instructions on using a technique,and express information in clear language,

with supporting illustrations and simplereferences. And, as the saying goes, a pic-ture speaks a thousand words, which is

why extension materials and posters oftenuse images as an attractive and easy wayof communicating information to people

with reading difficulties.

Another medium with a specific use is aseries of booklets, a collection of smalldocuments dealing with the same subjectfrom different perspectives. A series aimsat encourage reading habits, and familiar-ity (through using the same typefaces, pre-sentation, colours and layout of texts). So

the choice of medium to be used isdefined by the situation of the reader, whohas to be able to understand the messageimmediately.

A learning strategy

The selection of the target group, the

choice of the message, the multiple usesof the same basic information, letting themessage define the medium, style andform: all these are skills that can belearned, alongside the ground rules ofethics in communication skills. There arespecialised centres and institutes, such asISSIC in Senegal (see box), which providetraining courses in communication. Thereare other bodies too, whose role is to runprofessional workshops and short coursesin communication techniques and theskills of the written media.

No matter how skilled you maybecome, every writer well knows the stateof total fear of writing, of staring at anempty page hoping it will fill itself with

words. The condition is called writersblock and afflicts anyone who writes for aliving but cannot get started. Nowadaystherapy is available in the form of writing

workshops which dispense writ ing exer-cises. They are designed, like gymnasticexercises, to clear your thinking, and giveyou the courage to get going. It should bepainless

The ABC of Book Publishing.A Trainingmanual for NGOs in Africa. Co-publicationJANyeko Publishing/CTA, 1999, 116 pages, ISBN9970-510-01-2, CTA number 961,20 credit

points. (This book was reviewed in Spore 85).

Guide for technical writers. CARDI/ CTA,1996, 56 pp. ISBN 97 661 700 29.

CTA number 767, 10 credit points.

SPORE 86 PAGE 5

Making a good impression

After the writing and illustrating is over,its all down to reproducing the original.

Work out as closely as possible thenumber of copies you will need and

which you will be able to distributeduring your documents life;

Remember that photocopying is onlyeconomical for 300 copies or less. If youwant more copies, it will be cheaper toprint them, so ask a printer for a quo-tation. And the more you print, thecheaper each copy becomes;

Some printers still compose texts usinglead characters. This is a cheap method,and always useful for short texts with-out any illustrations: leaflets withannouncements, visiting cards etc.;

Most printers use offset printing tech-niques now, and can reproduce anyoriginal document, whether it is hand-

written or typed, and with illustrations; Colour, or black-and-white. If you are

producing less than 500 copies, go forblack-and-white. But if you want morethan 1,000 copies, it can be worthwhileopting for colour.

Training organisations

The African Publishers Network (APNET), setup to promote local publishing in Africa, nowbrings together national publishers associa-tions in more than 27 countries in Africa. Itorganises short-courses on publishing tech-niques.

PO Box 3773, Harare, Zimbabwe.Fax: + 263 4 705 106Email: [email protected]: www.africanpublishers.org

CESPA, a specialist centre on communicationfor development, offers services in the

design of multimedia, and training andadvice in the development and implemen-tation of communication strategies.

BP 1820, Bamako, MaliFax: + 223 21 11 09Email: [email protected]

The Institut suprieur des sciences de linfor-mation et de la communication (ISSIC)organises professional training courses incommunication.

BP 15948, Dakar-Fann, SenegalFax: + 221 825 06 06Email: [email protected]

The New Media Laboratory provides short-and long-term courses in communication in

Southern Africa.Department of Journalism & Media Studies,Rhodes UniversityGrahamstown 6140, South AfricaFax: + 27 12 46 603 84 47, Website: nml.ru.ac.za

Keep it simple, silly

There are some basic rules in writing.They crop up in every training event:

go for clarity, simplicity and brevity. Themaximum length of a sentence thatshould be memorised is 12 words. And,for it to be memorised, write the sen-tence simply, like this. The ideal sen-tence has just one idea or piece ofinformation;

use a direct vocabulary, especially whendealing with complex topics;

avoid superfluous terms (like too manyadverbs or adjectives) and steer clear of

jargon, which simply clogs up your mes-sage;

remember to keep your paragraphsshort, and no longer than 15 lines;

organise your information and try tofollow the rule of WWWWWH (who,

what, when, where, why, how) alsoknown as Five Ws and an H.

Finally, be courteous to the reader andavoid spelling errors. Read and re-readyour text to remove any irritating spel-los.


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Bushmeat,now on the Web

s A discussion forum on thedangers of eating bushmeat hasbeen started on the Internet([email protected]) (see Spore83, p 7). It is drawing attentionto the reasons behind the risingconsumption of bushmeat inAfrica. These include the

general economic crisis (huntingis a direct source of income),shifts in population resultingfrom civil war and politicaldisturbance and the devaluationof such currencies as the CFAfranc. An online working partyhas come up with somerecommendations: increase theresponsibilities of forestgrowers, so that they providemore food to their personneland prohibit hunting in theirconcessions; public awarenessbuilding; respect for legislationto protect fauna; and, above all,promotion of alternatives to

local communities, for whombushmeat is an important sourceof food.

ECOFAC (Conservation et utilisationrationnelle des cosystmesforestiers dAfrique centrale)B P 15115, Libreville, Gabon.Email: [email protected]

Shaping rural regions

s The conflicts andopportunities existing betweenlocal and global processes, andtheir impact on ruralcommunities will be the main

themes for discussion at theInternational Symposium onGlobalisation and LocalDevelopment: Challenges toSmall-Scale Production. Thissymposium is organised by theInternational Farming SystemsAssociation (IFSA) and will beheld from 27 to 29 November2000 in Santiago, Chile.

IFSA,Casilla 228 Correo 22,Santiago, Chile.Fax: +56 2 236 4558Email: [email protected]:www.rimisp.cl/ifsa_iesa2000.html

Genetically modifiedfoods a little safer

s Novartis, a Swissmultinational, has developed asugar-based replacement forantibiotic resistance markergenes. The latter are used in thedevelopment of geneticallymodified foods, but somescientists fear that these genesmight spread to harmful gutbacteria, making them resistantto antibiotics. Novartis newalternative, manA, already exists

in familiar crops, which shouldincrease confidence in the safetyof the method. Marker genesare used to reveal whether cellshave taken up packages of newgenes.

New Scientist, November 1999

In brief

SPORE 86 PAGE 6

Keep at it, you fish farmers!

sA set of concrete action plansfor improving the extension andpromotion of agro-pisciculturewas drawn up by appreciative

participants during a study visitto Malawi on sustainable agro-pisciculture systems in sub-Saha-ran Africa in November 1999.The 14 participants from 9 sub-Saharan African countries wereenthusiastic about the extensionsystem used in smallholder aqua-culture in Malawi, although they

indicated a gap between the gov-ernmental services and NGOstructures. Many fish farmingprojects were set up in Malawi

with donor support in the past10 years, which has resulted inan increase in the number ofpeople hooked on fish farmingfrom 500 to more than 3000.But extension and research ser-vices were curtailed drasticallyonce the projects ended, andmaintenance of infrastructure

became difficult. Another lessonlearnt is that fry production cen-tres (commercial or governmen-tal) and extension services

should be strategically spreadthroughout the country. Thestudy visit was organised byCTA in collaboration with theMalawian Department of Fish-eries and the Malawi office ofthe International Centre for Liv-ing Aquatic Resources Manage-ment (ICLARM).

Whats the net worth of fish farming without viable and accessible support services?

