Aval Fonio. Improvement of post-harvest and enhancement of fonio in Africa: Annual report (january 2015 - june 2016)

The Aval Fonio project (AURG/161/2012), which was originally due to run until 16 December 2015, was extended by 6 months until 16 June 2016 (African Union addendum no.1 of 5 October 2015 changing the project term to 42 month). In 2015, the second annual meeting was held in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) from 19 to 23 January 2015. This meeting brought together ten or so participants from Mali, Senegal, Burundi France and naturally Burkina Faso. Only the IRAG researchers (Guinea) were unable to travel to the meeting. Then, from 8 to 12 June 2015, a work packages workshop bringing together twenty or so participants was held in Dakar (Senegal). In the first half of 2016, the third annual meeting was held in Dakar (Senegal) from 1 to 5 February 2016. This meeting brought in a dozen participants. In the end, the final meeting was held in Montpellier (France) from 6 to 10 June 2016, bringing together all the project partners except for Burundi. In 2015 and 2016, the WP1 activities in Guinea: “Analysing production and post-harvest systems” initiated in 6 large villages in Fouta Djalon were extended to the areas of Lélouma and Mali, situated to the west and north of Labé. These prefectures were chosen since fonio cultivation is very frequent there, both in tapades and in outfields. For WP2 “Mechanisation of post-harvest techniques”, trial plots were planted at IRAG Bareng in July 2015. After modification, the fonio motor mower was tested in Guinea, but the results were dissatisfactory. Fonio threshing and cleaning tests were carried out by IRAG. The Ricefan thresher (Votex) purchased from IMAF in Bamako (Mali) was tested, but the results were mediocre. The new trials conducted with the reconditioned ASSI thresher confirmed the good results already obtained during the previous fonio projects. The cleaning trials with the rotary screen and winnowing channel also confirmed the good performances of this equipment. Regarding WP3 “Improving processing and stabilisation techniques”, and activity 3 (mechanisation of washing and degritting), it was concluded that washing could be mechanised using a simple electrical “cement mixer”. For degritting, Cirad designed and built a first “hydrolift” prototype degritter, which was assembled at the IMAF workshop before being installed on the premises of Ucodal in Bamako. The equipment has operated since summer 2015 under actual conditions of use with good performances: a throughput of 80 to 100 kg/h and a residual grit content in the grains down to 200 mg/kg or even less. In view of the good performances obtained, a series of 3 hydrolifts was made for field testing on the premises of SMEs in Bamako (Mali), Bobo Dioulasso (Burkina Faso) and Kédougou (Senegal). Regarding activity 4 “drying”, a cross-flow dryer (CSec-T) and a “greenhouse” dryer (CSec-S) were fitted with instrumentation and tested in early 2015 on the ESP-UCAD site in Dakar. Then in late 2015, these dryers were transferred to the field: a CSec-S greenhouse dryer at the Koba Club group (Kédougou), and a CSec-T cross-flow dryer to the Salémata group (eastern Senegal). For WP4 “Innovation process in small processing plants”, the work conducted during the latter phase of the project furthered knowledge of the key players and stakeholders in the fonio industry innovation system in Burkina Faso and Mali. The “GMBF fonio huller” innovation case study reveals significant impacts on all the industry players, and primarily on the women processors and the producers. In Burkina Faso, a multiplayer innovation platform system to support the dissemination of the “Hydrolift” and “CSec-T” dryer innovations was set up in 2015 in Bobo Dioulasso. The company SOLDEV, a major player on this platform as an equipment manufacturer, has already manufactured and sold 5 dryers for women fonio processors in Ouagadougou, Bobo Dioulasso and Banfora. For WP5, the Coordinators organised the various researchers' workshops and the annual meetings of the Steering Committee, especially in January 2015 in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), in June 2015 and February 2016 in Dakar (Senegal), and finally in June 2016 in Montpellier (France). The project website (http://avalfonio. cirad.fr/en) has been regularly updated. The coordination also published the book “Fonio, an African cereal” (Cirad –IRAG Edition) and produced a short documentary film titled “fonio”. (Résumé d'auteur)