On the Move: mobility, land use and livelihood practices on the Central Plateau in Burkina Faso by MARK BREUSERS Münster, Hamburg and London: LIT Verlag, 1999. Pp. 423. DM 79.80 (pbk.).

2000 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 713-745
Author(s):  
VOLKER STAMM
2006 ◽  
Vol 157 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Abegg ◽  
Jules Bayala ◽  
Mamounata Belem ◽  
Antoine Kalinganire

Agroforestry parklands face strong pressure from the increasing population of the region. The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF Sahel) started a biodiversity project with the objective of developing methods to conserve biodiversity and to improve the situation of the poor rural population. In this context the present study examined the influence of land use unit and the prosperity classes of farmers on the biodiversity of woody species. A wealth ranking classification was carried out and applied to the households of two villages in the central plateau of Burkina Faso using the "Participatory Analysis of Poverty and Livelihood Dynamics" (PAPoLD) method. Thirty farmers of different prosperity classes were chosen and inventories carried out on their different land use units. Statistical analyses show an increase in biodiversity from the village housings. However, no significant influence on biodiversity was observed in connection with a farmer's prosperity class.


Climate ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benewinde Zoungrana ◽  
Christopher Conrad ◽  
Leonard Amekudzi ◽  
Michael Thiel ◽  
Evariste Da

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8460
Author(s):  
Armel Rouamba ◽  
Hussein Shimelis ◽  
Inoussa Drabo ◽  
Mark Laing ◽  
Prakash Gangashetty ◽  
...  

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) is a staple food crop in Burkina Faso that is widely grown in the Sahelian and Sudano-Sahelian zones, characterised by poor soil conditions and erratic rainfall, and high temperatures. The objective of this study was to document farmers’ perceptions of the prevailing constraints affecting pearl millet production and related approaches to manage the parasitic weeds S. hermonthica. The study was conducted in the Sahel, Sudano-Sahelian zones in the North, North Central, West Central, Central Plateau, and South Central of Burkina Faso. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire and focus group discussions involving 492 participant farmers. Recurrent drought, S. hermonthica infestation, shortage of labour, lack of fertilisers, lack of cash, and the use of low-yielding varieties were the main challenges hindering pearl millet production in the study areas. The majority of the respondents (40%) ranked S. hermonthica infestation as the primary constraint affecting pearl millet production. Respondent farmers reported yield losses of up to 80% due to S. hermonthica infestation. 61.4% of the respondents in the study areas had achieved a mean pearl millet yields of <1 t/ha. Poor access and the high cost of introduced seed, and a lack of farmers preferred traits in the existing introduced pearl millet varieties were the main reasons for their low adoption, as reported by 32% of respondents. S. hermonthica management options in pearl millet production fields included moisture conservation using terraces, manual hoeing, hand weeding, use of microplots locally referred to as ‘zaï’, crop rotation and mulching. These management techniques were ineffective because they do not suppress the below ground S. hermonthica seed, and they are difficult to implement. Integrated management practices employing breeding for S. hermonthica resistant varieties with the aforementioned control measures could offer a sustainable solution for S. hermonthica management and improved pearl millet productivity in Burkina Faso.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 470
Author(s):  
Koichi Takenaka ◽  
Kenta Ikazaki ◽  
Saïdou Simporé ◽  
François Kaboré ◽  
Natacha Thiombiano ◽  
...  

Farmed parklands of the Central Plateau, Burkina Faso, integrate native woody vegetation with managed cropland. However, sapling survival in the parklands is increasingly threatened. This study characterized woody vegetation abundance along a 2.7 km long transect in the Doulou Basin, Boulkiemdé Province, Central West Region, to assess changes in vegetation composition since 1984. In addition, a householder survey was conducted to gain insight into tree uses and preferences and residents’ knowledge of regulations. In total, 4999 individuals from 26 tree species were recorded, including 123 individuals (11 species) with stem DBH ≥ 5 cm, and 4876 individuals (21 species) with stem DBH < 5 cm. The three species with the highest importance value index provided fruit for sale or self-consumption. Tree abundance was associated with soil type and topography; highest abundance was on Lixisol soils along the lower transect. Soil degradation and preference changes among residents since 1984 may have influenced tree abundance. Certain beneficial species (e.g., Vitellaria paradoxa) have declined in abundance, and certain exotics (Azadirachta indica and Eucalyptus camaldulensis) have expanded in distribution. Respondents expressed strongest interest in three species, including V. paradoxa, that show high versatility. These results supported the recorded tree composition. The respondents generally understood forest conservation regulations. Dissemination of regreening technology and awareness promotion among residents is essential for sustainable tree use in farmed parklands.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie A. KIMA ◽  
A. A OKHIMAMHE ◽  
Andre KIEMA

<p class="1Body">Conversion of pastures to cropland is one of the most important issues facing livestock farming in Burkina Faso. This study examined the impact of land use/cover change on pastoral livestock farming in Boulgou province between 1980 and 2013. Landsat satellite images (1989, 2001 and 2013) and socio-economic data were analysed. The interpretation of the classified Landsat images revealed an increase in cropland from 20.5% in 1989 to 36.7% in 2013. This resulted mainly from the conversion of woody savannah and shrub and grass savannah to cropland. Pastoral livestock farmers reported that the major drivers of vegetation loss were drought (95.1 %), population growth (91.8%), cropland increase (91.4%), extraction of fuel wood (69.8%) and increase in livestock population (65.4). These changes affect livestock farming through reduction of pasture, poor access to water and reduction of livestock mobility routes according to the farmers. This calls for regional and national policies to protect grazing areas in Burkina Faso that are similar to policies being implemented for forest and other types of vegetation cover in other countries. For such pastoral policies to be successful, issues concerning the mobility of livestock farmers must be enshrined into such policies and this study is an example of information source for these policies.</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (21) ◽  
pp. 5908 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendpouiré Arnaud Zida ◽  
Babou André Bationo ◽  
Jean-Philippe Waaub

The 1970s–1980s droughts in the Sahel caused a significant degradation of land and plant cover. To cope with this situation, populations have developed several biophysical and social adaptation practices. Many of these are agroforestry practices and contribute to the maintenance of agrosystems. Unfortunately, they remain insufficiently documented and their contributions to the resilience of agrosystems insufficiently evaluated. Many authors widely link the regreening in the Sahel after droughts to the resumption of rainfall. This study examines the contribution of agroforestry practices to the improvement of woody plant cover in the North of Burkina Faso after the 1970s–1980s droughts. The examination of practices is carried out by integrating the rainfall, soil, and geomorphology variables. Landsat images are used to detect changes in woody plant cover: increasing, decreasing, and no-change in the Enhanced Vegetation Index. In addition, 230 field observations, coupled with interviews conducted on the different categories of change, have allowed to characterize the biophysical environment and identify land-use practices. The results show a variability of vegetation index explained to 9% (R2 = 0.09) by rainfall. However, Chi-Squared independence tests show a strong dependence between changes in woody plant cover and geomorphology (p = 0.0018 *), land use, land cover (p = 0.0001 *), and land-use practices (p = 0.0001 *). Our results show that rainfall alone is not enough to explain the dynamics of agrosystems’ woody plant cover. Agricultural and social practices related to the dynamics of farmer perceptions play a key role.


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