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CUNA is now America's Credit Unions.
A stronger voice to advance the credit union industry.
CUNA filed comments with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on its request for information on data brokers. CUNA notes that the inherent sensitivity of consumer financial data highlights the need to ensure it is handled appropriately and securely.
“Credit unions utilize consumer information and third-party relationships to confirm applicants and account holders to prevent synthetic identity fraud,” the letter reads. “Information gained from third-party relationships is critical for credit unions preventing money laundering, the financing of terrorism, and carrying out bank secrecy act compliance including customer identification and beneficial ownership requirements.
“Our members’ ability to utilize consumer information to carry out these functions is essential and required by law,” it adds. “As the Bureau considers any potential rulemaking following this RFI, it must recognize the stringent regulation, supervision, and examination that governs financial institutions’ critical use of consumer data to execute core operations and member services.
The CFPB should:


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A lot of people today suffer from gambling problems. The thing with gambling problems is that it can be tricky. It can lead to financial trouble. In reality, what you can do is to first admit that you have a problem. Once you recognized that you have a gambling problem, now, you can find help. There are different ways on how you can stop yourself from gambling beyond your means. One, you can go to a professional and seek help. Here, it is possible to have some counseling. Why is counseling a good thing for someone who is having a gambling problem? A person who has a gambling problem is typically compensating about something in his or her life. There is a chance that the person is actually suffering from issues that haven’t been resolved.
Also, you can find a group that is also suffering from gambling problems. This can give you a sense of community. Here, you will understand that you are not alone in your gambling problems. You will also learn from other people’s experiences.
But of course, if you are going to gamble, there really is nothing bad about it. You just need to learn to know your limits. You have to understand when to stop.

domain: sociology


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The economics of marijuana have played a pivotal role in its evolution throughout society and throughout the story of prohibition. In fact, the economics of marijuana have been controversial over the years. It is argued that the real reason the hemp plant was prohibited to begin with was because of its economic success and the threat that this posed to other major industries. Can this really be the case? Find out in this article.
With legalization imminent all over the world, we cannot deny the economic success of the cannabis movement. Taking weed off the black market and bringing that economy back into a taxable system has numerous economic benefits to the government and the people.
In taking a journey through the economics of cannabis, we can see really how cannabis has affected the world. The point is, the issue of cannabis legalization is not just a civil rights issue. It is an economic one also, and the reality of our world is that a lot of our culture is governed by our economics.
Hemp is more economical than paper
Once a dominant crop on the American landscape, hemp was almost patriotism. The American government required that farmers grow a certain amount of hemp each year for agriculture and industrial products. In the early 20th century, all kinds of hemp products were beginning to appear on the market, even being used to make plastic. However, in the 1930s everything began to change.
The government began to misplace fears into the American people through propaganda and tax. This eventually paved the way for the prohibition of hemp. But why did they do this? One of the biggest players in this game has been the paper industry. It is well-known that hemp produces industrial products like paper more rapidly and in a much more sustainable way. Naturally, this means the supply could have been enormous, much bigger than the demand.
To add to this, the big banks in the USA were invested in the paper industry, and at the time it was booming. The economic situation of the world leads governments to side with the big banks, given that they are the managers of the economy. With all the banks investing in the paper industry and hemp being a threat to that, hemp was effectively kicked out of the picture. The evidence of the economics suggests that this is the primary reason that hemp was prohibited. It was providing the American people with a sustainable way to produce all kinds of materials, but was not coinciding with the plans of the bank.
Cannabis oil as fuel
The hemp plant was once upon a time used to make an entire vehicle by a man named Henry Ford. But in 1937 America took the step to prohibit hemp. As cars were starting to be produced in the USA, and fuels were being developed to run them on, hemp also became less popular. However, hemp did not become less popular because it is ineffective. Arguably, it was criminalized because again, it posed a threat to the fuel companies.
Now we are using fossil fuels that are polluting our environment with harsh chemicals when we burn them. Legalizing hemp for industrial purposes would effectively destroy so many industries, such as the fuel industry, the paper industry, and arguably even the current Western medicine paradigm.
How legalization affects the economy
The re-legalization of cannabis is spreading rapidly around the world. Countries in just about every continent are moving towards legalization. Portugal, the USA, Uruguay, and other European countries have already taken the step forward in legalizing marijuana and other drugs.
Since its legalization in the USA, cannabis has added almost $17 million to the economy in profits. This is purely through the sale of medical and recreational cannabis. New measures are currently in the process of legalizing state-approved industrial hemp plantations. Economists are in the process of estimating exactly how this is going to affect the economy, because it will not take long for industries to take advantage of all of the benefits of hemp.
The way that legalization affects the economy, especially in the USA (this is where the largest black market exists), is that it takes the money out of the black market and puts it back into the economy. Criminalizing weed apparently never stopped people from using i. It is wonderful to see governments recognizing that this is something they can take advantage of. Until now, cannabis use has effectively cost the world money because of the amount of people who are in prison as a result of using it. Legalization puts all the money that is invested into weed back into the community and outside the hands of drug cartels.
