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Coenen, V.

Haan, L.J. de

Leiden University Scholary Publications

Africa Fertilizer ReviewLand Use and Fertilizer in the Savanna ofNorthern TOgO by L J. de Haan and V. Coenenr|"' hè savanna region of northernTogo is one of the most denselypopulated areas in the West Africansavanna zone. Densities ranging from60 to 150 persons per km2 have beenreported in the canton of Kantindi(Direction de la Statistique, 1981)—an area 15 km northeast of Dapaong,the regional capital. A significantindicator of the increasing populationpressure on arable land is an intensivecropping system which has led to sig-nificant losses of topsoil and ageneral decline in soil productivity.The average annual rainfall in thearea for the period 1958-1986 was1,006 mm; in recent years (1981-1986), however, annual rainfall totalshave decreased to 826 mm. Therelatively short rainy season (180days) and the long growing period(150-180 days) of some varieties ofsorghum and millet grown in the arearequire that farmers plant soon afterthe first rains. Thus any dry spell afterthe first rains usually leads to severeerop damage and consequently acostly loss of time, labor, and seed.Farmlands are generally owned byfamilies; in a few cases, however, far-mers rent land to grow specific crops.Farmers use small amounts of chemi-cal fertilizers and farm manure togrow cotton, beans, groundnuts(mainly for market) and, in very rarecases, sorghum and millet. In verygood years, surpluses of sorghum andmillet are sold for cash. The unit ofproduction and consumption is thesoukhala—the traditional familygroup of between 2 and 50 members.This paper examines the interrelation-ships between land quality, land ten-ure Systems, field distances, croppingpatterns, and fertilizer use. The set-tings are the villages of KantindiCenter, Baniame Kantindi, andTossiegou, all in the canton ofKantindi in northern Togo.Study and MethodsIn 1985 a sample of 51 soukhalas wasdrawn from a general data base ofdemographic, migration, productionand consumption characteristics ofsoukhalas. Complementary field workinvolving distance measurement, fieldcharacterization and quality assess-ment, and Information on croppingSystems and fertilizer use wasconducted in line with the proceduresof Coenen and Spaanderman (1987),and Jungerius and De Mas (1987).Two hundred and thirty fields werevisited; 17 others that could not bereached were assessed with a landsuitability map (Ouedraogo, 1976)and descriptions provided by farmersbased on indigenous soil names andclassification.A 0-16 point binary field qualitysystem, reflecting 16 soil propertiesand field characteristics relevant toagriculture, was used to classify thefields into four categories—classes lthrough A—the higher the class thebetter the quality. Walking distances(in minutes) between the farmsteadsand the fields were used as indicatorsof field distances. The categorieswere 0-2,2-10,10-20, and more than20 minutes. Three types of fertilizerwere considered initially under"fertilizer use," namely, erop residue,chemical fertilizers, and farmyardmanures. However, because of itsrapid decomposition as well as theincreased demand for animal feed andfor other domestic use, erop residuewas considered as "no fertilizer" andwas not included in the analysis.Farmyard manure received littleemphasis in the analysis because onlysmall quantities are available to mostfarmers. Thus, fertilizer use in theanalysis refers largely to chemicalfertilizers.There were two categories of landtenure—no fields rented and at leastone field rented—based on farmers'response to questions on Systems ofland ownership.FindingsOur first step in the analysis was toexamine the distribution of fieldquality and relate it to fertilizer use inthe three villages.Table l shows that there are signifi-cant differences in field quality in thestudy area. About a third of the fieldsin Tossiegou are of low quality (Class1). By contrast, only 9% of fields inBaniame Kantindi are of that quality.Surprisingly, the data do not suggest arelationship between field quality andfertilizer use. This was evident inBaniame Kantindi where 88% offarmers use fertilizers even thoughthey have the best quality fields.Some variations also exist in Systemsof land tenure in the three communi-ties. Three-quarters of farmers inTossiegou till only their own fieldsTabïe 1. Fteld Quality, Lartd, Tenure System, and Fertillzsr use by Viliage.Field qualityClass 1234Land tenure systemNo fields rentedAt le«i one field rentedFertiizer use/soukhalaKantindiCenter122941$623880BaniameKantindiMWi """ '" ' 'd23402$72n88T«**«3340«4 '7525SS23Africa Fertilizer Reviewcompared with 62% in KantindiCenter. But there appears to be noclear-cut relationship