PhotoCTA

sPotatoes are hot stuff on theplateau of Fouta Djalon inGuine. In the last ten years, pro-ductivity has risen more thanfour-fold (up to 22 tonnes/hectare from 5 t/ha). More than2,000 tonnes are sold annually onthe local markets, but also toneighbouring Senegal. One con-tributing factor to this was thefact that imports of Europeanpotatoes were blocked for a six-

year period to encourage localproduction. It seems that thepotato is well suited to the coolseason from December to Marchin Guinea, when it is grown inrotation with rice, maize and

groundnuts. It also commands agood price, of 350 FG/kg (aboutE 0.22/kg) for the producer. Thisprice is fixed prior to harvest, andfarmers associations guarantee totake the crop, being sure of salesto traders who come to collectsacks whenever there is a lorryload.

The Farmers Federation ofFouta Djalon (FPFD) lies behindthis success story. It is a dynamic

grouping, organised on a cooper-ative basis (with central purchas-ing of fertilisers, and centralstocking). It brings togetheralmost 12,000 members. Their

work has been complemented by

assistance from organisationsoverseas and French farmers. Thesuccess has been especially sweetfor women, who represent 70%of the membership. They havebeen able to benefit from trainingopportunities in literacy and mar-keting, and have invested theirreturns on potatoes into healthand schooling costs. The FPFD isnow looking further afield, as it

were, with plans to grow onions

and tomatoes, both much indemand on the local market.

Afrique-Agriculture, 276,December 1999

FPFDBP 52, Pita, Guinea

A plateau of potatoes


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Nothing gets wasted

s A new fuel for cooking andheating, which at FCFA 50/kg ischeaper than firewood, iscoming onto the market inBurkina Faso. Briquettes ofcompressed agricultural waste(straw and cotton stems) areshaped into cylinders 7cm indiameter; they are easier to cutthan wood, but they providesame amounts of heat. The newproduct was developed to easethe pressure on the nationswoodlands (more than 5 milliontonnes of wood are usedannually as fuelwood, theequivalent of 140,000 hectaresof forest). A pilot project hasbeen started at a plant inBoromo (150 km west ofOuagadougou) with financefrom UNDP and Denmark. Inoperation since May 1999, itsannual production (currently200 t) could rise to 2,000 or4, 000 tonnes of briquettes.

Eric Lacasse, UNDP, B P 575Ouagadougou 01, Burkina Faso.Fax: + 226 31 04 70Email: [email protected]

Ghana privatisescocoa exports

s The Government of Ghanahas announced the privatisationof the Cocoa Product BuyingCompany, the centralpurchasing and export agencyfor about 70% of nationalproduction. With a productionof 409,000 tonnes of cocoa

beans in 1998-1999, Ghana isthe second largest worldproducer, behind Cte dIvoire,at 1.15 million tonnes.

Broiler production

sA distance learningcertificate in broiler productionis on offer now, and two on-sitediploma programmes onlivestock production and animalhealth start in September 2000,at

REPAHA,PO Box 10962, Georgetown,Guyana.Fax: + 592 20 6557Email: [email protected]

Ducklings and riceadifferent recipe

s Researchers at the Can ThoUniversity in Vietnam havequantified the efficiency ofrearing ducklings in a ricepaddy. They put ducklings(100/ha) in rice fields 22 daysafter sowing and removedthem again when the ricestarted to flower. Theducklings eat weeds and

insects and their manureimproves soil fertility. Fieldswith fertiliser yielded3880 kg/ha, duck-only plots2100 kg/ha, and plots withneither fertiliser nor ducklings,barely 500 kg/ha.

In brief

sFor the last three years in Sene-gal, a total of 70,000 tons ofphosphate fertilisers have beenmade available to farmers eachyear. This has been part of a pro-gramme of adding phosphates toincrease the fertility of 300,000hectares of land. The programme

was launched by the Senegale sefarmers movement CNCR andthe Association of rural councils(APCR) in 1997. Under the pro-gramme, each farmer has had aright to eight 50kg sacks of fer-tiliser each year. But theres justone small problem. No instruc-tions for use are given with thefertiliser, which comprises 50%tricalcium phosphate and 50%phosphogypsum, a sub-productof the industrial process ofphosporic acid manufacture. Infact, the fertiliser should be duginto the soil, and not scattered onit. If it is not applied properly, itcan damage crops and increasesoil salinity. Some argue that it

does not redress soil fertility, andclaim that it also contains heavymetals (cadmium, mercury andlead) just as all natural phos-phates do. It is even claimed tohave poisoned some users. The

producer, the Industries chim-iques du Sngal (ICS) company,have confirmed that the amount

of heavy metals is less than thelevel permitted by internationalstandards. For the rest, it has tobe noted that some farmers in thegroundnut zone use it gratefullyeach year. So people are urged to

remember that caution is themother of safety, to use the fer-tiliser with care, and to take

advice from technical staff.Syfia, November 1999

CNCRBP 13453Dakar, SenegalFax: +221 827 52 62Email: [email protected]

Phosphates galore: handle with care

sMozambique won the secondplace in the 16th international

Agricultural Film Festival (Agro-film 99) held in October 1999 inNitra, in Slovakia. The winningfilm was a 13-minute productioncalled War on Hunger, whichshowed the losses involved inexisting harvest storage facilities.It also showed how to buildimproved silos using simple tech-

niques. The film was producedduring a study of communicationin rural areas and was part of thecampaign organised on thetheme of post-harvest techniquesby the Ministry for Agricultureand Fisheries. War on Hunger

was assisted by the participationof local communities, and wassupported by the PortugueseMinistry of Agriculture. Two

sound tapes, each lasting nineminutes, were also produced. In1997, Mozambique won a specialFAO prize at the same festival forthe video Drought: the forward-looking farmer is worth double. Direco Nacional de Extenso Rural

Ministrio de Agricultura e PescasCP 1406,Maputo, MozambiqueFax: + 258 1 46 00 27Email: [email protected]

Laurels for Mozambican film

sFIARA 2000, Senegals inter-national fair for agriculture andanimal resources was held inDakar over 11 days in mid-December 1999. It came close tomeeting its targets of attractingmore than 20,000 visitors eachday. Designed to be a meetingplace for various farmers organi-sations and for direct contactsbetween producers and urbanconsumers, FIARA 2000 wasorganised by the national council

for rural cooperation CNCR andthe association of rural councilpresidents APCR. Expandingopportunities were highlightedboth in regional trade and amongthe renowned Senegalese diaspo-ra in Europe, southern Africa,and the Americas.

Alongside the bustle of theshow-and-sell stands was a dailydiscussion forum focussing onspecific themes, such as women,fishing, and decentralisation.

CTA facilitated the sessions oncommunication, engaging in dia-logue with users and partners onits services, and supported theparticipation of five representa-tives of farmers organisationsfrom other countries.

FIARAC/o CNCRBP 13453Dakar, SenegalFax: +221 827 52 62Email: [email protected]

The fair share for rural life

Take a deep breath, at your peril

PhotoJ.Hartley/PanosPictures


8/16SPORE 86 PAGE 8

Teach yourself sorghum

s The International CropsResearch Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) recentlylaunched the Sorghum TutorialOnline. This service is entirelydedicated to sorghum: itsbiology, current breedingtechniques and how these work,and the pests and diseases ofsorghum and how these arecontrolled or prevented.Unfortunately, the site is not yetavailable in French.

