Progress on farmer training in parasitic weed management / L'état d’avancement de la formation des agriculteurs dans la gestionde mauvaises herbes parasites
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The damage caused by the parasites Orobanche on field and vegetable crops in Northern Africa and the Near East, and Striga on cereals in several countries of Africa South of the Sahara is significant. For instance, in Morocco, infestation of Orobanche crenata in food legumes (mainly faba bean) causes yield losses of 29 000 tonnes annually, which is equal to US$17 million. The complete devastation caused by Orobanche in many areas of North Africa and the Near East has to be reduced; oth erwise farmers will abandon their fields or shift to other crops. The situation of the effect of Striga on crops such as sorghum, maize and millet is similar. No single method has so far been found to successfully control the root parasitic weeds Orobanche and Striga. For this reason, an integrated control approach is required that should be feasible for small-scale farmers to implement. Understanding the problem of these parasitic plants, the damage they cause to crops and to f armers economies, FAO decided to implement two regional projects, where the main component was farmer training. The idea was to familiarize farmers with the biology of the weeds and allow them to propose or adapt control strategies.