Tropicultura (Jan 2011)
Study of Organic Matters Flows on Farms in the Western Cotton Zone of Burkina Faso
Abstract
In the sub-Sahelian zone, it has become necessary to use organic manure as a means of maintaining or improving cultivated soil fertility. The expertise developed by the farms, in terms of how various organic matters can be used by rural populations, plays an essential role when it comes to promoting the use of organic manure. In this way, organic matter inflows and outflows were quantified at farms in a village in the western cotton zone of Burkina Faso over the period of one year. Results show that the average plant biomass production was estimated at 38.1 tonnes per farm, 33.8% of which were harvested products, 65.2% crop residues (mainly cereal straw) and 1% shrub shoots. This is in addition to an average manure production estimated at 8.6 tonnes, based on average livestock numbers on each farm. However, only 30% of the organic residues produced were used on the farms, 14% of which were returned to the soil as manure. This low return ratio can lead to the depletion of organic matter in the soil, which makes it necessary to identify other methods for crop residue management on the farms.
