A Clearing House for Cover Crop Information and Seed Exchange in West Africa

Agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) must be increased substantially to avert a serious food crisis. Since the 1970s, food production across much of the region has not kept pace with population growth. This has lead to increased pressure on the land, a decline in soil fertility, and an acceleration of desertification. Efforts to enhance food security in SSA, therefore, must include measures to effectively and sustainably regenerate soil productivity.

Farmer experience in Benin, Ghana and Mali suggests that cover crops can contribute to the sustainable intensification of cropping systems. Cover crops are efficient sources of nitrogen, improve soil structure and other properties, increase the soil's biological activity, and help to control pests and weeds. They can also be additional sources of food, feed and fuel for farm families.

A meeting of West African development researchers sponsored by IDRC and Sasakawa Global 2000 identified the scarcity of regionally specific information on farmer experience with cover crops and cover crop seed availability as major bottlenecks to development and testing of sustainable farming systems. The general objective of this project will be to facilitate the exchange of information and cover crop seed among West African researchers and development workers and between the West African region and other regions globally. Information on farmer experiences with cover crops relevant to the major agro-ecologies of West Africa will be compiled, classified, translated and exchanged among researchers and development workers through a field-oriented newsletter, document retrieval service, web site and network of country contacts. Cover crop seed will also be collected, characterized and distributed through project participants in Benin, Togo, Mali, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon, Nigeria and Ghana.

(This proposal was submitted during December, 1996. For more information or the full text of this proposal contact Daniel Buckles at the following e-mail address: DBuckles@idrc.ca)

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