Benin/Knowledge and innovations for a sustainable development: Bopa crossroads of researchers from Africa and Europe
A scientific fair was held from 28 to 30 September in Bopa, on the theme: "Knowledge and innovations for sustainable development" with the support of the Swiss program R4d. During this event dedicated to the West African sub-region, the city became the crossroads for researchers from a dozen African and European countries to exhibit and exchange the results of their work.
About sixty stands were made available to the researchers to present to the populations of Bopa and its surroundings innovative solutions that can be implemented immediately. These included techniques for processing certain agricultural products, improvements to the system for purifying pollutants emerging from hospital wastewater and the qualitative production of eggs from local hens. Also, solutions were proposed for a better management of conflicts between farmers and breeders and those related to land. Bopa, which is mainly populated by fishermen, has also been given a modern device for smoking and drying fish, which, it is said, no longer makes consumers sick. Among other studies to understand certain crises that are shaking Africa, there were those entitled "Obstacles to the development of youth entrepreneurship in Togo" and "Ethnic mobilization and social conflicts in Côte d'Ivoire".
These are all research results that deserved visibility before the end of the R4d program, which supported the researchers. "After working in our laboratories, it is time to give visibility," confirms the chairman of the local organizing committee of the science fair, Professor Guy Apollinaire Mensah. For him, it is an activity that aims to convince that "research is at the service of development".
"We have worked in all areas, scientific, technical, cultural, sociological, anthropological and sustainable development," says the academic. But beyond the exhibition of the products of their research, the objective is to facilitate face-to-face exchanges between researchers from more than twelve African and European countries on the one hand, and to establish networks between them on the other.But beyond the exhibition of the products of their research, the objective is to facilitate face-to-face exchanges between researchers from more than twelve countries in Africa and Europe on the one hand and to establish partnership networks with other stakeholders such as individuals, professional groups or companies interested in the products exhibited on the other hand. Product documents are also available on digital platforms.
Facilitating access to innovative solutions for sustainable development seems to be the credo of the R4d programme. Its coordinator Claudia Zingerli stressed at the launch of the fair that "Cross-border, cross-sectoral, cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary collaboration is essential to end poverty and then protect the planet and ensure the well-being of all. The R4d programme, she insists, aims to mobilize the scientific community to support this global endeavour through their knowledge, curiosity, creativity, method and independence. For her, "researchers are essential partners in identifying the causes of poverty and inequality and in developing innovative, replicable and shared approaches and solutions". The R4d program is a major networking program that has funded more than 57 research projects, including 13 transformative and accelerating projects that have been implemented. For these projects, Ms. Zingerli said, there are validation tests and all the technical and communication supports to facilitate the exploitation of results at all levels, namely local, national and international. The mayor of Bopa welcomed this approach and called on the population to take advantage of the products made available.
Benin, a good place
Benin and even less the town of Bopa were not eligible to host this international meeting of researchers and stakeholders in the scientific world. But things turned in their favor because of the diktat of the Covid-19 pandemic. Faced with this situation, it was necessary to find an alternative that Dr Gilles Nago reveals on behalf of the organizing committee: "It so happens that given the Covid-19 pandemic we could not meet in large numbers in Switzerland to carry out this meeting, that is why the meetings will be done in sub-groups in several sub-regions". And to confirm that it is the meeting of the sub-group of the West African region that Benin hosted. "We thought that Benin is a good place"
supports the coordinator of the R4d program, Claudia Zingerli. Regarding the need to hold this fair, Dr. Nago explains that it lies in the desire to take stock of what has been done for six years that the Swiss Cooperation finances a number of research projects in the West African region. Also, the fact that the funding process of the Swiss Cooperation is coming to an end in December," Dr. Gilles Nago continued, "justifies the importance of taking stock of the funds spent as well as the results obtained in order to plan for the future after this last year of the program. The Swiss National Science Foundation and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation jointly finance the R4d program.
At the science fair, Benin participated with two projects, one on social issues and the other on poultry farming. But many other projects with satisfactory results were exposed to the public.
Source: lanation.bj