Money makes the world go ’round
When we look at the evidence, there is no way we can deny how much the economics of cannabis has played a role in its uses and in its prohibition. To governments, money is of the highest importance and the highest priority. They are always looking for ways to make peace with the biggest money-makers of the country.
Legalizing hemp could effectively put governments around the world on the same side as the most profitable industrial and medicinal plant. The economic sustainability of cannabis is arguably the reason for its prohibition. Ironically, it also seems to be the reason for its return into Western society.

domain: agronomy


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On October 11, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) forwarded a regulatory framework to secure crypto novelties. The new regulation is geared toward safeguarding the latest digital assets’ inventions. FSB is charged with watching and endorsing structures for the financial system worldwide.
FSB Draws Out A Regulatory Structure To Fortify Crypto
The crypto industry is a pendulum of uncertainties. There are more risks associated with it than there are sureties. Due to this, naive individuals tend to fall victim to the downsides embedded therein.
So, financial bodies are drafting solutions to rein in the prevalence of such occurrences. The latest is the new bill proposed by the Financial Stability Board. Essentially, this law seeks to curb the increasing threats within the crypto industry.
According to the FSB, digital assets legislation should be inclusive across all regions. Further, these laws must corroborate to avoid inconsistencies. Most importantly, they must safeguard initiatives driven by space.
In addition, the agency said the laws must push the development of sectorial technology. Also, it should imitate a similar structure as the traditional financial system.
Furthermore, FSB proposed controlling stablecoins. However, this is due to the downfall of the Terra Foundation earlier in June. According to the guidance, stablecoin providers should prop their creations to avoid flunking.
FSB’s regulation stated that depending on arbitrages and algorithms is not a standard measure for stability. However, stablecoins like UST now USTC would have abided by the agency’s framework.
On December 15, the public will express their views of the regulations via a poll. FBS stated that this would aid increase public support. Also, with this, they can achieve firmness of legislation.
Markets Demand Effective Regulatory Oversight
Meanwhile, following the bear market situation, investors demanded new regulations to protect their investments. To this end, the FSB continues advancing its establishment of worldwide rules. Also, it beckoned other regions to support its proposal.
Finbold reported that these legislations are necessary because cryptocurrencies are unreliable. It added that it is not a worthwhile store of wealth. As a result, it requires the establishment of guiding principles to control potential risks.
Several regions are showing their hands in writing several bills. The United States and the European Union are leading entities on the mission. Not long ago, the EU established the Market in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation.
This legislation is geared toward classifying assets according to the model they represent. It tells if a cryptocurrency asset is a commodity or a security. Under this, there are also four categories of assets.
Its comprehensive nature makes it possible to impact the entire crypto market. Part of its goal is to block avenues for money laundering via digital assets. Also, it is looking to improve consumer protection for users.
Stablecoin is also in its range of focus. The EBA is commissioned to look after that aspect of the legislation.
Regulations are essential to limit the risks and uncertainties pervading the crypto industry.

domain: news


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Adult chat powered by phpbb
Maybe there is a single cell inside an organism that is unchanged,but the rest of the cells are changing.
We say then that this organism has a dead cell.,but the organism as a whole is alive.
When somebody is studying the phenomenon of viruses ,he can see that when viruses are not coming in contact with a host organism, they are a sum of chemical compounds that not fulfill the criteria to be considered as life.
While on the other hand they start reacting with a host, or in other words they start making chemical reactions with the compounds of the host,they become alive.
As a result we can say that in a theoretical basis,if an orgasism eated exactly a certain amount,quality and quantity of foods in acertain way,then it could prevent the changing of its reactions and as a result it could prevent the aging process,expanding its lifespan.
Of course this is something very difficult to happen in real life because there are numerous things that plays their role and of course things are not that simple.
Lets consider now a very simple organism that is composed from the reactions : A B--}C D--}E F…………--}Y Z.
Lets say that A and B are food supplements and Y and Z are compounds expelled from the organism.
In the same manner we can say that all living organisms are a sum of chemical reactions that start with digestion,and end with the waste products of metabolism.
The RNA World hypothesis has long stated that "life" existed before cells. Aging is a property of multicellular organisms, not unicellular ones.
In this hypothesis, "life" is a set of RNA molecules that catalyze their own synthesis. Only a FEW of the chemical reactions are changing in the cells in our bodies.
One important clue that suggests that what we said is true, is the recent discovery that living organisms that follow a calorie restricted diet,can expand their lifetime, in some cases as long as 60 per cent.
This is not a proof that what we said is true,but it is positive to find that the changing of caloric menu has as a result a change in the lifespan.

domain: chemistry


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So you need to have enable shelling out for higher education. What now?
Loans for higher education college students are the most popular form of economical aid. Sadly, financial loans are borrowed money and contrary to scholarships and grants, they require repayment with accrued fascination. The compensation (or default) of college student loans influences a persons credit rating rating, so it is important to be absolutely informed about distinctive kinds of loans and reimbursement options ahead of borrowing loans for school college students.
The 1st phase toward receiving economical support for higher education is to fill out a Absolutely free Software for Federal Scholar Assist (FAFSA) via the U.S. Office of Education and learning (U.S.D.E.). According to the U.S.D.E., the workplace of Federal Student Support plays a central and vital position in supporting post secondary training by supplying cash for college to qualified pupils and people. Filling out a FAFSA is the original move to obtain help for funding a postsecondary education.