Website:198.93.234.24/maha/sorg.htmEmail: [email protected]

Organic food processing

s Convenience and fast-foodsoccupy a growing share of manypeoples diets. To help producersof organic food to adjust to thistrend, IFOAM, the InternationalFederation of OrganicAgriculture Movements will

organise its first internationalseminar on Organic Food: Howto Guarantee Premium Qualityfor the New Millennium, It willbe held in Basel, Switzerland,29(30 August 2000.

Research Institute of OrganicAgriculture (Fibl)Ackerstrasse Postfach, 5070 Frick,Switzerland.Fax +41 62 865 72 73Email: [email protected]: www.ifoam2000.ch

Measuringthe immeasurable

s Everybody favours, and strivesfor, sustainable development.Developing sustainabilityindicators (SIs) is an importantelement in achievingsustainability, but it is trickysince it involves highly emotiveand nonmeasurable aspects. TheInternational DevelopmentCentre (IDC) of the University ofReading, UK, will run a shortcourse on SIs from 14 August to22 September 2000, setting outthe current debate andexperience on practical use ofSIs.

IDC,PO Box 239, Reading RG6 6AU, UK.Fax: +44 118 975 64 67Email: [email protected]: www.rdg.ac.uk/idc

Research proposals

s A workshop on how to draftfunding proposals foragricultural research was hostedby the Malagasy research centreFOFIFA in Antananarivo inDecember 1999. Attended by 12specialists from Burundi, Congo(DR), Madagascar, and Rwanda,it followed hot on the heels ofan English-language course inNairobi. The co-organisers,ECAPAPA and CTA, plan topublish the courses materials asa manual. Details will beannounced in a future editionof Spore.

In brief

sAgriculture has long been partof the urban landscape, and nowit is spreading its roots through-out urban life (see Spore 82).Now many of the urban poor, inthe South and the North, basetheir survival strategies on grow-ing food or raising animals andselling them in the city. Urbanagriculture (UA) also contributesto a citys food security and ecol-ogy, although issues of watersupply, land access, health, andhygiene require special atten-tion.

These and many more issuescame up for discussion at theseminar Growing Cities, Grow-ing FoodUrban Agriculture on

the Policy Agenda, held inHavana, Cuba, in October1999. Organised by the Cubanlivestock production associationACPA, the German and Swedishdevelopment cooperation agen-cies GTZ and SIDA, the DutchFoundation ETC, and CTA,the seminar brought together70 specialists from more than20 countries in Africa, Asia, theAmericas, and Europe.

Among their conclusions: theneed for more public awarenessefforts, improved informationexchange, greater involvement ofcity planners and politicians,plus lively ideas for new projects,such as the integration of waterand organic waste recycling to

serve urban agriculture, publichealth and environment protec-tion. The proceedings will bepublished in mid 2000.

In the meantime, the new col-lection of essays For Hunger-proof Cities is a splendid intro-duction to UA. It examinesurban food systems, improvedaccessibility to food for citydwellers, community-based agri-culture, and alternatives to land-

based methods such as rooftophydroponics and bee-keeping.

For Hunger-proof Cities. SustainableUrban Food Systems.

M Koc, R MacRae, L Mougeot, andJ Welsh. IDRC. 1999. 238 pp.

ISBN 0 88936 882 1.US$35 E36.40International Development ResearchCentrePO Box 8500, Ottawa, ON, CanadaK1G 3H9.Fax: +1 613 563 2476Email: [email protected]

Somethings growing in those cities

sCameroon has halted export ofmahogany (Khaya ivorensis oranthotheca) and sapelli (Entan-drophragma cylindricum) whichuntil now represented almost70% of the countrys timberexports. Twenty other species arealso on the prohibited list.

Another 69 species will continueto be exported, but they will besubject to export duties of FCFA3,000 /m3 (E4.60/m3). The gov-ernments decree marks the endof a long process started a decadeago, aimed at increasing timberprocessing within the country,rising from 25 % in 1968, to 60% in 1981, and 70 % in 1994).The decree allows for strict con-trol of timber exports, which are

the nations second export and, ata level of 2.7 million m3,accounted for 7% of GNP in

1998. It aims at accelerating therate of local processing, with aneye to job creation and exportingvalue-added products. Highquality conditions have been setfor local factories, which shouldhave levels of productivity andoutput comparable to those ofEuropean or Asian plants, butthe overall capacity should notexceed the biological capacity ofthe forest. There is a certain riskhere that needs assessment, and aneed for an appropriate industri-al policy, according to Jean-Claude Carret, of the Centre forIndustrial Economy at theFrench School of Mines. Alreadyinvestments worth FCFA 40 bil-lion (E 61 million) have been

made. And local processingcapacity has risen by more thanone million m3 !

Cameroon stops export of precious timber

sPlant variety rights exist toprovide legal protection forimproved plant strains. In devel-oping countries, requests forsuch rights are often registeredby foreign producers in the

country, usually large agro-industrial companies. The charthere shows three countries thathave handed such rights tobreeders: South Africa, Kenyaand Argentina.

Patenting life?

PhotoY.

Boulvert/Orstom

South Africa

Argentina

Local request Foreign request Foreign share

Kenya

0 40 80 120 160

72 %

57 %

91 %

200

The challenge:

cut less and

earn more

Root and branch sell-out of plant variety rights

Source: Grain (Genetic Resources Action International), October 1999

IllustrationLoumap

roductions


9/16SPORE 86 PAGE 9

The future of biologicalnitrogen fixation in Africa

s The next congress of theAfrican Association forBiological Nitrogen FixationChallenges and Imperatives forBNF Research and Application inAfrica for the Twenty-firstCentury, will be held from 25to 29 September in Nairobi,

Kenya. Organising Committee AABNF

CongressBotany Department, University ofNairobiPO Box 30197, Nairobi, Kenya.Fax: +254 2 622 733Email: [email protected]

Shrimps, turtles and talks

s The United States has recentlybanned the import of shrimpsfrom Guyana and othercountries because the fishingnets used to catch them could

endanger marine turtles.Shrimp-producing countries filedan appeal at the World TradeOrganisation, which ruled intheir favour. However, the WTOalso recognised that the shrimptrade could damage theenvironment, and accepted theright of the US to protect theturtles. Reason enough, surely,to start off some talks, insteadof imposing rules unilaterally?

Spiruline exports start

sMadagascar has started to

produce spiruline from the algaSpirulina, which is rich in plantproteins and is used as a foodadditive. Initial production levelsare modest, but by the end of2000 are expected to reach 50tonnes of powdered spiruline. Itis produced industrially at aplant in Tulear, in the south-west of the island. All reportsare of a very high qualityproduct, able to command aprice twice that charged forChinese spiruline, the bestknown product on the marketto date.

Marchs tropicaux, 2029

New water managementfellowships for women

s Fellowships for the MSccourse Irrigation and WaterManagementat WageningenAgricultural University in theNetherlands will be awarded tofemale professionals in watermanagement. The English-language course consists of 11months course work, 3 monthsfield work in the home countryand 3 months thesis writing. The

course starts every September.

M Z Zwarteveen, Nieuwe Kanaal11, 6709 PA Wageningen,The Netherlands.Fax: +31 317 484759Email: [email protected]

In brief

sSmall agrifood enterprises arevery important as they offeremployment and livelihood tomany families and contribute

both to the economy and foodsecurity.

