We provide results from a study of two separate sectors within the cotton-growing region of southern Mali. In one sector, farmers have engaged in a farmer field school (FFS) training programme since 2003—the other not. One goal of the training was the adoption of alternatives to the use of hazardous insecticides, through integrated pest management (IPM) methods. Over an 8-year period, analysis showed that with roughly 20% of the 4324 cotton-growing farm households having undergone training, hazardous insecticide use for the entire sector fell by 92.5% compared with earlier figures and with the second (control) sector. Yields for cotton in both sectors were highly variable over time, but no evidence was found for changes in yield owing to shifts in pest management practices. Evidence is presented for a likely diffusion of new practices having taken place, from FFS participants to non-participants. We discuss strengths and weaknesses of the FFS approach, in general, and highlight the need for improved baseline survey and impact analyses to be integrated into FFS projects.

Most urban areas have today reached a stage where the essential need is to come up with lasting remedies for their dilapidated facilities, intra–urban disparities, and the spread of urban poverty. This article offers a brief analysis of the particular approach to poverty reduction adopted by several civil society organisations in Yeumbeul, a deprived neighbourhood on the outskirts of Dakar in Senegal.

Résumé La plupart des centres urbains ont atteint aujourd’hui une phase où il s’agit avant tout de trouver des solutions durables au délabrement des équipements, aux disparités intra-urbaines et à l’extension de la pauvreté urbaine. Cet article propose une brève analyse d’une approche particulière de lutte contre la pauvreté menée par plusieurs organisations de la société civile à Yeumbeul, un quartier défavorisé dans la banlieue de Dakar, au Sénégal.