Subsidized vs. Unsubsidized
To ascertain curiosity repayment, university student loans tumble into a single of two groups, both sponsored or unsubsidized. Sponsored loans are lent to college students on a basis of good money want, and for this explanation, the federal authorities pays any interested accumulated the financial loan though the pupil is even now in university or even though compensation is deferred for an approved cause. But learners are only dependable for having to pay any amassed curiosity on unsubsidized financial loans.
Direct vs. FFEL
Two diverse programs in the U.S. Department of Education and learning are responsible for disbursing loans to pupils.Direct Loans are element of the William D. Ford Federal Direct Financial loan System and are issued right from the U.S.D.E. so pupils repay these loans to the U.S.D.E. On the Other hand,FFEL Financial loans (Federal Family members Training Financial loan Method) are insured by the federal governing administration but disbursed as a result of a non-public financial institution. Learners repay these financial loans to the private financial institution.
Repayment of financial loans for university students varies significantly, depending on variables like the whole sum of income that a university student borrowed, the length of time the pupil was enrolled in faculty and the students earnings amount after graduation. As a general rule, college students have a grace period of time of 6 to nine months immediately after they graduate or fall down below portion-time enrollment position in advance of they must start repaying their financial loans.
Kinds of Federal Financial loans for School College students
Perkins Financial loans: these loans are lent to college students demonstrating great fiscal want. Federal Perkins Financial loans are dispersed by your university and will have to be repaid to your university within ten decades.
Stafford Financial loans: these loans are awarded on a foundation of financial need to have and could be possibly sponsored or unsubsidized. Immediate Stafford loans are disbursed to students by the U.S.D.E. and FFEL Stafford Mortgage disbursed by a private loan company, like a financial institution. Loans are repaid to their respective loan company.
PLUS Financial loans: these are loans borrowed by a students guardian or legal guardian. Plus loans can be borrowed to address any remaining tuition prices that are not lined by other financial loans. All Furthermore financial loans are unsubsidized and the borrower is dependable for spending all desire. Direct Additionally loans have a set interest amount of 8.five %, FFEL Furthermore loans 7.nine percent.
If a students federal economical support award is not sufficient to go over the charge of college or university tuition and other expenditures, financial loans are out there through a assortment of personal creditors as very well. Personal financial loans usually have bigger interest fees and considerably less versatility when it comes to reimbursement, so it truly is crucial to investigation your solutions right before borrowing-loans for higher education pupils.

domain: finance


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This article contains explicit and potentially offensive terms that are essential to reporting on this situation.
StopAntisemitism, a watchdog group founded in 2018, dubbed an assistant business professor its “Antisemite of the Week” and a “Professor of Hate” in July, citing his tweeting that “Israel and Ukraine are societal cancers and must be eradicated” and “#FreePalestine by any means necessary!!”—among other posts.
The organization, which was founded by an Instagram influencer with an M.B.A. and last year named Kanye West the “Antisemite of the Year,” wrote its own tweets about Kareem Tannous, the professor at Cabrini University, outside Philadelphia.
“They had tagged the president of the university,” Tannous said.
He said Cabrini fired him the next month as if he were an “at-will” employee, violating his contract and due process rights as a tenure-track professor. Next, Gwynedd Mercy University, also in Pennsylvania, fired him after he taught just one class, he said.
“I don’t bring this stuff up in my class,” Tannous said. “This is something I speak on my own time.”
Tannous’s lawyer says he now plans to sue Cabrini, StopAntisemitism, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia and possibly others, making legal claims including defamation, breach of contract and tortious contract interference.
Jason Holtzman, director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, which is part of the federation, said he and the federation president objected to Tannous’s tweets earlier, in a February 2022 letter to Cabrini. Holtzman noted Tannous’s tweets on Jan. 27, 2022, International Holocaust Remembrance Day—including a tweet saying, “Tired of hearing about the #holocaust when the descendants of these same people are killing my people indiscriminately.”
“It’s so egregious, it’s so far out of bounds,” said Holtzman, who also noted the Texas synagogue hostage situation that January. “We would not have sent this letter if it were simply him criticizing Israel.”
A Cabrini spokesperson said the university is “unable to comment” because “this is a personnel matter.” A Gwynedd Mercy spokesperson confirmed Tannous worked as an adjunct instructor for “a very short period of time” but said, “We are not going to comment on the specifics of a personnel matter.”
StopAntisemitism, however, said in an email Tuesday that “Tannous is an unapologetic antisemite, and StopAntisemitism applauds his firing. Tannous has employed the most vile slurs against Israel, referring to it as a ‘Zionazi’ apartheid state and a ‘societal cancer’ that must be dismantled ‘by any means necessary.’”
The group said his tweets “created a manifestly unsafe environment for Jewish students. Calling for the elimination of the world’s only Jewish state isn’t part of legitimate political discourse; it’s genocidal. In response, StopAntisemitism created a pathway for people to report Tannous’ bigotry directly to university leaders. Cabrini University listened to their voices, and we appreciate their making the right decision.”