From 30 November to 3December 1999, CTA, together

with CIRAD, the French Min-istry for Foreign Affairs, andENDA-Graf (Senegal), co-organ-ised a seminar on small agrifoodbusinesses in western and central

Africa. The seminar was linked toa series of four regional studiesand workshops in Africa. Themain objectives were to assess theimportance of the sector and itsmain constraints, and to find

ways of supporting and improv-ing it. More than 60 participantsdiscussed four major themes:learning and education, access tocredit, marketing and quality ofproduce, and opportunities topromote new means of support.

The need for education andtraining in hygiene, human

resource management, stockmanagement, and quality con-trol, for example, is enormous.

Access to credit remains a prob-lem due to the dispersed locationof the enterprises and their desirefor long-term, low-interest loans.For marketing and quality thebiggest constraints lie in theremoteness of markets as well asinadequate processing and pack-aging techniques, lack of infor-mation on hygiene, and lowawareness of what consumers

want and about how competingbusinesses operate. Many partici-pants stressed the need for morebusiness support and advisoryservices in this sector.

Traditional foods: processing for

profit. Fellows, P (ed), 1997.

ITP & CTA. 210 pp. ISBN 1 85339 228 6.

CTA number 796,20 credit points.

Theres no business like small business

Pressing needs: credit, hygiene

and marketing

PhotoB.

Favre

sRubber cultivation has beenunderway in Gabon for only thelast fifteen years, but tests are welladvanced on mixing the cultiva-tion of hevea(Hevea brasiliensis)

with food crops, to see if this willincrease the productivity of theland. Traditionally, rows of rub-ber trees have been combined

with single cycles of food crops,and yields have often been low.Now experiments have come up

with new combinations of cropswhich use few inputs and require

no special material. Theapproach compensates for thenon-productive period of therubber trees youth, over the firstfive to seven years. The combina-tions of crops which work best in

the forest soils are rice andgroundnuts for two or three cropcycles, followed by plantain forone cycle, or cassava as an annualcrop, or vegetables with rice,groundnuts and plantain for oneor two cycles. There are manybenefits to these mixtures: tillage

is cut down, the rubber treesgrow better, and farmersincomes rise and diversify. Thereis one condition that should notbe overlooked: the plots of landshould be near the village, to

facilitate access, and to ensurethat the crops can be got to themarket.

Plantations, recherche, dveloppement,n 1, 1999

Centre dappui technique lhvacultureBP 643, Libreville, Gabon

Happy combinations

sThat old favourite of thou-sands of rural radio stations, theDeveloping Countries FarmingRadio Network, recently expand-ed its coverage to urban agricul-ture and animal breeding. Nowthe DCFRN programmes scripts,made available free of charge tolocal stations worldwide, can beheard by millions of city dwellers,

with such items as growing veg-etables in pots, raising guineapigs in cages and growing herbson rooftops. All serious stuff forthose townies for whom urbanagriculture is key to food securityand income generation. DCFRN

estimate that their urban audi-ence is already 25 million people.

DCFRN366, Adelaide Street WestSuite 706Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5V 1R9Fax: + 1 416 971 52 99Email: [email protected]: www.web.net/~dcfrn

Radio serving the rural areas of

the ACP countries: directory

1998.

This directory provides details onrural radio stations in 71 ACP

countries, and on the main national

and international partner

organisations of these rural stations.

CTA, 1998. 320 pp.

ISBN 92 9081 2052

CTA number 941,20 credit points

Rural radio goes to town

PhotoCTA


10/16SPORE 86 PAGE 10

Links

There is somebody avail-able in Kenya if you wantto discuss your research

findings on forest plants withhorticultural potential. Youcan contact Hawaii for pineap-ple, Taiwan for tropical veg-etable production, or NewZealand for tuber crops. Allthese experts are members ofthe International Society forHorticultural Science (ISHS),an international network ofhorticultural scientists, stu-

dents, and researchers lookingfor international cooperation.Currently ISHS has around3800 individual and 270organisational members inmore than 100 countries, with

a modest but active representa-tion in ACP countries. Thenetworks secretariat, which isbased in Belgium, coordinatesmembership and manages theSocietys publications. ISHSpublishes Acta Horticulturae, ajournal mainly devoted to theproceedings of ISHS symposiaand the Dictionary of Horticul-ture(10 languages, 1990, Else-vier, ISBN 0 444 88062 3,t200).

The secretariat is also thegateway to the numerous sub-groups of the ISHS. Six sec-tions currently cover majorhorticultural crops grownthroughout the world (fruits,medicinal plants, root and

tuber crops, vegetables etc.)and 12 commissions focus ondifferent scientific and techni-cal aspects such as biotechnol-ogy, economics and manage-ment, education and training,

plant protection, postharvest,urban horticulture, and plantgenetic resources. These sec-tions and commissions haveestablished almost 90 workinggroups to study specialisedareas. Some of these groups aremore active than others andhave their own symposia, mag-azines, and websites, such asthe Commission Post-harvestNewsletter (www.ishs.org/sci/ph12000.pdf ) and the FruitSection Newsletter (www.ishs.org/sci/frtnwslt.htm), or theyform part of other networks,such as the Cucurbit Network(www.cucurbit.org).

To participate in thesegroups you need to be a mem-

ber of ISHS. Individual mem-bers payt35 annually, organi-sations t146, and studentsonlyt12. Members in devel-oping countries are grantedmembership for two years for

the same fees.All members receive the

annual members directory,which lists practically all spe-cialists in horticulture world-wide, and the quarterly maga-zine Chronica Horticulturae.They also get discounts onActa Horticulturaeand a signif-icant reduction on the registra-tion fee at specialised ISHSsymposia, of which more than30 are convened annually.

ISHS SecretariatK. Mercierlaan 92

3001 Leuven, BelgiumFax: +32 16 22 94 50Email: [email protected]: www.ishs.org

There is nothing new inthe message that localcommunities are well

able to innovate, and that

efforts should be focussed onidentifying and mobilisingsuch latent innovative talents,so that they can better managetheir living conditions andlocal resources.

What is new, though, is theapproach adopted by ENDAGraf Sahel (Graf meaninggroup for research, action andtraining). This body was set upin 1975 in Dakar (Senegal)with the following basic prin-ciples: to build all development

action on the basis of local sit-uations in the field; to makemaximum use of local dynam-ics already in place; to open uplocal knowledge throughencouraging flat forms of net-working between technicalstaff, development workers,farmers and support bodies.

Nowadays ENDA Graforganises several support pro-

grammes each year in WestAfrica for farmers initiatives,improvement of local resourcesand running networks. The

local development programmeof Mont-Rolland in Senegal isa case in point, being focussedon natural resource manage-ment (agriculture and livestockproduction) and capacitybuilding (training, literacy andinter-organisation exchanges).Another programme, focussingon food and institutional secu-rity of the poorest groups inthe community, brings togeth-er the rural communities of thedepartment of Louga.

ENDA Grafs support isthrough training and planningin project areas of fisheries,market gardening, livestockproduction, agriculture,health, employment andtourism. Their support for anetwork for goods and servicesin Dakar city is typical of theirapproach to enhancing localcommunity innovations.

Known as Doole (meaning thestrength of union, in Wolof),the network was launched by agroup of women supported by

ENDA Graf. It embraces 500members of SECs (communi-ty exchange systems, such asLETS, local economic tradingsystems). The SECs do not usecash to pay for their exchanges,but instead use vouchers wortha number of hours of work orservice. These vouchers can beused to purchase goods in mar-kets or shops which are part ofthe network, or to pay for ser-vices (such as driving lessons,electricity supply or sewing)

from another member, or tofollow training opportunities(such as literacy, language,computer or managementclasses) provided at the net-works University which isoperated by its members. Andmembers of Doole can under-take joint community projectsand workshops, paid for withvouchers.

