The view from my hotel room of Ouagadougou (WAH-gah-DOO-goo) the capital of Burkina Faso. Reminded me of Accra, except flatter and the food is better. A word to the wise: stay away from the Bleu Cheese.

The good folks at Purdue University are working on a four-stage protocol to protect cow peas (we’d call them black-eyed peas) from Maruca vitrata, a moth that destroys this crucial crop. 85% of the world’s cow peas are produced in West Africa.