There have been debates on college campuses, including George Washington University, about when criticism of Israel and its violence against Palestinians crosses the line into antisemitism against Jews in general. Tannous, who said he’s from a family of Christian Palestinians, said he’s not “anti-Jew.”
His Twitter usage before and after he said Cabrini fired him has included violent references and conspiratorial language.
On Saturday, he tweeted, “When peace comes we will perhaps in time be able to forgive the zionists for killing our sons, but it will be harder for us to forgive them for having forced us to kill their sons. Peace will come when the zionists will love their children more than they hate us.”
Those are altered quotes attributed to former Israeli prime minister Golda Meir, who died in 1978—they are in A Land of Our Own: An Oral Autobiography, though a Jewish Press writer has cast doubts on their authenticity.
“All I did was switch from Arab to Zionist,” Tannous said.
In April, Tannous tweeted, “And then these animals have the gall to broadcast holocaust remembrance. #zionism is the disease and #FreePalestine is the cure!”
Someone replied with this:
“This Remembrance is a damn joke, Zionists don’t even believe in Judaism. A pretext to distract the world from their actions. But their dirty house of cards will crumble. They‘ll be in mass graves insha’Allah [God willing], although not a single grave of them should remain in #Palestine.”
Tannous liked and retweeted that tweet to his followers.
“That’s very wrong, I’m sorry, that is very wrong,” Tannous said when Inside Higher Ed read to him what he had liked and retweeted. He also said Monday’s interview was the first time he had ever heard what that tweet said.
He has also repeatedly used the term “zionazi” to describe Israel and Ukraine and said Hitler was a Jew.
“CBSNews fuck you and israel the racist colonial apartheid regime,” he tweeted in May. “Hitler is a jew and made an agreement with the zionists.”
This month, he shared a Times of Israel story headlined “U.S. authorities arrest Israeli accused of defrauding $47 million from Orthodox Jews” with a tweet that just said “In their blood …”
“It was an Israeli” who allegedly defrauded, Tannous told Inside Higher Ed when asked about that tweet. He said he wasn’t referring to Orthodox Jews.
On Saturday, he shared a video of an Israel defender and wrote “Definition of the r-word”—meaning, as he acknowledged, “retard.”
“That’s what she’s acting like,” Tannous told Inside Higher Ed.
Also this month, he tweeted a video showing an animated creature looking up at the World Trade Centers, accompanied by this: “The US Government when they found a way to distract people from the trillions of dollars they mysteriously lost on September 10, 2001.”
Asked whether he believes the U.S. carried out the Sept. 11 attacks, he said, “They had a hand in it.”
“I’m a free thinker, I have a brain, I don’t just believe what NBC, CBS puts out there,” he said.
In July, in its own tweet about Tannous, StopAntisemitism tagged the university’s Twitter account and the account of Helen Drinan, who had become interim president of the financially struggling university less than two months before.
Tannous said Drinan and others brought up the tweets in a Zoom meeting they pressured him into and then fired him by sending a letter to his parents’ house.
“I’m taking about politics, the state, not the people,” Tannous said.
“She refused to read my tweets in context,” he said.
A spokesman for the American Association of University Professors said Tuesday that its Department of Academic Freedom, Tenure and Governance was unfamiliar with the situation, which The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Sunday.
“We have not been contacted by this professor and would not be able to comment until further investigation is done,” the AAUP spokesman said.
Cabrini’s Faculty Assembly chair also didn’t respond to requests for comment.


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Selecting a soap manufacturer is an important task, as your skin is depending on it. Some handmade soap makers are actually melt and also pour soap makers. They take pre-packaged thaw and put soap, location it in the microwave for a minute, add shade and scent, put into molds and also call this hand-crafted soap making.
Hand-made herbal beauty soaps has to experience the procedure of saponification in order to be real handmade soap. There are more recent warm process methods yet these are not the techniques that the finest vintage soap manufacturers make use of. If you were to see the finest castile soap makers in Europe you will find they are utilizing a method called chilly press soap making. This timeless technique that uses lye as the saponification representative makes the finest soap available today. You do not need to believe me, simply google French, Italian or greek soap and read how they make their soap. Most are extremely honored check here of this vintage tradition that they have actually kept alive all of these years.
If a melt and also pour soap manufacturer tries to terrify you by stating "our soap contains no lye", run for the hillsides. Experiment with different hand-made soap bars as well as locate out which combination functions best for your skin. We have actually discovered that any kind of soap that has just one oil is usually deficient in one or even more of the qualities that makes for a wonderful soap.
Some hand-crafted natural laundry soap makers are really thaw as well as pour soap manufacturers. They take pre-packaged thaw as well as pour soap, area it in the microwave for here a minute, add shade as well as fragrance, put right into molds and also call this handmade soap production. Hand-crafted soap should go via the procedure of saponification in order to be true hand-made soap. If you were to check out the finest castile soap manufacturers in Europe you will certainly find they are making use of a technique called cold press soap making. If a thaw as well as put soap manufacturer attempts to scare you by claiming "our soap includes no lye", run for the hillsides.


