Regional training sessions held on sustainable nutrient management in maize-based production systems in West Africa
Participants from Cote d’Ivoire recently benefited from two training sessions organized by APNI on sustainable nutrient management for maize.
The training was aimed at providing information to farmers and extension officers on applying 4R nutrient stewardship for sustainable nutrient management in maize-based production systems. Each of the four “R’s” stand for a “right”, or best practice, that can provide a simple checklist to assess whether nutrients are being managed properly. The overall question “Was the crop given the right source of nutrients at the right rate, time, and place?” helps farmers to identify opportunities for improvement in fertilizing each specific crop in each specific field.
The first session held in August, 2019 in northern Cote d’Ivoire at Korhogo (Top photo). It was attended by +50 participants from four regions (Bagoue, Hambol, Poro, and Tchologo). The second session was in September, 2019 at Daloa in the center west of the country (Bottom photo). This event also gathered over 50 participants from Gbeke, Haut-Sassandra and Marahoue.
Participants represented the Regional Direction of Agriculture (DR Agriculture-Korhogo), extension officers of the National Agricultural Extension Service (ANADER-Korhogo and Daloa), leaders of Cooperatives of the Federation of Maize Producers (FEMACI) and the Apex Union of the Cooperatives (UFACOCI-COOP CA) of Cote d’Ivoire. The session at Korhogo was officially launched by the distinguished governor of Poro while the regional director of agriculture opened the session at Daloa in presence of the regional director of ANADER. Following the welcome address of the president of FEMACI, Dr. Thérèse Agneroh, Program Manager, APNI West Africa, expressed her gratitude to all the participants, set the context for agriculture in Cote d’Ivoire and APNI.
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Dr. Kokou Amouzou, Program Coordinator, APNI West Africa (Top photo) led participants through the training sessions under the supervision of Dr. Agneroh (Bottom photo). Each session was facilitated using brainstorming, exercises, presentations, knowledge and experience sharing, followed by a field visit. During the training, sessions on plant nutrition, soil fertility, evaluation of soil fertility, sustainable nutrient management, and 4R nutrient stewardship were provided. The participants were also informed about the use of Nutrient Expert – a decision support tool used to create more site-specific fertilizer recommendations.
The president of FEMACI expressed appreciation for the active participation of the maize producers during the training and field visits, and “incredible support” of APNI. Dr. Agneroh acknowledged the valuable contribution of the participants and assured the will of APNI to accompany on-farm nutrient management research and education, and innovation transfer in Cote d’Ivoire, and beyond.
Contributors: Kokou Adambounou Amouzou, Program Coordinator, and Thérèse Atcham Agneroh, Program Manager, APNI
