SUMMARYNumerous innovation platforms have been implemented to encourage the adoption of agricultural innovations and stakeholder interactions within a value chain. Yet little research has been undertaken on the design and implementation of innovation platforms focussing on issues other than market access and aiming to encourage agro-ecological intensification. This is the case for the development of Conservation Agriculture (CA) in West Africa, which due to its complex nature calls for technical, organizational and institutional changes at the level of both production systems and village territories. This article analyses the design and implementation process of platforms in three villages in Burkina Faso aiming to develop CA technical references with local stakeholders, and to renew rules of interaction between stakeholders within a territory. The platforms enabled farmers in the three villages to actively participate in the identification of the cropping systems that were tested and to improve their knowledge and mastery of CA. They furthermore promoted networking among producers and facilitated the development of new rules for crop residue use. The platforms thus appear to be relevant mechanisms, enabling complex innovations to be addressed. Diverse modifications and improvements are discussed that would ensure the sustainability of the platforms and the evolution of their objectives and activities beyond those of the project under which they were launched.

The present study aimed to quantify the polyphenols and evaluate the antioxidant activity of methanolic and aqueous extracts from eight medicinal plants used by the poultry farmers to manage avian diseases in Burkina Faso. Total phenolics and total flavonoids were quantified using Folin-Ciocalteu and AlCl 3 reagents, respectively. The antioxidant activity was evaluated using three methods: 1,1diphéenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2'-2-azino-bis (3-éethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). The results obtained showed that aqueous extracts contain more total phenolics than methanolic extracts in contrary to the total flavonoids where methanolic extracts presented the best contents. The evaluation of the antioxidant activity by the three methods showed that the extracts exhibited an interesting activity. The methanolic and the aqueous extracts of Parkia biglobosa, Sclerocarya birrea, and Detarium microcarpum, are distinguished by a good capacity to scavenge free DPPH radicals than those of the standards (trolox and quercetin). The methanolic extracts of all plant samples have shown their superiority in terms of their ability to scavenge the ABTS radical cations compared to aqueous extracts. Compared to other plant extracts and quercetin the methanolic and aqueous extracts of D. microcarpum bark presented the best reducing power with the values of 5360.23 and 4584.55 µmol EAA / g extract, respectively. These different results could justify the traditional uses of these plants in the treatment of avian pathologies.

Description of the subject. We present a literature overview of innovation platform practices in Africa, combined with case studies of sub-national platforms established in Senegal and Burkina Faso. Objectives. The main objective was to understand how the facilitation process of innovation platforms can become more effective. Two specific objectives were to study RAMSES II innovation platform cases in Senegal and Burkina Faso where we observed and reflect on the facilitation of agroforestry innovation platforms. A final objective was to position the case results in a literature overview of IP experiences in Africa. Method. Information on innovation platforms was collected by combining an analysis of RAMSES II agroforestry innovation platform cases and an innovation platform literature review. Results. The study illustrates how the organizational position of the facilitating research agents contributed to shaping platform agendas, functions, and outcomes. This process hinges on the deployment of legitimacy claims, which appeal to technical expertise and scientific narratives, in this case on agroforestry. Institutional embeddedness is shown to be a critical aspect of agency in innovation platform multi-actor processes, contributing to framing local understandings of agroforestry and to channel collective efforts. Conclusions. The institutional identity of facilitating research agents and their relationship to members of a platform requires a more open and process oriented role. Coordination and facilitation roles can also be taken up by other members of the platform. This enhances the platform’s ability to ground their agendas into local needs and priorities. It also enhances sustainability, as active membership during the project period prepares platform members to continue after project closure.

Description du sujet. En Afrique de l'Ouest, en particulier au Burkina Faso, l’intensification des parcs arborés est de plus en plus préconisée dans les interventions d’accompagnement des populations rurales confrontées à la diminution progressive des arbres dans leurs systèmes de production agricole et pastorale. Cependant, la mise en œuvre de ces interventions se heurte à un contexte social dominé par une diversité d’acteurs aux intérêts souvent antagonistes. Objectifs. Cette étude vise à identifier les acteurs pertinents à inclure dans un processus de réflexion pour co-construire des scénarii d’intensification des parcs arborés. Méthode. Pour ce faire, une démarche purement qualitative a été mobilisée en combinant une revue de littérature, des ateliers de cartographie des acteurs et des entretiens semi-directifs dans les communes de Koumbia, Guéguéré et Dano. Résultats. Les résultats montrent que dans les communes de Koumbia et Dano, la gestion et l’usage des arbres sont réalisés par une diversité d’acteurs ayant des intérêts convergents pour l’intensification des parcs arborés et interreliés par des échanges commerciaux, d’informations et de connaissances et des relations de pouvoir. Conclusions. Cette étude a permis de définir collectivement les contours d’une plateforme d’innovation incluant tous les acteurs dans chaque village, avec une gouvernance centrale au niveau de la commune en vue de co-construire des scénarii d’intensification des parcs arborés.

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