ENDA Graf also publishescase studies of the rich use ofhuman resources that is repre-sented by the work they sup-port. Their collection Recher-ch popularise, with works inFrench and Wolof, includesworks by farmers, clergy anddevelopment workers on theirresearch.

ENDA Graf Sahel has a totalof 11 offices, of which sevenare in Dakar, one is in Benin,two are in Guine, and one isin Belgium.

ENDA Graf SahelB P 13069Dakar, SenegalFax: + 221 827 20 25Email: [email protected]: www.enda.sn/graf.html

ENDA Graf Sahel

A network that couldgrow on you


11/16

Western African scenarios for resource access

sAs sturdy as most of the treesit seeks to defend, this collectionof specialised papers provides a

rich insight into the experiencesof local communities in manag-ing the natural environment ofthe forest. Its 17 case studiesfrom five continents include the

work of the Green Earth organi-sation in Ghana and conserva-tion in national parks in theDemocratic Republic of theCongo. It insists relentlessly ondefending local interests and onignoring or denying externaldemands, without touchingupon how to reduce the pressureson the forest of, for instance,urban consumers. For some read-

ers that will be a weakness, butfor the single-minded reader whobelieves that local managementof forests should always besupreme, here is a good bunch ofarrows for your bow.

Forests for the Future. Local Strategies

for Forest Protection, EconomicWelfare and Social Justice.Edited by P Wolvekamp. Zed Booksin association with Both ENDSand Econet, 1999. 288 pp.ISBN 1 85649 757 7.US$25 E26 (excluding postage)

Zed Books.7 Cynthia Street, London N1 9JF, UK.Fax: +44 20 7837 4014

Forests for the future

SPORE 86 PAGE 11

European researchrevealed on disc

s EIARD Infosys is a Europeaninformation andcommunication system aboutresearch for developmentinvolving Europeanorganisations. It is based on theInternet, and its data are nowalso available on CD-ROM for

EIARDs partners in developingcountries. EIARD, the EuropeanInitiative for AgriculturalResearch for Development,aims to improve coherencebetween policies in agricultureand rural development among15 EU Member States, theEuropean Commission, Norway,and Switzerland.

German Centre forDocumentation and Informationin Agriculture (ZADI),Villichgasse 17,D - 53177 Bonn, GermanyFax: +49 228 954 8111Website: www.dainet.de/eiard/

infosys/europa/frameset_about.htm

Real grass roots

s The third issue ofAkirma, adynamic new journal inEnglish and Amharic, waspublished at the end of 1999with features on waterconservation, pastoralism,farmers opinions, andindigenous trees. Aimed atextension agents and fieldworkers, it is named after atough grass with a strongroot system. Published by theNGO Forum for Environment(FoE), with support fromENDA-Ethiopia, the Institutefor Sustainable Development,and the Netherlandsgovernment,Akirma isavailable on subscriptionfrom the FoE.

FoE, PO Box 278, Addis Ababa,Ethiopia.Fax: +251 1 514 580Email: [email protected]

Somewhere betweenheaven and earth

s Soil and the biologicalenvironment are more than

just neighbours. Modellingtechniques can be of greathelp to understand theiroften complex interactions.This publication showsexamples of energy balance,nitrogen transformation, andsoil(crop relations, using aneasily learnt softwarepackage.

Modelling Soil-Biosphere

Interactions. C Mller,Department of AppliedMicrobiology, Justus-Liebig

University, Germany. 1999.360 pp. ISBN 0851993532.49.95 E81.95CAB International (CABI),Wallingford, OxfordshireOX10 8DE, UK.Fax: +44 1491 833508Email: [email protected]

Publications

Publications

Improved seeds, morethan any other input, hold

the key to enhanced farm produc-

tivity and increased income gen-eration. That was the assumptionbehind a CTA study visit to 19seed supply projects in Zimbabweby 16 seed supply experts fromEthiopia, Malawi. Mozambique,South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda,Zambia, and the host country inFebruary 1999. The visits focusedon work with smallholder farmerssince, according to the visitreport, considering that small-grain and other indigenous crops

hold the key to household andnational food security, denyingsmallholders continuous availabil-

ity of high-quality seeds impliesthat food security will remainunattainable.

The report details each visit,outlines the seed supply situationin participants home countries,and explains the follow-up workto which each participant wascommitted upon return home.Much of the information is tech-nical, but it also encompassessocioeconomic aspects in man-agement decision-making.

Among the crisp set of recom-mendations, the ones onstrengthening marketing and dis-tribution, and on emphasisinglocal knowledge and informalsystems are most appropriate for

replication and adaptation inother countries.

The Role of Smallholder Farmers in SeedProduction Systems. Report andRecommendations of a Study Visit,

Zimbabwe, 1999. CTA. 2000.100 pp. ISBN 92 9081 2176.CTA number 965. 10 credit points.

sWestern Africa has a verydiverse ecology, history, andsocioeconomic setting. In LandTenure and Resource Access in West

Africa, the region is thereforedivided in four subareas: Gulf ofGuinea (from Cote dIvoire toCameroon), Land-locked Sahel(from Mali to Chad), AtlanticSahel (Senegal, Gambia, andMauritania), and Atlantic Forest(stretching from Guinea Bissauto Liberia). The book describesthe characteristic developmentsof each region and their likelyevolution over the next 25 years.Recent decades have broughtmany changes (urban growth,population increase, migration),

and new markets and technolo-gies, which haves exerted signifi-cant pressures on land. Thereport discusses key policy areaslike the usefulness of recognising

customary tenure systems andimplementing land registration,mechanisms for conflict resolu-tion, decentralisation, and goodgovernance. With its birds eyeview, the book is a reasonableintroduction to these urgentpolicy areas to be addressed bygovernments, donors, and civilsociety.

Land Tenure and Resource Access inWest Africa: Issues and Opportunities

for the next Twenty-five Years.IIED Drylands. 1999. 43 pp.ISBN 1899825312.7.50 E12.30 (free to non-OECD)IIED Bookshop. 3 Endsleigh Street,London WC1H 0DD, UK.(Quote #7396)Fax: +44 171 388 2826

Sowing the seeds of food security


12/16

Rapid changes in foodhabits and lifestyles,

increased urbanisation, and thesearch for new sources of incomehave revived interest in vegetablestraditionally cultivated in Africa.However, little information isavailable, and interested produc-ers, extension workers, and agri-cultural students alike have ahard time trying to access thedata that exist. Here is just whatthey are looking for: a well-illus-trated book that provides practi-

cal information for identifica-tion, cultivation, pest and diseasecontrol, and uses of 54 Africanindigenous vegetables, as well asdetails of distribution and nutri-tional value. Many local farmers,traders, students, and researchersassisted the author to producethis essential information sourceon plants originating from

Africa, from black jack to zom,through fluted pumpkin, gardeneggs, and slimy sticks. More ofthese colourful names can be

found in the index, together withthe relevant scientific names...

African Indigenous Vegetables: AnOverview of the Cultivated Species.