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Groundnut is a cash crop that generates income and improves the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in several developing countries. Although Senegal is one of the major producing countries, the national average grain yield remains low. A participatory rural appraisal was conducted in the Groundnut Basin of Senegal in 2015 and aimed to assess farmer perceptions of production constraints and varietal trait preferences. Ninety farmers were randomly selected in nine villages distributed across three regions of the Groundnut Basin. Data was collected through Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Semi-Structured Interviews (SSI). The results of the study indicated that seed availability was the most limiting factor in groundnut production across villages. Low soil fertility and storage insect pests were the second and third most important constraints respectively. Other constraints included limited access to land, drought, and commercialization. Among varietal traits, farmers unanimously considered pod and haulm yields as the most important. Other important traits mentioned were adaptation to drought, high pod weight, and earliness. These production constraints and varietal trait preferences should be taken into consideration when defining the groundnut product profiles of the national breeding program in order to improve productivity and increase the adoption of newly bred cultivars.
Keywords: groundnut, production constraints, farmers, trait preferences
Groundnut is one of the most important oilseed legumes grown worldwide. Asia and Africa account for more than 90% of global groundnut area and it is cultivated mostly under rainfed conditions by small-scale farmers. The African continent accounts for 31.1% of total global production (FAOSTAT, 2018). In Senegal, groundnut occupies a central role in the agricultural economy since its introduction by explorers in 1836. Historically, the Senegalese economy has relied on groundnuts, which accounts for up to 60% of GDP, 80% of export earnings, and more than half of the planted area from 1961 to 2020 (FAOSTAT, 2020). The crop was grown throughout the country, and particularly in the central area called the Groundnut Basin.
Over recent decades, the contribution of groundnut to GDP has declined. Groundnut production has been reduced due to numerous factors. These include a long drought period starting in the 1970s and continuing to the present. Added to this is poor soil fertility, climate change, a disorganized value chain, inconsistency of the various governmental and donor policies, and the low adoption of newly developed agricultural technologies. A study conducted by Faye et al. (2019) on the adoption rate of improved varieties of main crops grown in Senegal showed evidence that improved groundnut varieties are not widely adopted by farmers; the reported rate is 55%. In the same report, results also showed that the varieties that are cultivated have an average age of more than 10 years. This shows a low penetration of new varieties in the farming environment. Some authors explain this situation by an inadequate awareness, omission of farmers during the process of cultivar development, and farmers’ fear of taking risks in testing varieties that are not yet well known by the majority (Ceccarelli & Grando, 2007; Omanya et al., 2007).
Technology transfer to farmers is one of the major bottlenecks of many agricultural projects in Africa. Efforts should concentrate on improving the access to the developed innovations because technological change in agriculture is essential for reducing poverty and stimulating economic growth, particularly in low-income countries (Dhirifi, 2014). It is also important that the technologies developed and proposed consider the needs of the target users. This shortcoming has opened the way to alternative approaches for increasing the rate of technological adoption by farmers (Chambers, 1994; Duraiappah et al., 2005).
Participatory rural appraisal (PRA) is one of the most popular strategies. PRA enables local farmers to mobilize and participate in the early stages of technology development. In the particular case of plant breeding, the involvement of farmers as an integral part of the process ensures the participation of the most important stakeholders in the definition of breeding objectives and therefore influences the direction of the research. Plant breeders cannot respond to every quirk of farmers’ circumstances but the relevance of breeding research in poor nations can be improved (Haugerud & Collinson, 1990; Sattar et al., 2017). The main objective of most PRA approaches is for a better incorporation of farmers’ technical knowledge and identification of research priorities into the breeding programs to develop varieties that meet their needs (Morris & Bellon, 2004). PRA results guide the breeder to focus on farmers preferred traits while addressing the constraints prevailing in the production areas. Many studies, such as Ceccarelli and Grando (2009), reported that PRA approaches enhance the adoption of newly bred cultivars.
To date, there is scant formal documentation on the main groundnut constraints and the traits preferred by farmers in Senegal. Existing documents refer to commercialization aspects and to the diagnosis of the problems related to the whole value chain (Dia et al., 2003; Georges et al., 2016; Ndiaye, 2018; Noba et al., 2014). Agricultural extension agencies have often reported low soil fertility and drought as the major constraints to groundnut production in Senegal. However, the scientific method has not been used to ascertain groundnut production constraints and farmers’ preferred traits.
Such studies have been conducted and published in most groundnut growing countries of West Africa. In the study conducted by Coulibaly et al. (2017) concerning two main groundnut production zones in Niger, drought appeared as the major constraint affecting production, followed by low soil fertility. In Burkina Faso, besides organizational difficulties (i.e., access to credit and access to material, among others), pest attacks and drought were identified as important constraints followed by diseases (Boubacar et al., 2020). As a starting point for the breeding program in Togo, a PRA was conducted in three regions, identifying leaf spot diseases, rosette, groundnut bud necrosis, and insects, such as pod sucking bug and bruchid, as the most important constraints limiting the production (Banla et al., 2018). High pod yield is the most preferred trait in almost all reported studies. However, pod size and oil content were the second and third preferred traits in the Savanes region in Togo, and early maturing in Niger (Banla et al., 2018; Coulibaly et al., 2017).
