Status report on global Neem usage - Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal

AFGRO- Uni Minnesota/USAID
Time frame: 1987-1988
4. NEEM IN DEVELOPMENT-COOPERATION PROJECTS
In response to the second drought in 1983-1985, NGO “Agency to Facilitate the Growth of
Rural Organisations” – AFGRO investigated (with the assistance of University of Minnesota
and USAID) the efficacy of neem against locusts on vegetables and sorghum in the Sahelian
environment. The approach was interesting because socio-economic investigations were
accompanied by technical backstopping of students from the University of Minnesota. The
concept that “every farmer should grow and produce his own pesticide” was investigated.
Direction de Protection des Végétaux
Based on the experience of AFGRO in the 1980s, the Direction de Protection des Végétaux
implemented micro (small)-scale production of neem oil processing and neem powder production
among farmers to protect stored food (beans).
Neem (forestry) Project
Following the AFGRO study, a “Neem (forestry) project” was carried out in 1989 - 1990 assisted
by the Netherlands, with the aim of assessing the potential of different areas for neem
production and for processing neem in Niger on a large scale. The investigations included
such topics as the relationship between stem diameter and quantity of fruits produced per
tree.
Plant Protection Project GTZ
Time frame: 1988-1991
Key activities with neem: The use of neem in Niger as home-made extracts was promoted
and comprehensively investigated as part of this project with assistance of the supraregional
neem project. The pesticidal effects of neem kernel water extracts (NKWE) and
water extracts from neem leaves on the major pests of vegetables (tomato, cowpea and
amaranth) in Niger were tested in field trials. In addition a questionnaire and other
investigations into the labour required to produce the NKWE were carried out, and some of
the few economical analysis on this form of plant protection were performed by this project.
The studies clearly showed that the labour required for harvesting, collecting, preparing and
storing seeds makes up 66-87% of the costs of preparing the NKWE.
AGRHYMET/Pesticide Service Project
In 1997 the Pesticide Service Project, in co-operation with Agrhymet, held a seminar on
plants with insecticidal properties (Baumgard 1996). It covered not only neem’s potential for
plant protection, but also other promising local plants.
GTZ assisted to produce a book based on this seminar in co-operation with Agrhymet to be
published in French and distributed by CTA.
81