Since 1976 various species of Ebolavirus have caused a series of zoonotic outbreaks and public health crises in Africa. Bats have long been hypothesised to function as important hosts for ebolavirus maintenance, however the transmission ecology for these viruses remains poorly understood. Several studies have demonstrated rapid seroconversion for e...
Seventy percent of smallholder farmers in Africa depend on rainfed farming systems, making them vulnerable to climate variability and extremes. Climate information services (CIS) adoption by smallholder farmers in Africa presents a promising solution for adaptation to climate variability. This paper unravels the complexities around climate services...
The inclusion of shade trees into cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) systems can generate livelihood opportunities for smallholder farmers. Yet, there is the need to examine the ecological context within which shade trees, and their functional traits, have a positive impact on ecosystem services in cocoa systems. Here, we used a network of farms of similar...
The cacao crop spread throughout the world from its center of origin in South America. However, one of its main diseases cacao swollen shoot disease (CSSD), which is caused by the complex of cacao-infecting badnaviruses, was first detected in Africa. Here we investigate the relationship between the genetic diversity of the viruses that cause CSSD a...
Until recently, little or no use was made of fiscal instruments for forest protection in developing countries. The rise of independent third-party certification systems since the 1990s opens new perspectives for using taxation as an incentive. In the forestry sector, certification has developed significantly in Central Africa but reached a plateau ...
La notion de justice environnementale émerge face aux constats d'un accès différent aux ressources de l'environnement ainsi que d'une inégale distribution des risques environnementaux affectant certains groupes sociaux. Souvent abordée dans les travaux de recherche au Nord, l'analyse des critères de justice ou d'injustice associés à l'environnement...
Objective: To explore communities' perspectives on the factors in the social food environment that influence dietary behaviours in African cities. Design: A qualitative study using participatory photography (Photovoice). Participants took and discussed photographs representing factors in the social food environment that influence their dietary beha...
Climate models predict decreasing precipitation and increasing air temperature, causing concern for the future of cocoa in the major producing regions worldwide. It has been suggested that shade could alleviate stress by reducing radiation intensity and conserving soil moisture, but few on-farm cocoa studies are testing this hypothesis. Here, for 3...
For studying epidemiology and tracking 'Candidatus Phytoplasma palmicola' associated with the coconut lethal yellowing disease in Africa, a Multi Locus Sequence Typing (MLST) scheme was developed and applied to Ghanaian samples collected before 2010 across the country, and samples from the northern provinces of Cabo Delgado and Zambezia in Mozambiq...
The demand for cocoa has increased over the past years following the growth of cocoa-based products linked to the rise in living standard in highly populated countries. Cacao industry is therefore currently facing the dilemma of producing more cacao while ensuring its sustainability. Cacao monocrops and agroforestry systems (AFS) are two contrastin...