The PRA approach has been widely used across Africa for other crops including potato, maize, cowpea, cassava, sweet potato, and pearl millet (Abakemal et al., 2013; Baafi et al., 2015; Egbadzor et al., 2013; Kanfany et al., 2020; Muhinyuza et al., 2012; Njoku et al., 2014). Those studies clearly established that constraints and the trait preferences of farmers for a given crop are location specific. Hence, plant breeders should consider both local adaptation and, when possible, adaptation to a wide range of environments when developing a new cultivar (Omanya et al., 2007). This study applies PRA to gather information and farmers’ knowledge to identify groundnut production constraints and to assess traits preferred by farmers in the Groundnut Basin of Senegal. This will serve as important background information to the breeding program and will enable the development of more popular varieties that meet farmers’ needs for wide adoption.
Materials and Methods
1. Study Areas and Sampling
The study was conducted between March and April 2015 in the Groundnut Basin located in central Senegal, where groundnut and pearl millet are the predominant crops (FAOSTAT, 2015). Three representative groundnut-growing regions of Senegal, Kaolack, Kaffrine, and Tambacounda, were purposefully selected based on the importance of groundnut in terms of production and area (Table 1). During the 2014 cropping season, these three regions accounted for 39% of the national groundnut area and over 42% of total groundnut production (FAOSTAT, 2015). With the help of the local extension officers, one department was selected in each region based on the number of farmers and farmers’ organizations in the department. Three villages were then selected in each department according to their accessibility and the importance of groundnut production.
|Regions||Cultivated area (ha)||Production (mt)||Precipitation (mm)||
Guinth Kaye, Kaymor, Porokhane
Nine study sites were considered in the study (Figure 1). The villages were located in seven rural communes: three in Kaolack, two in Kaffrine, and two in Tambacounda. A focus group discussion was held in each of the selected villages to develop a general idea of groundnut cultivation in the corresponding area. In addition, within each village, 10 farmers were randomly selected for semi-structured interviews, creating a sample of 90 producers.
2. Data Collection and Analysis
Local extension staff at the respective localities facilitated the PRA process by mobilizing farmers to participate in the focused group discussions. Both formal and informal approaches were employed to collect data for the study. The informal approach was used to generate information on farmer perceptions at the community level. The discussions involved nine focus group discussions (FGDs) with one at each village. Each focus group comprised of 10 to 17 farmers. The FGDs were standardized using a checklist of topics to be covered. The topics discussed included farm characteristics and farmers’ agronomic practices, farmers’ trait preferences for groundnut varieties, marketing of their products, and the perceived constraints affecting production.
The group discussions were followed by formal interviews using semi-structured questionnaires to explore issues that were more specific. Individual farmers were surveyed using a semi-structured questionnaire to collect information on production constraints and farmer’s preferences for varieties. This enabled each individual farmer to express their opinion independently.
Scoring and ranking techniques were used to assess farmers’ varietal trait preferences and constraints to groundnut production. Data was coded and entered in Microsoft Excel. Analysis was conducted using Statistical Package for the Social Scientists (SPSS version 19) and summarized into percentages and means. Variables were subjected to descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation, one-sample t (two-sided), and Fisher tests. R was used to draw the map showing the PRA sites.
1. Demographic and Socio-economic Characters
In the studied sites, mostly men produce groundnut. The sex ratio is 88.9% males to 11.1% females (Table 2). In our sample, 72.22% of the respondents were farmers by occupation while 27.78% had additional income-generating activities. Most of the interviewed farmers (82.23%) were uneducated. A few (8.89%) possessed a primary school certificate and 5.56% a secondary certificate. The age of respondents ranged between 35 and 60 years. The proportion of the active population that were groundnut producers was 71.11%. Most of the farmers (63%) did not have any form of support or training and only 36% of the farmers belonged to a farmers’ association.
2. Groundnut Importance and Production Level
The selected rural communes were predominantly groundnut producing areas, but other crops, like cereals, played a key role in the agricultural system. The average landholding varied from 1 to 30 ha and there was a significant difference in the importance of the crops grown in each location. A ranking of the importance of groundnut compared to other crops was completed based on the cultivated area allocated to groundnut and the production level. As expected, in almost all rural communes, groundnut occupied the largest share of land and was ranked first with an average mean rank of 1.3. In the central part of the peanut basin (Kaolack, Kaffrine) groundnut was the most important crop followed by pearl millet. Elsewhere in the eastern part of the country (Tambacounda), corn or sorghum were ranked as the second most important crop. Mean comparison of yields reveals significant differences between localities (p = 0.042). The average estimated grain yield in 2014 was 1,112 Kg ha-1. The highest estimated grain yield (1,500 Kg ha-1) was recorded in Guinth Kaye, while the lowest value 0.9 Kg ha-1 was recorded in Porokhane. Both localities are in the same region (Kaolack). A similar trend was observed for the application of fertilizer (Figure 2). On average, 116 Kg ha-1 of NPK fertilizer (6-20-10) was recorded at Guinth Kaye while 28 Kg ha-1 was recorded at Porokhane.
