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Faced with the food challenge and climatic instabilities, agriculture in Benin must increase its economic, social and environmental performance. Due to its multiple assets, agroecology has interested the Beninese government for several years. Digital technology is often cited as a major lever for the agroecological transition, but digital innovations in agriculture in Benin are mostly unknown. By mobilizing and adapting the methodology of tracking on-farm innovations to reveal alternative cropping systems to the digital world, this paper uncovers digital innovations in the agricultural sector in Benin and questions their ability to contribute to the agro-ecological transition. Our work makes two main contributions: the first is methodological and shows that it is possible to adapt the tracking of on-farm innovations to the tracking of digital innovations. The second is descriptive and analytical. Starting from the definition of a reference situation, we have identified, described, analyzed and evaluated 21 digital solutions used in agriculture in Benin as well as the constraints faced by their holders. We grouped these solutions into two types: digital solutions for data collection and decision aid, and platforms for exchanging and sharing knowledge. The main innovations consist of a combination of information exchange solutions and the use of artificial intelligence engines. The main constraints identified are the lack of equipment, infrastructure and skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The raw earth is a natural material originating from the slow decomposition of rocks and stones. It can be used as a construction material as cob, daub, wattle, adobe, moulded bricks, rammed earth or compressed earth blocks. The use of a specific technique depends on the vernacular habits and also on the climate to which the building will be submitted or on the intrinsic properties of the earth. In this paper, we study the thermal and mechanical properties of compressed earth blocks (CEB) made of raw earth from Benin. In order to improve the mechanical properties of this brittle material, especially the tensile stress, kenaf fibers are incorporated into the mix. To determine the influence of the fibers on the various properties of CEB, the fiber content and the fiber length was varied. The results show a strong influence of these parameters on the porosity and as a consequence on the thermal and mechanical properties (compressive and tensile strengths). The increase in the porosity of the material yields a decrease in the mechanical strengths whatever the fiber content, except for long fibers. This seems to demonstrate combined effects of the porosity decrease and of the resistance to traction efforts due to the fibers. The addition of fibers also induces a decrease in the thermal conductivity of the material mainly due to the increase in the porosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a literature review about botany, ecology, cropping systems, processing, constraints and prospects of sustainable yam production in tropical regions of Africa. Yam is a taxon of mainly tropical species requiring high temperatures. Germination is optimal between 25 and 30 °C, whereas temperatures below 15 °C or above 35 °C delay it. Yam is successfully cultivated in areas with rainfall ranging from 1000 to 1800 mm; however, it is possible to cultivate yam with a rainfall of only 600 mm, but yield remains low. To reach vegetative growth and good tuber formation, yam prefers sandy-loamy or loamy soils, with hydraulic conductivity of 15 cm/h, apparent soil density between 1.1 and 1.6 g.cm−3 and light and deep soils (> 0.6 m), well drained, rich in organic matter, nitrogen, potash, magnesium and calcium. A soil pH from 5 to 7 is suitable for a good yam production. Beyond the edaphic and climatic factors, cultivation practices, including cultivar, plantation density, date of planting, management of weeds, diseases and pests, cropping history of plots and farmers' soil management practices, affect yam productivity. Farmers base the choice of yam varieties mainly on culinary quality of tubers, productivity, commercial value, propagation, quality of chips, tuber formation precocity, conservation, facility of culture, roles as food and for ritual ceremonies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focusing on the ways in which evangelical movements appropriate space, this article analyses the current dynamics of Christian expansion in Cotonou (Benin). Religious actors use all the opportunities the city off ers in terms of space, as they invest more and more sites with evangelical symbols. A double process is at play: on the one hand, the dynamics of these highly volatile and scattered sites, which are overrun by religious manifestations and give the impression that the whole city is being proselytized and, on the other, the valorisation of sites of worship as symbols of permanency and settlement for religious entrepreneurs. e paper concentrates on three processes: the centrality of sites of worship as the main framework of religious activity; the fragmentation of sites of proselytism which results in the presence of Christian actors in places that have no worshiping dimension and that were initially dedicated to other types of social activities; finally, the dilution of spaces of proselytism leading to the occupation of collective sites as well as the private sphere (squares, streets, concessions). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]