Improving cereal productivity and farmers’ income using a strategic application of fertilizers in West Africa

In the past two years, ICRISAT, in collaboration with other International Agricultural Research Centres, National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems, has been evaluating and promoting point or hill application of fertilizer along with “Warrantage” in three West African countries, namely, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. The hill application of fertilizers consists of applying small doses of fertilizer in the planting hills of millet and sorghum. The combination of strategic hill application of fertilizer with complementary institutional and market linkages, through an inventory credit system (known as “Warrantage”) offers a good opportunity to improve crop productivity and farmers’ incomes. Results from the two year on-farm trials showed that, on average, in all the three countries, grain yields of millet and sorghum were greater by 44 to 120% while incomes of farmers increased by 52 to 134% when using hill application of fertilizer than with the earlier recommended fertilizer broadcasting methods and farmers’ practice. Substantial net profits were obtained by farmers using “Warrantage”. Farmers’ access to credit and inputs was improved substantially through the “Warrantage” system. The technology has reached up to 12650 farm households in the three countries and efforts are in progress to further scale-up and out the technology to wider geographical area

Final report : strengthening the capacity for research and development to enhance natural resources management and improve rural livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa

The project worked to strengthen partnerships and build capacity of National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems (NARES) researchers, NGOs, CBOs and farmers groups to carry out research for development, using participatory research approaches and natural resource management, to improve livelihoods of the poor. The report highlights some of the project accomplishments and gives recommendations that form the basis for future work. Barriers and bottlenecks to effective agro-enterprise development need to be dissolved, such as lack of credit schemes for the farmers, which boost growth and help stabilize farmer organizations

Secanos y la desertificación

Versión en francés disponible en la Biblioteca Digital del IDRC: Réinterpréter la désertificationVersión en inglés disponible en la Biblioteca Digital del IDRC: Desertification : the way forwar

Nouveau regard sur la désertification

Version espagnole disponible dans la Bibliothèque numérique du CRDI: Desertificación : el camino futuroVersion anglaise disponible dans la Bibliothèque numérique du CRDI: Desertification : the way forwar

Drylands and desertification

French version available in IDRC Digital Library: Réinterpréter la désertificationSpanish version available in IDRC Digital Library: Desertificación : el camino futur

Decomposition of organic amendment and nutrient release under the zai technique in the Sahel

In the West African Sahel, farmers use the zai technique to reclaim degraded cropland. Although the nutrients released by the decomposition of the amendments are central to the success of the technique, little is known regarding the impact of the zai pits on the decomposition process and whether the nutrient release is synchronized with plant requirements. The decomposition of millet stalks and cattle manure applied in zai pits or at the soil surface was studied in Niger using litterbags, under controlled irrigation on-station in 1999 and on-farm in 1999 and 2000 at two locations (Damari and Kakassi) with contrasting soils. In addition, a satellite trial was conducted in 2000 on-farm at the same locations to study the relative contribution of termites to manure decomposition. Only at Damari did termite presence enhance manure decomposition, by a factor three for surface placement compared to the zai pits. At Damari, zai pits enhanced the decomposition when termite activity was suppressed. Whereas manure decomposition proceeded two to three times faster than that of millet stalks at Damari, the type of amendment had no effect on decomposition rate at Kakassi. Nutrient release followed the trend of organic amendment decomposition except for K. When applied prior to the rainy season, nutrient release rate of organic amendments strongly exceeded plant nutrient uptake, which could lead to important leaching losses during the first 4-6 weeks after sowing, especially for N and to a lesser extent for K. However, at harvest, total nutrient absorption by plants was generally higher than the total amount released. The results indicate a highly site-specific response of amendment decomposition to zai and the need for a better timing of amendment application to reduce potential leaching losses, possibly through a split application