Member of a Farmer Organization
Occupation Other than Farming
Subsidy from the Government
Received Training in Groundnut Cultivation
3. Varieties Grown and Their Provenances
Five known and named varieties were cultivated in the surveyed zones: GH119-20, 73-33, 28-206, Fleur 11, and 55-437 (Table 3). There were differences in the most commonly planted varieties by location (Figure 3). Out of the five varieties, 73-33 was the most cultivated and was ranked first in almost all rural communes except in Guinth Kaye, Porokhane, and to some extend Kaymor, where either 28-206 or GH119-20 were more commonly cultivated.
|Released Year||Pod Yield (t/ha)||Haulm Yield (t/ha)||Cycle (Days)||100 Seed Weight (g)||Seed Size||Main Use|
The variety 73-33 was the most grown across all the studied sites. The 28-206 was specific in Guinth Kaye and Porokhane and the variety GH119-20 was present in Kaymor. Fleur 11 was not very popular in Kaffrine (Kahi and Kathiot). A small portion of respondents (2%) did not have any idea about the type of variety they grew. Most farmers (83%) recycled seed by keeping a portion of the previous harvest. Only 20% obtained government-subsidized seeds or procured them from the local market. It was only in Koussanar, a rural commune of Tambacounda, where farmers were organized in a cooperative and multiplied their seed for the next coming growing season.
4. Trait Preferences
The mean rankings of farmer-preferred traits for groundnut varieties are presented in Figure 4. Characteristics with the smallest mean rank (1) are perceived to be the most important and the highest value (5) is considered as less important. Except for tolerance to biotic stresses (P = 0.007), where a significant difference was observed between rural communes, traits were ranked similarly by farmers interviewed in the study zones. Most of the farmers identified haulm yield as the second most important characteristic after pod yield, except in Koussanar where good pod filling was ranked highest. The same locality identified erect plant stature as an important groundnut characteristic for variety adoption. High seed weight is also a preferred feature for groundnut growers in Kahi, Kathio, Kaymor, and Makacolibatang. Other important traits mentioned were adaptation to abiotic stresses such as short cycle and tolerance to drought. Tolerance to biotic constraints like resistance to leaf diseases is desired in groundnut variety. In general, farmers from the different sites did not consider good taste as an important trait for groundnut variety.
5. Production Constraints
Prioritization of the constraints was based on the mean ranking given by farmers. These constraints were identified and listed during the focus group discussions. Each interviewed farmer further ranked them (Table 4). Characteristics with the lowest mean rank are classified as the most important. The most important constraints mentioned by farmers across sites were seed availability, land degradation, insects at storage, and land availability. Drought was ranked fifth, with a significant difference between sites. Marketing and leaf diseases were ranked sixth and seventh respectively with substantial differences in farmers’ responses in ranking marketing. These constraints were common to groundnut growing areas but the order varied from site to site. Insects, mainly pod-sucking bugs (Pentatomidae and Lygaeidae) and groundnut bruchid (Bruchidae), were considered the most common constraint to groundnut storage and were ranked as the most important in Kathiot alongside leaf diseases. Lack of tools was ranked in Koussanar, Kaymor, and Kathiot as an important constraint. Regarding drought, there was a noteworthy difference between respondents in their respective studied areas. More than half of the respondents (58%) did not classify drought as a major constraint to groundnut cultivation, while the remaining participants (42%) said the opposite. The damages were not so important and drought at the vegetative stage of the life cycle was more frequent. However, terminal drought caused more damage when it happened.
|Lack of tools||5||3||2||2.4||1.67||2.5||2||2.58||0.047*||8|
Note. Characteristic with the smallest mean value is perceived to be the most important. *Significant at 0.05
The presence of women farmers (11.1%) in this study was very low and reflects their limited access to land. One major consideration of this situation is socio-cultural. In Senegal, land acquisition is through inheritance from father to son. Another aspect that contributes strongly to this imbalance is the status of the family chief, typically conferred to the man who theoretically is in charge of the family’s daily expenses. The limited involvement of women in groundnut cultivation has also been reported in other countries of West Africa (Banla et al., 2018; Oppong-Sekyere et al., 2015). Women do not own land, but they are involved in the cultivation. Arable land access is a real problem for women in West Africa, particularly in Senegal. PRA conducted on sorghum and pearl millet reported limited access to land by women, justifying their low involvement in the production (Kanfany et al., 2020). Conversely, in Burkina Faso, Sinare et al. (2021) highlighted the large involvement of women (more than 50%) in groundnut cultivation despite their limited and unequitable access to production resources. A similar situation was reported in Tanzania where men and women were equally involved in groundnut production (Daudi et al., 2018). Women’s engagement in groundnut cultivation is socio-culturally specific.
Because the constraints listed by the farmers in the studied sites involve different actors of the value chain, we classified them into two categories. The first group included seeds availability, land availability, and commercialization. The second group encompassed low soil fertility, insects at storage, drought, and leaf diseases. The consistency of ranking the first group of constraints over the communities suggests that these are major constraints affecting groundnut production in the Groundnut Basin. These difficulties are similar in that the government and the private sector plays a greater role than research in helping farmers solve these problems. However, it is important to underscore the efforts made by the government to reorganize and make the groundnut sector more efficient. The most recent is the Program for Accelerated Pace of Agriculture (PRACAS) with a seed capital reconstitution program of 3.5 billion CFA. This program aims to provide producers with a quantity of quality seeds. These efforts are beneficial, but it is more than important to put in place a system or tool to estimate the needs and consequently establish a production plan of the first generations in terms of seed multiplication (G1, G2, and G3). The traceability of the subsequent levels (G4, R1, and R2) allows one to know in real-time who has which variety, what level, where, and when the product will be available. The answers to these different questions will help resolve in part the availability of seeds, one of the major constraints.
