The DOI matches its Crossref record; 15 of the 15 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
A socioeconomic analysis of the zaï farming practice in northern Burkina Faso
Open accessAbstract
The zaï farming practice is a local adaptation of conservation agriculture to degraded semiarid areas and consists of restoring heavily crusted soils through small planting pits. This article analyzes the land use change and its impacts through the zaï farming practice in the northern part of Burkina Faso from a socioeconomic perspective, based on data gathered through two surveys in the Ouahigouya region. A survey among 101 farmers concentrated mainly on adoption rates and household characteristics. Later, 16 farmers from the first survey were interviewed with respect to their adoption of the zaï technique for soil restoration. Farm data was collected to cover the farms’ and households’ expenses and revenues for the year 2011. Material and labor input, as well as the obtained yields, were analyzed using the economic farm model OLYMPE. The results reflect the positive economic benefits of zaï cereal production at field and farm level when compared to conventional cultivation, but also point out the constraints to its further expansion. Despite higher input costs mostly related to external labor, the increased yields led to a more than three times higher gross margin per hectare for zaï millet (101,085 FCFA) than the conventional system (23,030 FCFA). Yet, the physically demanding intensive labor requirements during land preparation and implementation of the planting pits (+117 % man days/ha) challenge a broader adoption of the zaï practice. Nonetheless, in a mostly subsistence-oriented farming context the zaï practice proved to reverse severe land degradation and improve households’ livelihood and food security.
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Understanding the impact and adoption of conservation agriculture in Africa: A multi-scale analysis
Corbeels, M., de Graaff, J., Ndah, H. T., Penot, É., Baudron, F., Naudin, K., Andrieu, N., Chirat, G., Schuler, J., Nyagumbo, I., et al. (2013) · Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment · doi:10.1016/j.agee.2013.10.011 · Cited by 265
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Self-citationNdah, H. T., Schuler, J., Uthes, S., Zander, P. M., Traore, K., Gama, M.-S., Nyagumbo, I., Triomphe, B., Sieber, S., & Corbeels, M. (2013) · Environmental Management · doi:10.1007/s00267-013-0215-5 · Cited by 55
Self-citationAssessing the Constraints to Adopt Water and Soil Conservation Techniques in Tillaberi, Niger
Wildemeersch, J. C. J., Timmerman, E., Mazijn, B., Sabiou, M., Ibro, G., Garba, M., & Cornelis, W. (2013) · Land Degradation and Development · doi:10.1002/ldr.2252 · Cited by 46
On the move : mobility, land use and livelihood practices on the Central Plateau in Burkina Faso
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Adoption driver and constraints of resource conservation technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa
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The socio-economic performance of agroecology. A review
Mouratiadou, I., Wezel, A., Kamilia, K., Marchetti, A., Paracchini, M. L., & Bàrberi, P. (2024) · Agronomy for Sustainable Development · doi:10.1007/s13593-024-00945-9 · Cited by 96
“For instance, Schuler et al. (2016) report a case where the zaï farming practice for millet production in northern Burkina Faso results in increased millet yields, higher gross margins, higher labour productivity, and even lower production costs, but is associated with higher labour requirements.”
Background
Metadata
- Authors
- Schuler, J., Voss, A. K., Ndah, H. T., Traore, K., & de Graaff, J.
- Affiliations
- Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (DE)
- Wageningen University & Research (NL)
- Institut de l'Environnement et Recherches Agricoles (BF)
- Land Degradation and Development Group, Wageningen University (WUR), Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Corresponding author
- Schuler, Johannes
- Venue
- Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2016-09-20
- Volume
- 40
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 988-1007
- ISSN
- 2168-3565 (ISSN-L)
- 2168-3573
- OpenAlex
- W2521402534
- Cited by
- 22
- References
- 15
- Citations by year
- 2025: 4 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 3
- FWCI
- 4.34
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- research.wur.nl
- Locations
- Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (publishedVersion)
- Socio-Environmental Systems Modeling (acceptedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- EU Sixth Framework Programme (245347)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › General Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Agricultural Innovations and Practices
- Social Sciences › Anthropology › Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Agriculture
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Agronomy and Crop Science › Climate change impacts on agriculture
- Keywords
- conservation agriculture, land degradation, soil crusting, land use change, technology adoption, millet production, gross margin, labor input, household livelihoods, food security, semi-arid agriculture, northern Burkina Faso
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- Schuler, J., Voss, A. K., Ndah, H. T., Traore, K., & de Graaff, J. (2016). A socioeconomic analysis of the zaï farming practice in northern Burkina Faso. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. https://doi.org/10.1080/21683565.2016.1221018
