Evaluation of the Indigenous Use of the Weed Sida cordifolia L. in the Sahelian Zone of West Africa

Abstract

Most farmers in Niger live below the poverty line and require low-capital intensification to improve agricultural production. The purpose of this study was to evaluate local knowledge on less beneficial weed for future use in managing the soil fertility of the Sahel region. Sida cordifolia was utilized in a scientific procedure to verify how local farmers utilize this species and the nature of the important roles behind this wild plant in terms of soil fertility management. The results of a questionnaire showed that S. cordifolia was less frequently used than other wild plants found in the same area, but that local farmers recognized this plant as one of the indicators of soil fertility in millet fields. The results of soil analysis also revealed a significant coefficient of variance in certain parameters such as total acidity and aluminum saturation of the soil, while multiple regression analysis showed the high influence of total acidity and soil pH on plant height and dry matter weight, respectively. These results indicate that the significant difference in plant growth of S. cordifolia was mainly due to soil acidity rather than soil fertility. The application of organic matter is one effective approach to resolve this problem and it was shown that the poor growth of S. cordifolia is a particularly useful marker to identify patches where organic matter should be applied. Despite its simplicity, this technique is considered particularly beneficial to allocate limited resources efficiently for sustainable, improved production.

Precision Agriculture for Resource Use Efficiency in Smallholder Farming Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review

“…Although in most parts of SSA smallholder farmers lack access to the more sophisticated tools for site-specific crop management, some of them use indigenous knowledge to identify variations within their farms. Although this is a rudimentary way to identify soil fertility variations within the farms, it is useful in efficient use of the limited resources to improve crop production [56]. Unfortunately, government nutrient recommendations in most of these SSA countries have also not helped much in recognizing the spatial distribution of soil nutrients.…”

“…In Nigeria, geo-statistical mapping tools have been used to measure nutrient variability in yam based cropping system among smallholder farms [55] for site-specific fertilizer recommendations. Some farmers in the Sahelian Zone of West Africa use local knowledge to identify fertility variations within the farms [56] while those in Niger define soil types based on location, perceived quality and its relationship with the ecological structure [57], which is a low cost technique to allocate scarce resources amongst smallholder farmers. A study by Barrios [58] on the integration of local and technical knowledge on the identification and classification of soil quality indicators conducted in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania provides a useful methodology for soil fertility monitoring among smallholder farmers to guide soil fertility management.…”

“…Identified differences in fertilizer requirements on different patches of the field [54] Indigenous knowledge combined with gamma ray spectrometry and high resolution satellite images Development of knowledge-based extension support [56][57][58]67] EcoCrop model-Digital soil maps Land suitability for specific crops Able to identify areas suitable for specific crops such as common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris)…”