betweenproperty status and fertilizer use. Inother words, farmers use fertilizers"regardless" of land tenure system.The relationship between fielddistance and fertilizer use is presentedin Figure 1. It is clear that virtuallyall fields in the immediate vicmity ofthe soukhalas (i.e, less than 2 mmuteswalking distance) are either fertilizedwith farmyard manure, chemicalfertilizers, or a combination of thetwo. A significant proportion of thefields located more than 2 minuteswalking distance (except in Tossie-gou) are fertilized—mainly withchemical fertilizers. This pattern maylead us to conclude that fertilizer usein the area increases with increaseddistance from the soukhala. However,to the extent that the more distantplots are generally used for thecultivation of cash crops (cotton andgroundnuts) and a significant propor-tion of these plots are fertilized, thetype of erop grown appeared to be theovemding factor in chemical fertil-izer use in the study area.Summary and ConclusionsThe tnree savanna villages ofKantindi Center, Baniame Kantindi,and Tossiegou form part of thedensely populated area in the WestAfncan savanna region where farmerserop intensively without using anyform of mechanization or an i maltraction. Mam food crops are milletand sorghum; cotton and groundnutsare grown as cash crops. The climateis fairly suitable for arable agncul-ture, but the main problems aredeclining soil fertility and unpredict-able rainfall. Emerging plantlets oftendesiccate because of dry spells afterthe first ram.Since the 1960s, chemical fertilizerhas been recognized by the farmers asa. Kantindi Center100-60-40-20H2-10 10-20no fertilizermanuremanure andchemicalfertilizerchemicalfertilizer>20Walking distance from the soukhalato the fields in minutesb. Tossiegou100-, H^Hso- imüso- r1™"*40-20no fertilizermanuremanure andchemicalfertilizerchemicalfertilizer0-2 2-10 10-20 >20Walking distance from the soukhalato the fields in minutesc. Baniame Kantindi100—j80 _60-40—20-no fertilizermanuremanure andchemicalfertilizerchemicalfertilizer0-2 2-10 10-20 >20Walking distance from the soukhalato the fields in minutesFigure 1. Fertilizer distribution on cereal24Africa Fertilizer Reviewan essential input to improve eropperformance. Despite rising prices ofchemical fertilizers, more than 80%of farmers use them on a continuousbasis. Although yields per hectare ofcropland have increased somewhatsince the introduction of fertilizers,they are not yet at levels that opti-mize food production and cashincome in the villages. This study hasfocused on the relationship betweensoil quality, cropping pattem, landtenure Systems, and fertilizer use.While there was less soil degradationon the fields that were more distantfrom the farmstead, no relationshipwas found between distance to thesoukhala and soil quality. This maybe due to the unique geomorphologyof the survey area.The use of fertilizers—both farmyardmanure and chemical fertilizer—depends mainly upon the erop grownand, to some extent, distance from thesoukhala. Cash crops are almostalways fertilized with chemicalfertilizers. Farmyard manure isgenerally applied to plots near thesoukhala. Farmers do not take fieldquality into consideration in theapplication of fertilizers, and theSystem of land ownership makes littledifference to farmers' decisionmakingin relation to fertilizer use.Leo J. de Haan works with theInstitute of Human Geography andVictor Coenen with the Laboratory ofSoil Science in the University ofAmsterdam, Jodenbr eestraat 23,1011NH Amsterdam, The Netherlands.AcknowledgementThe Editor is grateful to Dr. K.Acheampong, Visiting Sociologist,Rockefeller Foundation for his assist-ance in reviewing the above paper.ReferencesDirection de la Statistique, Ministèredu Plan et de FIndustrie. 1981Census. Recensement General de laPopulation et de l'Habitat Lomé.Coenen, Victor and AloukskeSpaanderman. 1987. Fysisch-Geografische Inventarisatie van hetGebied rond de Dorpen Kantindi,Baniame en Tossiegou, Region desSavanes, Republiek Togo. Aspektenvan het fysisch milieu un een onder-zoek naar het landgebruik met vaneen binair landklassifïkatiesysteem.Fysisch Geografisch en Bodiemkun-dig Laboratium, Universiteit vanAmsterdam, Amsterdam.Jungerius, P.D. and P. De Mas. 1987.Geintegreerd fysisch-en sociaal-geografisch onderzoek op perceelsni-veau naar traditionele irrigatieland-bowun in semi-aride Marokko. Geo-grafisch Tijdschrift, XXI, no. l,pp.72-83.Ouedraogo, H. 1976. Etude pedolo-gique a 1:50.000 du bassin versantl'Oublarou (North-Togo). ORSTOM-Centre de Lomé.25

Land use and fertilizer in the savanna of Northern Togo

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Land use and fertilizer in the savanna of Northern Togo

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