[PhD student] Lucien Imorou: Territorial approach to pest management to reduce the use of insecticides in cotton growing in Benin

ATerritorial approach to pest management to reduce the use of insecticides in cotton growing in Benin

My name is Lucien IMOROU, and I'm a PhD student at CIRAD's UR-AïDA (Agroecology and sustainable intensification of annual crops) in Montpellier.
I am an agricultural engineer by training (University of Parakou, Benin), with a Diplôme d'Etudes Approfondies (DEA) in Plant Genetic Resources and Crop Protection (University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin), which I followed up with a Master's degree in Integrated Crop Protection (Nazi Boni University, Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso). As a research assistant at the Centre de Recherches Coton et Fibre (CRA-CF), I'm passionate about crop protection.
After working as a field engineer on the "Transition Agro-écologique dans les Zones Cotonnières du Bénin (TAZCO)" project, I became interested in agro-ecology and wanted to continue in this field through the agro-ecological management of cotton plant pests.
I chose a thesis topic applied to crop protection, both because it corresponded to my DEA and Master's studies, but also because I wanted to contribute to reducing the use of synthetic chemical molecules used by farmers in cotton growing.

• Starting date: 2nd October 2020
• University : L’Institut Agro 
• PhD school: GAIA – Biodiversité, Agriculture, Alimentation, Environnement, Terre, Eau
• Scientific field: Agronomy
• Thesis management: Thierry Brevault, CIRAD
• Thesis supervisors: Armand PARAISO, Université de Parakou, Balarabe Oumarou, CIRAD, Bonni Gustave, INRAB, Naudin Krishna, CIRAD
• Funding: Projet TAZCO/CIRAD
• #DigitAg :  Labeled thesis –  Axe 6 : Modélisation et simulation (systèmes de production agricole), Challenge 1 : Le challenge agroécologique

Keywords: Agroecology, Modeling, Pests, Cotton

Résumé : Benin, like many West African countries, has an economy mainly based on agriculture. In this sector represents the main export crop of the country. However, this culture encounters enormous difficulties which mean that cotton farmers are not remunerated for the efforts made. Among these difficulties is parasitism. To resolve this situation, a chemical control program has been developed and popularized. Thi was the source of various environmental (water pollution) and social (food poisoning) problems and the appearance of generations of resistant insects. This thesis aims to develop to develop, with the actors of the territories concerned, multi-scale strategies of agroecological management of cotton pests, by the development of space and agricultural practices. The approach of Bonni et al. (2018) and Sané et al. (2018) will be mobilized to follow pest populations and to assess their pressure on a terroir. Multi-agent modeling implemented with the NetLogo platform will be used to identify innovative agroecological options for pest control. Finally, a post-ante evaluation will be carried out on a regional scale of agroecological practices on the pressure and behavior of the main pests in order to identify the most effective in control. At the end of this thesis, i) the proposal of innovative agroecological practices for the control of cotton pests and soil recycling is expected ii) the profitability of agroecological practices in the fight against cotton pests.

Contact : limorou2209 [AT] gmail.com

Social networks: ResearchGate