In the second group, low soil fertility, insects at storage, and drought were identified as major constraints limiting the production, followed by leaf diseases. This finding confirms the deteriorating state of soil fertility in Senegal reported earlier by previous studies conducted in the same regions (Kanfany et al., 2020). Senegal falls in the Sahelian zone and is subjected to different scenarios of drought characterized by unequal distribution of rainfall in both time and space. Consequently, the production of many crops is threatened yearly by the interannual and across location rainfall variability. Almost all West African countries identified drought as a major constraint to groundnut production (Banla et al., 2018; Coulibaly et al., 2017; Oppong-Sekyere et al., 2015 ; Ntare et al., 2008). In the present study, drought is perceived to be more important in the eastern part of the Groundnut Basin in the Tambacounda region (annual average rainfall 800 mm) than in the central zone (average annual rainfall between 500–600 mm). This paradoxical situation could results from the rainfall distribution and the type of cultivated varieties. In fact, 73-33, a long cycle variety (110 days), was the most cultivated in the eastern zone; in the central areas a mix of medium and short cycle varieties was grown (55-437 and Fleur 11, 90 days). The most drastic years in groundnut cultivation in Senegal were 2002 and 2011, due to low and erratic rainfall patterns. The impact of such events is not only extremely damaging, but also lasting. Farmers revealed that the rainy seasons become shorter from year to year. Therefore, short cycle varieties are wanted. However, it is important to report that during FGD, farmers in the studied areas did not want extra-early maturing varieties because such varieties might be the first to mature in an area and therefore might suffer from too much rainfall and from livestock damage. They need groundnut varieties that can mature early and escape the drought before it sets in. Drought tolerance was unevenly ranked for any given site, showing that they depended greatly on specific localities. Therefore, the development of varieties better adapted to drought becomes an important breeding objective for each specific location.
In Kathiot and Kaymor (Nioro zone), leaf diseases were the major constraint that affected groundnut production; in other localities, leaf diseases were not perceived by farmers as important. The traditional measure taken by farmers to deal with leaf diseases and soil borne diseases in the study areas was crop rotation. Primarily, groundnut is cultivated in rotation with pearl millet in most of the studied zones or with other cereal species such as sorghum, maize, rice, and fonio. Crop rotation plays an important role in groundnut management. It is known that crop rotation is beneficial to restore soil fertility, as well as to prevent crop pests and soil borne diseases. According to farmers, crop rotation is a good strategy that can restore soil fertility and avoid severe leaf diseases. These results indicated that breeding for improved drought tolerance and leaf disease resistance should constitute major breeding objectives to ensure high yield and varietal acceptance by farmers in specific zones.
High pod yield is the most preferred trait reported in most studies conducted on groundnut across Africa (Banla et al., 2018; Coulibaly et al., 2017; Ntare et al., 2008; Oppong-Sekyere et al., 2015). Contrary to the findings reported by Banla et al. (2018) in Togo, where pod size and oil content followed high pod yield as the most important traits, in the present study, high biomass yield was ranked as the second preferred trait in all study areas. This is attributed to the high feeding values of groundnut haulm to animals and the Sahelian context of Senegal. Hence, breeding for dual purposes, high pod and biomass become essential for variety adoption. Farmers gave much importance to seed and pod size in the study and correlated big pod size to high pod yield. However, scientific studies have shown that there is no correlation between pod yield and morphometric characteristics in the Sahel (Foncéka et al., 2012). Another important consideration for farmers is the attractiveness and the marketability side of large pods and seeds. The fact that groundnut is a cash crop could justify why farmers paid much attention to pod and seed size. These findings corroborate the importance of large pods and seeds reported in West African countries, especially in Togo, Burkina, and Ghana (Banla et al., 2018; Sinare et al., 2021. In the past, groundnut was initially cultivated for its oil correlated to maturity. Oil content and good taste received little attention at the farmers’ level in the present study. This result could differ if the survey had considered the perspectives of industrial processors and end-users. These suggest that in the selection process for new improved varieties, yield and yield-related traits must constitute the primary selection criteria for a new improved variety to be accepted by farmers. The agreement between farmers and breeders in some of the criteria used for selecting groundnut varieties suggests the need for collaborative work to improve the efficiency of selection.
In view of the results, it appears that breeding efforts should focus on developing high yielding (pod and biomass) and early-maturing varieties that will minimize crop loss through drought escape. To increase adoption and meet farmers’ needs in the Groundnut Basin of Senegal, groundnut breeders should take into consideration the varietal preferences identified. The soil degradation identified by farmers as a major constraint lays down a multidisciplinary research approach based on innovative practices to limit and prevent soil degradation. The findings also call out the government and the private sector on land issues, access to equipment, seed availability, and commercialization, all identified as major constraints to increasing groundnut productivity.
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