UN Division for Sustainable Development

Case Study Detail Record

Organization type:	Government

Name of Ministry/Agency:	Government of Burkina Faso, Canadian International Development Research

Country:	Burkina Faso

Name of Focal Point:	Jean Sibiri Zoundi, jeanssibiri_zoundi@yahoo.fr, Robert Zougmoré, robert.zougmore@messrs.gov.bf

Initiative Title:	Integrated crop-livestock farming system, Burkina Faso

Internet links:	http://\\faoext06\FTP_Waicent\SD\SDA\SDAR\sard\English GP\EN GP Africa\crop-livestock_Burkina_Faso.pdf

Scope:	Regional: - Africa

Status:	Ongoing

Timeframe:	Start: End:

Lead Institution:	Government of Burkina Faso, and International fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

Stakeholders/Partners:	Donors - Government of Burkina Faso, Canadian International Development Research Center (IDRC) and International fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Government Institution: Natural Resource Management and Production System Department (INERA) IGO: International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) NGOs: Canadian International Development Research Center (IDRC)

Relevent issues:	- Food security and sustainable agriculture - Enhancing agricultural productivity through adequate and sustainable inputs - Diversifying agricultural production systems - Water management in agriculture - Capacity building - Empowerment of local rural communities - Natural resources management - Soil fertility improvement practices - Capacity building - Technology transfer - Strategies for effective resource management - Capacity-building for local governments and communities - Poverty eradication - Protecting and managing the natural resource base of economic, social development - Sustainable development for Africa - Education

Objectives/Challenges:

• Participation and collaboration between local farmers and IFAD project.
• Project research activities based on farmers’ demand, adapted to local conditions and managed by producers.
• Participatory technology development implementation and evaluation.
• Farmer’s were connected with the local and national markets providing a greater incentive to invest in this good practice for additional income generation and food security achievement.

No adverse environment effects, preventing erosion and improving soil fertility.
Address farmer needs, priorities and management.
Generate incomes with acceptable limit of risk.

Farmer’s capacity for adoption of the technology
Institutional support and outreach
Ownership by end users

Problems remaining to be resolved - Soil and water management techniques require public investment to cover the costs of stone transport and equipment and to strengthen farmers’ capacities in implementing the soil and water management techniques (zai and half-moon). Furthermore, strong farmer organizations are required to deal with human labour mobilization, organization of off farm input supply and market access.

Lessons Learned:

Impacts on natural resource base - Building of stone rows has not only helped in controlling runoff and soil erosion but has also conserved moisture. The crops and residues produced were mostly recycled as livestock feed. The animal manure produced was used for soil enrichment in zai and half-moon methods.

Impacts on livelihood of the practice users - Actual: Investigations in the area indicate that the sheep fattening system had an impact on mixed crop-livestock farms in terms of increased income and improved food security. Economical analysis showed that farms engaged in sheep fattening with 5 rams during a good rainy season and 11 rams in a dry or bad rainy season can generate sufficient income levels to purchase an extra 585 kg of cereals/year and 1426 kg of cereals/year respectively to fatten more sheep whilst also generating a profit. Moreover, fattening 11 rams allows production of compost manure for an additional 4.31 ha compared to traditional practice.

Expected: The role of livestock in the mixed farming system as a source of organic manure can encourage other farmers to diversify farming practices. Greater awareness among local farmers of the importance of land conservation.

Other impacts - The crop yield in areas with the stone walls has increased two to three times more than the crops in control plots. Similarly, the application of compost or animal manure in combination with stone rows has increased sorghum grain yield by 180%. Experiments also indicate that the application of compost or animal manure with or without phosphorous fertilizer, allowed yield from 600-1600kg/ha of sorghum grain, which is 24-39 times the yield obtained in the half-moon treatment without any amendment. Field experiments indicate that merely breaking the hard soil surface crust to ensure better water infiltration without adding any organic manure or compost did not improve yields. This indicated the importance of soil nutrients provided in manure and mulching for essential crop growth.

Policy Options:

Farmers developed Zai and Half-Moon techniques - complex systems of concentrating runoff water and organic matter in basins dug in the dry season. Zai is a small planting pit 20-40 cm wide and 10-15 cm deep dug in large numbers. A handful (0.3 kg) of animal manure/compost is added in each pit to supply plant nutrients to the seeds, thus collecting the runoff and controlling soil nutrients lost in water flow. Nutrients released by biodegradation of manure or compost benefit the seeds. Half-moon is also a runoff water collection technique, mainly used on gentle slopes (<3%). Each half-moon is dug with a hoe or a pick so as to break the crusted layer on the soil surface and to collect the water. In each, the cultivated area is usually 6.3m2. Compost/animal manure are added (35 kg per half-moon equivalent to 14.6 t/ha.) Zai and half-moon techniques require a lot of human labour.

To conserve moisture/increase water infiltration, cereal straw/ tree leaves are used as mulch. This triggers termite activity on crusted and bare soil within a few months which changes the soil structure, increasing its porosity, water infiltration and water availability. Termites help speed up decomposition of mulch material releasing nutrients in the soil, creating favourable conditions for crop growth and vegetation on previously degraded soils. Some farmers use a mix of technologies on the same plot for quicker rehabilitation of degraded bare soil.

Sheep fattening was also carried out using local feed. Rations are 70-80% locally produced/collected feeds such as crop residues (sorghum straw, cowpea or groundnut haulms), cereal bran, natural pasture hay, cowpea husks, tree fodders and 20-30% ooff-farm feeds such as cotton seed cake. This helps nutrients recycling. Production of animal manure during the operation is important for soil and water management techniques (zai and half-moon). The fattening operation is normally done during the dry season, for 3-4 months.

Summary:

The northern region of Burkina Faso is characterized by a moist semi-arid climate. The mean annual rainfall ranges from 300 to 600 mm, with pronounced rainy and dry seasons. The rainfall is extremely erratic in time and space dynamics. The soils are fragile with low organic matter content (<15g/kg), nitrogen (<0.7g/kg) and available phosphorous (<0.06g/kg). Mixed crop-livestock system is common and agricultural production is presently dominated by cereal-based systems which is 97% rainfed. The combined effects of climatic conditions, poor soil quality and human activities have resulted in soil degradation. Due to this degradation, crop and animal production and the associated farming community livelihoods are at risk.

To cope with the land degradation, the Institute for Environment and Agricultural Research (INERA) with the collaboration of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Canadian International Development Research Center (IDRC) and local farmers have developed different measures to control runoff and soil erosion, and to improve the soil structure. The local people are now using different soil rehabilitation techniques in the region with a focus on integrating livestock. Animal production is of great importance, providing a source of income, food, insurance, as well as important farm inputs such as manure. Where agricultural systems are so heavily dependent on rain, livestock is a particularly appreciated asset and plays a strategic role in livelihood risk reduction. The local farming communities of the region of Central Plateau, with the logistic support from IFAD and the IDRC, adopted the technique of erecting stone rows for better management of soil and water. This method consists of two rows of laterite rocks placed in a furrow dug with a subsoiler or pick. The upslope rows of large blocks of stones are partly buried in the soil while the downslope row consists of small stones placed so as to stabilize the first row. The earth excavated from the row is replaced along the stones to fill up remaining holes in the soil.