In Central Cameroon cocoa is mainly produced by household farming systems based on complex associations between cocoa and companion trees. Setup either on native/remnant forest or savannah, these agroforestry systems (AFS) are managed according their geographical position and local pedoclimatic conditions. In this paper, the authors investigated the effects of...

The potential of perimeter trap cropping, using short and extra-short duration pigeon pea (SD PP and ESD PP), sorghum and cotton, was evaluated in Niger as an agroecological alternative to pesticide application on okra for the management of the tomato fruit worm (TFW) Helicoverpa armigera. In 2008, infestation by TFW...

Agroforestry systems in humid tropical areas are complex multispecies cropping systems whose value for farmers is often hard to assess. We present the findings of a participatory assessment that we applied to cocoa agroforestry systems. This assessment, adapted from the pebble distribution method, was used to quantify the value given...

The authors review the main characteristics of quinoa, Chenopodium quinoa Willd., its origin and genetic diversity, its exceptional tolerance to drought and salinity, its nutritional properties, the reasons why this crop can offer several ecosystem services, and the role of Andean farmers in preserving its agrobiodiversity. Finally, they propose a...

Conventional crop protection with pesticides has limitations such as resistance of pests to pesticides and faunal imbalance. Agroecological crop protection is an attractive alternative based on the principles of agroecology. We present here this strategy using the case of Cucurbitaceae flies, which are the most important agricultural pests in Réunion....

Smallholder farmers in semi-arid Africa are in an increasingly vulnerable position due to the direct and indirect effects of climate change, demographic pressure and resource degradation. Conservation agriculture (CA) is promoted as an alternative to restore soil productivity through increased water and nutrient use efficiencies in these regions. However, adoption...