R. Schippers. NRI/CTA co-publication.2000. ISBN 86964 515 6.CTA number 974,20 credit points.

Black jacks andslimy sticks endup in soups

SPORE 86 PAGE 12

Go to the library bycomputer

s The African Digital Librarywas launched in November1999 and offers Internetaccess to full text versions ofover 3000 books includingreference books and bookson business, technology,agriculture, and much more

as well as bibliographies . Itis free for African users whohave an Internet server withan African domain suffix.Others should contact theCentre for Lifelong Learningof the Technikon of SouthAfrica (TSA), which operatesthe virtual library. Thecollection will be built up asfast as funds permit. TSAestablished the service incooperation with theAssociation of AfricanUniversities and NetLibrary.

Website: www.africaeducation.org/adl/default.htm

Email: [email protected]

or be a bookwormat home

sAfrican newspapers,journals, libraries,publishers, Africana librariesin the North(you name it, aslong it has anything to dowith books and Africa andhas a website, you will mostlikely find it at the ElectronicAfrican Bookworm. This webnavigator is hosted andmaintained by Hans Zell

Publishing Consultants, UK,and can be found at:www.hanszell.co.uk/navtitle.htm

For people without access tothe Internet, there is also aprinted version.

The Electronic African

Bookworm.ABC. 1998.144 pp. ISBN 0952 126958.

A limited quantity is availablefree for African bookcommunities, if funds arenot available for purchase;not for re-sale.8.95 E14.70

African Books Collective Ltd(ABC). The Jam Factory,27 Park End Street,Oxford OX1 1HU, UK.Fax: +44 1865 793298Email:[email protected]

DNA Marker-assistedimprovement ofthe staple crops insub-Saharan Africa

These proceedingsbased on a workshop

held by IITA in Nigeria inAugust 1996 have beenpublished with CTAs support.

IITA/CTA co-publication,edited by JH Crouch and

A Tenkouano.1999.240 pp.ISBN 978 131 163 0.CTA number 960.40 credit points.

Publications

Cassava is grated, thensqueezed to remove juice.

Meat, sometimes with coconutcream, is placed in the centre ofthe grated cassava, which is thenmoulded to cover it. The prepa-ration is wrapped in softened

banana leaves and baked in thelovo(underground oven). Thisis one of the Pacific delightsdescribed in a new booklet aboutcommon staple foods of thePacific islands. Cassava appearsalongside yam, banana, taro, sago(Metroxylonspp., a palm growingin Papua New Guinea), coconut,sweet potato, breadfruit, rice, andpotato. Not only their uses andnutritional value, but also theircultural significance, health,social and economic benefits arediscussed. Whilst tables of thenutrient composition of thesestaples may titillate your health-

conscious mind, the recipes andphotographs will surely makeyour mouth water!

The Staples We Eat. CTA/Secretariat ofthe Pacific Community co-publication.1999. 102 pp. ISBN 982 203 695 7.CTA number 959. 10 credit points.

sBees are useful insects. Besidestheir tasty honey and qualitywax, they are indispensable forpollination in some crops. In

crops like avocado, cotton, andsunflower, bee pollination actu-ally increases seed and fruityields. Beekeeping provides peo-ple in rural areas with additionalsources of income and nutrition.

Beekeeping as a businessis a use-ful and easy reference manual forall there is to know about keep-ing bees. The bookwith ahandy spiral bindingdescribesthe history of beekeeping, beebiology and how a colony works,which plants they pollinate, var-ious types of hives and how toconstruct them, how to harvestthe beehive products, what towear and what to put on a bee

sting. It is printed on a thick,coated paper so it can surviveoutdoor conditions or honeystains. Nice touch!Beekeeping as a business. R Jones.

Copublication of the InternationalBee Research Association (IBRA) andthe Commonwealth Fund forTechnical Co-operation (CFTC). 1999.70 pp. ISBN 0 85092 631 9.

10.99 E

18 (excluding postage)IBRA. 18 North Road, Cardiff,CF10 3DT, UK.Fax: +44 29 20 665 522Email: [email protected]

sA lively read, this reprint of a1999 lecture to the InternationalMaize and Wheat ImprovementCenter CIMMYT is a breathlessoverview of the continuing fail-ure of agricultural institutionsand agricultural practice inAfrica to mesh together. We visitthe obligatory Afro-pessimismand nostalgia for the good old1960s when Africa was a net

exporter of food; we learn lessonsfrom the causes of Africas emptyharvest, such as poor long-term strategies; we recall theimperative of capacity buildingin a knowledge triangle linkingteaching, research, and exten-

sion; and finally we confront theinstitutions with the challenge toreform themselves and be nearerrural reality. Institutions and theAfrican Farmer is one of thoserare books that talks: you canalmost hear the authors voice,begging your questions, chal-lenging your ideas, yearning fora dialogue and the courage to beopen. Just as he is.

Institutions and the African Farmer.

Issues in Agriculture 14. C Eicher.CGIAR. 60 pp. 1999.Free of charge.CGIAR, 1818 H St NW, Washington,DC 20433, USA.Fax: +1 202 473 8110Email [email protected]

Lift up your hearts

Get your business buzzing

Pacific delights


13/16

sWater is increasingly scarce onour planet. Different stakehold-ers have different needs, and evenfight over it. That is logical, nowthat water is often seen as an eco-nomic good and not as free com-mon property (see Spore74). Todevelop a sound policy for thesustainable use of waterresources, the concept of inte-grated water resources manage-ment (IWRM) is gaining ground

worldwide. In The Blue Revolu-tion, Ian Calder argues thatIWRM can be a useful tool butit truly must accommodatemeans of obtaining progressivecommitments from stakeholdersto new developments and initia-tives. Water cannot be managedby implementing technological

solutions alone. They must beblended with methods dealing

with human dimensions, likeeconomic and social develop-ment or land use planning. ForCalder, this is the essence of what

he calls the blue revolution. His

book brings together the latestinsights in land-water relations,

illustrated with cases fromaround the world. He discussesnew ways of calculating evapora-tion in different types of vegeta-tion. And he unmasks mythssuch as felling highland forestsmight not always be the mainreason for floods in lowerregions. The book succeeds inits purpose of providing newinformation and tools so that thepeople who are involved in andare affected by water resourcemanagement can make the bestdecisions.

The Blue Revolution. IR Calder.Earthscan Publications. 1999.192 pp. ISBN 1 85383 634 6.15.95 E26.15Earthscan Publications.120 Pentonville Road,London N1 9JN, UK.Fax: +44 171 837 6348Email: [email protected]

The future in deep water?

SPORE 86 PAGE 13

It all begins with a seed

Good quality seeds areessential to successful

vegetable production. Thisbook focuses on the continuinginterest and activities relatedto vegetable seed productionprogrammes.

Vegetable Seed Production

(second edition). R A T George.

CABI. 1999. 336 pp.ISBN 0851993362.CTA number 962.40 credit points.

Key Questions forDecision-makers:Protection of PlantVarieties under the WTOAgreement on Trade-related Aspects ofIntellectual PropertyRights

International Plant GeneticResources Institute (IPGRI). 1999.

23 pp. ISBN 92 9043 420 1.Free of charge.(See earlier IPGRI reference foraddress)

Safe crop protectionproducts

s This book reports the resultsof a 7-year researchprogramme on the safest andmost effective use of cropprotection products by farmers.It focuses on India, Mexico, andZimbabwe, but the book isuseful for other countries as

well.Safe and Effective Use of Crop

Protection Products in DevelopingCountries. Edited by J Atkin(Novartis Crop Protection Sector)and K M Leisinger (NovartisFoundation for SustainableDevelopment), Switzerland. 1999.192 pp. ISBN 0851994717.35 E57.40(See earlier CABI reference foraddress)

Between the trees

s These conferenceproceedings report on inter-rotation management. Thephase between tree harvestingand replanting is characterisedby risks like soil degradation aswell as opportunities offeredby new technologies for long-term management ofplantation soils.

