Informations et ressources scientifiques
sur le développement des zones arides et semi-arides

Long-term Europe-Africa Research and Innovation Partnership for Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture

Titre : Aval Fonio : Improvement of post-harvest and enhancement of fonio in Africa

Pays/Région : Burkina Faso ; Senegal ; Guinea ; Mali

Date : Start date 2012-12-17 End date 2015-12-17

Identifiant : 28-AVAL FONIO
Type de projet : Development and innovation oriented (research) project

Objectif
The specific objective of the Aval Fonio project was to mechanise post-harvest technologies and the processing of fonio by small businesses.

The general objectives were :
* To develop fonio to increase revenues for operators in this sector.
* To participate in the food security and economic development of production areas.
* To improve the quality of food available to African populations through the marketing of good quality fonio.
* To strengthen scientific collaboration in research and development between those countries producing fonio.

Through its targeted research activities, the project aims to implement innovative and efficient technologies and processes. The expected impact is focused on improving the quality and enhancing the value of small grains destined for human consumption.

Présentation
A long neglected small-grain cereal, fonio plays an important role in the food security of rural families in a region of West Africa stretching from Senegal to Lake Tchad. Traditional practices however, both during and after harvesting can be exhausting for farmers and their families. The rediscovery of fonio by the urban consumer for its taste and nutritional qualities demands improvements to harvest and post-harvest techniques. In collaboration with growers and small businesses, researchers from Burkina Faso, France, Guinea, Mali and Senegal in the Aval Fonio project have designed and tested new machinery and new processes, making advances to the mechanisation of the threshing, winnowing, hulling, washing, degritting and drying stages of fonio post-harvest processing. This important work continued the efforts of the CFC project ‘Fonio’ and EU FP6 project ‘INCO Fonio’ and producers working with the project have reported increased production. As well as advancing mechanisation, project partners made important strides in linking the actors in the fonio value chain – the growers, the processors and the machinery manufacturers in particular - to assure that the efforts of projects like Aval Fonio feed into the local technological innovation system to be adopted and scaled up by the business community for the benefit of farmers and consumers alike.

Coordinateur : Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD)
Partenaires : Institut de Recherche Agronomique de Guinée (IRAG) Institute of Rural Economy (IER) Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar (UCAD) Institut de Recherche en Sciences Appliquées et Technologies (IRSAT) National Centre for Food Technology and Safety (CNTA) Montpellier SupAgro

Financement principal : African Union Commission (AURG 1)
Budget : 997 427 EUR

FNSSA project database