Managing biomass in semi-arid Burkina Faso: Strategies and levers for better crop and livestock production in contrasted farm systems

Assogba, Gildas Geraud Comlan; Adam, Myriam; Berre, David; Descheemaeker, Katrien

doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2022.103458

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…Our findings are similar to a report by the Oakland Institute and Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa [52] that established that compost increased maize yields by 45%. Compost and mulch (crop residues) also enhance moisture retention, thus increasing yields [53,54]. However, the main challenge of mulch is the livestock-crop conflict, where the residues are used as animal feeds [55].…”

Section: Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Agricultural Projects in Building Sustainable and Resilient Maize Value Chain in Burkina Faso

Sithole,

Ng’ombe,

Musafiri

et al. 2023

Sustainability

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Poor seed quality and climate change significantly affect the maize value chain in Burkina Faso. To address the challenges, a catalytic project titled “Strengthening resilient seed systems in the maize value chain in Burkina Faso—from research to markets” was initiated to enhance the development of a resilient maize value chain. This study aims to assess the role of the project in developing a sustainable and resilient maize value chain. In this study, we used a mixed approach in design and implementation: qualitative research using key informants’ interviews, secondary data such as baseline survey reports, and lessons learned during the seed value chain greening intervention implemented in the Hauts-Bassins and Cascades regions of Burkina Faso. We analyzed qualitative data following the Gioia method. Kabako, a drought-tolerant hybrid seed variety, doubled crop yields in demonstration plots compared to smallholder farms and regional and national averages. Extension officers and village-based advisors (VBAs) were trained on improved seeds, composting, strip cropping, intercropping, crop rotation, and water management technologies and afterward trained smallholders. The VBAs trained smallholders on proper postharvest management practices and processing. The off-takers acted as the market. However, smallholders also sold their maize products in the informal open markets. The aggregator system was the missing link in Burkina Faso’s maize value chain. There was limited involvement of women in the project. Results obtained from this study are valuable for policymakers and value chain actors in preparing policies and filling missing gaps for exploiting the potential of the maize value chain.

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Section: Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Agricultural Projects in Building Sustainable and Resilient Maize Value Chain in Burkina Faso

Sithole,

Ng’ombe,

Musafiri

et al. 2023

Sustainability

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“…Moreover, fine-tuning cereal field management showed increased yields after augmenting fertiliser rates and adapting the variety in relation to the planting date Freduah et al, 2019;Adam et al, 2020), and in certain circumstances lowered the risk of yield loss (Huet et al, 2022). Overall, technological options contribute to eliminating poverty when aligned with farmers' priorities and context (Ollenburger, 2019;Ollenburger et al, 2019), but by themselves, technological options are insufficient for farmers in southern Mali to escape poverty (Falconnier et al, 2018) indicating an additional need for off-farm employment and market opportunities (Assogba et al, 2022). This stresses the importance of aligning SI options with farmers' decision-making processes and understanding where farmers are most willing to invest their limited resources, in order for the technology to reach its best potential.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Not wrapped up in cotton wool : how risk influences farming in southern Mali

Huet

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West African farmers are exposed to a variety of risks, including climate variability. Moreover, trends of population growth, declining natural resources and climate change increase the probability of hazards and extreme events. In this environments, farmers are often struggling to be food selfsufficient or escape poverty. We focused on the area of Koutiala, southern Mali, as an illustrative region for the challenging farming conditions in West Africa.The aim of this thesis was to understand farmers' strategies to cope within a variable and hazardous environment. A parallel objective was to analyse which sustainable intensification options could increase productivity and/or reduce risks within the socio-economic and biophysical context. Risk was defined as the combination of the probability of a hazard taking place and the impact this induces. To analyse risk perception and suitability of on-farm options several data sources were combined: responses from individual surveys and focus group discussions, outputs from crop model simulations, long-term weather data and evaluations of trials and try-out fields embedded within a long-term participatory process.Risks related to health of family members were perceived as the highest, followed by risks related to health of livestock. Farmers managed those risks by maintaining flexibility and diversity in the farm management which allowed them to limit the impact and react quickly when hazards happened.Farmers overcame losses by relying on social interactions and using productive assets, e.g. selling cattle. Hence, they lost capital. Within households, differences in risk perception were related to decision-power, not to gender. Between farms, risk perception was related to resource endowment to a limited extent. The frequency and impact on yield of some hazards were quantified using crop simulation data. Weather hazards occurred at least every five years and reduced cereal yields. The impact of hazards on cereal yields (maize, sorghum, millet) interacted with the cereal management (early sowing, increasing N fertilisation and/or introducing a short duration variety). Increasing maize yields through management did not affect relative yield losses in case of hazards. Adapted millet management caused a trade-off between yield and hazard impact. Adapted sorghum management increased yield and mitigated hazard impacts simultaneously. Further, I demonstrated that on-farm diversification of crop land allocation had the potential to increase stability. The combination of cotton and a cereal had a relatively strong stabilisation benefit, as cotton and the cereals responded differently to weather. While the majority of diversification strategies enabled farmers to meet the food sufficiency requirements, farmers had to target combinations with a high mean return and large variability in order to surpass the poverty line. Within this environment, an iterative and participatory co-learning cycle facilitated a learning environment for researchers and farmers. This process yielded a diver...

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Farm typologies for understanding farm systems and improving agricultural policy

Huber,

Bartkowski,

Brown

et al. 2024

Agricultural Systems

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Managing biomass in semi-arid Burkina Faso: Strategies and levers for better crop and livestock production in contrasted farm systems

Cited by 5 publications

References 62 publications

The Role of Agricultural Projects in Building Sustainable and Resilient Maize Value Chain in Burkina Faso

The Role of Agricultural Projects in Building Sustainable and Resilient Maize Value Chain in Burkina Faso

Not wrapped up in cotton wool : how risk influences farming in southern Mali

Farm typologies for understanding farm systems and improving agricultural policy

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