Site Management and Productivityin Tropical Forest Plantations.

A Tiarks, EKS Nambiar, CCossalter. Workshop proceedings,1620 February 1998, South

Africa. CIFOR. Occasional PaperNo. 16. 1999. 76 pp.ISBN 979 8764 331.

J Manangkil, CIFORCommunications Unit,PO Box 6596 JKPWB,

Jakarta 10065, Indonesia.Fax: +62 251 622 100Email: [email protected]: www.cgiar.org/cifor/

publications/publications_list.html

Publications

The green leafsymbol indicatesp u b l i c a t i o n sthat are on CTAslist. Subscribers

to the Publications DistributionService (PDS) can obtain themfrom CTA. All other publications,

indicated by an orange square,are available from the publisherslisted, or through commercialoutlets, but not from CTA.

Publications on CTAs list areavailable free-of-charge to PDS

subscribers. Subscribers canorder publications on CTAs list upto the value of the credit pointsavailable to them. Subscribers canonly request publications on theorder forms provided.

Non-subscribers who wish tojoin the scheme should write to

CTA for an application form.Applications will be consideredfrom agricultural and ruraldevelopment organisations inthe ACP (Africa, Caribbean andPacific) Group of States; individ-

uals resident in ACP countriesmay also apply.

If you are not eligible for a freesubscription to the PDS, or ifyou need publications beyondyour free credit allocation, youmay buy publications on CTAs

list from our commercial distri-butor: Triops, Hinderburgstrasse33, D-64295 Darmstadt, Ger-many, Fax: +49 6151 314 048,Email: [email protected], Web-site: http://www.triops.de

How to obtain these publications

sThis book is a fine and read-able example of a new wave inagricultural thinking, also knownas Farmer First, which recognisesthat the farmer often knew bestall along. The power of the

farmer to innovate is now being

accepted for its real worth. Pro-moting Farmer Innovation pro-vides a variety of insights intoinnovation, using examples ofprogrammes in Kenya, Tanzania,and Uganda.

For those who know farmerswell (including farmers them-selves, of course!), it has littlevalue, but for agricultural profes-sionals who know they mustchange their approaches, thisbook is a great encouragement. Ithas the excited air of a person

who has just had his eyes openedto something new, and it dartsaround from praising indigenousknowledge, through a case studyof organic matter management,to some rather self-conscious

homilies on partnership building.

Never settling long enough on aphenomenon to discuss it inlength, it barely touches on theissue of gender and womens lowparticipation in innovation. Buttheres the clever bit: the compil-

ers know that attitudes do notchange by ponderous preachingbut by continued exposure tonew ideas, bit by bit. They havedone well.

Promoting Farmer Innovation.Harnessing Local Environmental

Knowledge in East Africa.

SIDA-RELMA and UNDPcopublication. 1999. 133 pp.US$ 10 E10.40(Payable to DOS VU Amsterdam)Resource Development Unit, CDCS.De Boelelaan 1115, 1085 HV

Amsterdam, The Netherlands.Fax: +31 20 444 90 95

E-mail: [email protected]

We knew you had it in you


14/16SPORE 86 PAGE 14

Spore, could you be loved?s Spore dearest, enthuses OswaldNdhlovu of Murombedzi, Zimbabwe,You are so nice and glossy, but youre sosmall dear. Your words are so sweet,reading you is eating a well-ripenedbanana which I do not like to finish, so Ialways carry you in my bag. And if I findmyself without something to read, I takeyou out and caress your smooth coversand read you all over, again and again

More airtimefor rural radios Responding to the Viewpoint in Spore84 on rural radio, Samuel Zelehe ofGambella, Ethiopia, stresses that Radiois the cheapest media to establish and touse than other ICTs like TV and theInternet. It is rather suitable as acommunication technology especially toserve rural people who are far away fromICT services in most ACP States. Althoughmany ACP States use this medium forbroadcasting to rural people, the airtimeallowed on rural issues is rather short. It isdifficult to say that rural radio stations

are providing the latest agriculturalinformation with this brief time. It istherefore important to allow moreairtime, so that rural radio stations willachieve their goals.

Is poverty reductionpossible?sWriting from Tanzania, I Thuweinkicks us off with a warning: War,malaria, AIDS and hunger are part ofAfricas life and they are the source ofpoverty, not forgetting drought andfloods. Poor communications, marketingfacilities and malnutrition face manyAfricans, bearing in mind that environ-mental degradation and population areincreasing tremendously.

Corruption is a common sound every-where, everyday and every minutewhereas natural resources like water,forests and wild animals are destroyedevery second. But African leaders arealways attending seminars, workshops,tours and other gatherings in Europe,spending millions of foreign moneywhich is the produce of the poor people.

Is poverty reduction possible? I doubt itvery much, but I wish every success tothose struggling against it.

New acaricide recipe

s A new formula for an acaricide forcattle, sheep, goats and pigs is offered byA Lanwo, Principal Animal HealthTechnologist, Veterinary Clinic, PO Box620, Ondo, Nigeria. Two years ago, dueto the very high cost and non-availabilityof effective parasiticides in my clinic totreat mange infestations, I tried todevelop a simple alternative whichturned out to be very effective andcheap. The recipe comprises: 1 litre ofdiesel oil, or PK or GN oil; 15 grams ofcamphor (about ten small balls) and 2 to3 ml of Diazinon or Asuntol solution. Themethod: grind the camphor to a smoothpowder, and add to the oil and Diazinon.Shake well, then paint the solution onthe affected parts with a painting brush.There is no need for scrubbing as thecamphor is a good rubefacient. I encour-age Spore readers to use the formula andto send me feed back.

From the point of viewof the VEWssMore about attending courses, thistime from Peter Ifeanyi Duru, of Orlu,Nigeria who asks: Cant CTA organise orextend its seminars to village extensionworkers (VEWs) and, considering theirfinancial status, extend its benevolenceto sponsoring them to go to seminars,workshops and conferences? VEWs areindispensable in ensuring that innova-tions reach the rural farmers, but theirwork has been hi-jacked by politicalsycophants and those at the top ofextension stratum.

Under its seminar support programme,CTA supports the cost of attendance ofalmost 300 professionals, includingextension workers, at internationalmeetings each year. It also regularlyorganises study visits for field specialists,such as the visits to agro-piscicultureprogrammes in Malawi described inIn Brief, and through its partnership

programmes with national partners, itencourages more attention to this crucialstratum of the extension profession.

Cover trees for fruit trees?sRichard Funyep, of the CAPA-DLgroup, BP 54, Maknn, Province duCentre, Cameroon, asks readers foradvice on selecting a cover tree. Wework in a humid forest zone with anequatorial climate characterised by twodry seasons: a short one from July tomid-August, and a long one from

15 November to 16 March. We arelooking for seeds and information abouta leguminous plant with perenniallydense leaves that would give year-roundshade and cover to fruit crops. Theywould obviously grow more quicklythan the latter during the first threeyears.

Millennium:Food for thought

Your comments on the

Millennium supplement,Scenarios for ACPagriculture: Joining thecircles of life, have started

to arrive at the Spore offices. Among thefirst, lengthy reflections was one from MsThiam Traor Djenebou, Director ofSUDAGORA, in Abidjan, Cte dIvoireincluding on the linkages betweeninnovation and traditions. I fully supportthe idea that the innovations of today arethe traditions of tomorrow. In otherwords, our traditions today were theinnovations made by our forebears.Sustainable development should be seenabove all as an attitude, without which itcannot be attained: the changes which areessential for moving towards sustain-ability, the new traditions, should not hidethe knowledge and the know-how whichwere innovations in days gone by and arenow our prevailing values.

MailboxAs well as the regular mail fromreaders, we are now receivingcomments on the Millenniumsupplement to Spore (published

with Spore 84). Your letters, bymail, fax or email, are alwayswelcome at the addresses on theright, whether they are aboutyour day-to-day ideas andwishes, or your vision onScenarios for ACP Agriculture.By publishing readers letters,Spore does not necessarily agreewith or support the views orinformation given.

Between us

Reader G. Michael Tilahun (photo), an

assistant vet from Amaro, Ethiopia writes

to express concern about the sale of

veterinary medicines by illegal retailers

and farmers (see Spore 84). It threatens

the (income of ) vets in practice, and

young vets fear they may not engage in

the sector, because of fears for their

living conditions.

R.R.


15/16

At the begin-ning of March,Mr Carl B

Greenidge (photo right)took over the Direc-torship of CTA from

Dr R D Cooke, whohad held thepost since 1995 (seeViewpoint, p. 16).Mr Greenidge, whotrained as an eco-nomist with a special-isation in agriculturaleconomics, is thethird person to leadthe organisation.Prior to taking up hisnew assignment, he

was Deputy Secretary

General of the Gener-al Secretariat of the

ACP Group of Statesin Brussels, a positionhe held since 1992.

In his nativeGuyana, Mr Greenidge first lectured inagricultural economics and subsequentlyserved as Minister of Finance for almost adecade. As architect of the countrys Struc-tural Adjustment Programme, he is cred-ited with helping to rescue Guyana froma long period of economic decline. His

professional interests have been in agricul-tural planning, with particular referenceto the effect of agricultural innovations onrural incomes in Africa, the role of ruralmarkets in development and the manage-ment of fisheries resources. His book on

land settlement schemes in Guyana,which deals with the empowerment of thepeasantry, is about to be published.

Mr Greenidge comes to CTA wellversed in ACP-EU affairs having experi-enced the negotiation of many ACP-EUcooperation agreements at first-hand,

including the protracted negotiations toestablish a successor agreement to LomIV. His earlier responsibilities in thesenegotiations have included trade in gener-al, and agricultural commodity protocolsin particular.

SPORE 86 PAGE 15

New leadership at CTA

Between us

Sporeis a bi-monthly publicationproviding information on agriculturaldevelopment for ACP countries. Sporeisavailable free-of-charge to relevantorganisations and individuals in ACP and

EU countries. Subscriptions may also bepurchased from Triops (see page 13).

Publisher: Technical Centre for Agriculturaland Rural Cooperation (CTA) ACP-EULom Convention

CTA: Postbus 380, 6700 AJ Wageningen,The NetherlandsTe:l +31 317 467100Fax: +31 317 460067Email: [email protected]

Website: www.cta.nlEmail for readers letters:[email protected]

Compiler: Sporeis compiled by aconsortium formed by Louma productions

and MdiateursLouma productions, 3 rue Neuve,34150 Aniane, FranceFax: +33 467 570 180Email: [email protected], W-Alexanderpoort 46,1421 CH Uithoorn,The NetherlandsFax: +31 297 540 514Email: [email protected]

This issue was compiled byCatherineBinudin, Didier Chabrol, ONeil Cuffe,Bernard Favre, Erik Heijmans, BernadetteImbert, Catherine Marzin, Paul Osborn,Zazah Razafindrazaka, Christine Tissot.

Layout: Louma productionsPrinter: Imprimerie Publicep, France CTA 2000ISSN 1011-0054

Material published inSpore can be freelyreproduced. Please always credit it as comingfromSpore.

Marie-Jose Jehl, who is known

personally to a great manySporereaders, is leaving CTA after

more than eleven years service. She joinedthe Centre in 1988 from the Council ofEurope in Strasbourg, and worked first asassistant librarian. After the massive taskof cataloguing CTAs library, and variousinformation dissemination roles, shebecame increasingly involved in training

workshops with CTA partners a rolethat was formalised in 1996 with a newpost in charge of training, as part of her

job as Deputy Head of the Informationand Capacity Development Department.By 1999 the training portfolio had grownto 17 workshops a year, on subjects rang-ing from the design of websites to writingannual reports.

Her energy level always enabled her tothrive on the intense work, clear results

and friendshipsfrom such events,which took her to24 ACP coun-

tries. That buzzis what she willmiss most fromher time at CTA,now that she isgoing to live andwork in Rome.Doubtless she willkeep in touch byemail she wasone of the first

CTA staff members to see its value. Shenow chuckles about the days in the late1980s before CTA used computers widelyand in the early 1990s, bringing, almostsmuggling, emails into the office eachmorning from her computer at home. Shesa real Cyber Stork the stork, which, likeher, flies to Africa each winter, is the sym-bol of her native Alsace. Very fitting.

Salute to Marie-Jose

PhotoCTA

R.R.


16/16

You are devoting much of your life to agri-

culture and development, but the wordsare strikingly absent from the agendas oftodays international community.

Not exactly. The preferred terms todayare not agriculture and food security, butpoverty reduction and rural development.In international negotiations many devel-oped countries assume that ACP agricul-ture equates with developed country agri-culture, with a very small slice of the GDPand a small share of employment. When Imet with the development group of theEuropean Parliament, they were genuine-ly surprised to hear the figures that we

know well: agriculture means 30-60% ofGDP in sub-Saharan Africa and 70% of

jobs, of which 70% are held by women.So the challenge is to ensure that the

roles of agriculture are duly recognised inpoverty reduction. Then the topic is onthe agenda, but through that and otherterms like poverty reduction, sustainablelivelihoods, impact on equity, or the roleof women, and not through agricultureand productivity and the classic bannersof 20 years ago.

These new terms are often applied in the

context of domestic development, ratherthan that of a major player in the worldagricultural economy. One of CTAs pri-ority themes has been conquering regionaland the global markets

but also domestic. This is a funda-mental difficulty. Its very difficult to getinto global markets without having organ-ised a national market: what are you goingto trade? There is a supposition that someof the poorer countries can rapidly follow

Asian models, forgetting that in almost allcases they went through an agro-industrialdevelopment process, generating the

wealth to support education and to devel-op human capital. You cant leapfrog fromessentially subsistence agriculture to asemi-industrialised economy unless youdiscover oil or diamonds, or youre fortu-nate with tourism

Its a process, and here the challenge for

CTA is ensuring that institutional changetakes place. All our ACP partners are in avery tough position, coping with econom-ic and political change, decentralisation,technical change, and were adding on tothat PS: communicate better with yourfarmers, your decision takers, and yourusers. Its easy to underestimate the barri-ers to that.

If youve been working in a researchcentre on oil palm in plantations, itrequires considerable change to worryabout women subsistence farmers in semi-arid zones. It requires changes in incen-

tive, leadership, and organisation, movingfrom being supply-driven to responsive,and there are political, social and culturalconstraints.

What sort of timeframe are you talkingabout, and how do you recognise thatchange has taken place?

Well, CTA has a 5-year plan by virtue ofbeing part of the Lom Convention. ForACP partners the timescale must be longer.This is reflected in the switch away fromproject or even programme approaches tosectoral approaches. Very long-term pro-

cesses must be confronted: democratisationand decentralisation, the p

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