Burkina Faso: the Zaï Technique and Enhanced Agricultural Productivity M ore than 90% of the population in tions: soil and water conservation and the Sahel lives on agriculture. The fact that erosion control for encrusted soils. crop production has not kept up with popu- The advantages of Zaï are that it: NotesKI lation growth during the last two decades is (i) captures rain and surface/ run-off attributed to land degradation and produc- water; tivity decline resulting in increased levels (ii) protects seeds and organic mat- of rural poverty, food shortages and chronic ter against being washed away; food insecurity. In response, since the (iii) concentrates nutrient and water 1980s, Sahelian farmers have experi- availability at the beginning of the mented with various soil and water conser- rainy season; vation techniques to restore, maintain or (iv) increases yields; and improve soil fertility. (v) reactivates biological activities in One of the most appreciated techniques the soil and eventually leads to an by farmers in northern Burkina Faso was the improvement in soil structure. plant-pit system (demi-lunes) or "Zai" in The application of the Zaï technique the local language. The technique origi- can reportedly increase production by http://www.worldbank.org/afr/ik/default.htm nated in Mali in the Dogon area and was about 500% if properly executed. adopted and improved in northern Burkina Faso by farmers after the drought of the Genesis of the Burkina Faso Zaï 1980's. Program As part of their objective to assist local The Zaï technique communities to strengthen their local Farmers apply the Zaï technique to recover capacity by using their local knowl- No. 80 crusted land called "Zippelle". Zaï is a edge, the World Bank program on May 2005 planting pit with a diameter of 20-40 cm and a depth of 10-20 cm - the dimensions IK Notes reports periodically on vary according to the type of soil.. Pits are Indigenous Knowledge (IK) initiatives dug during the dry season from November in Sub-Saharan Africa and occasionally on such initiatives outside the Region. until May and the number of Zaï pits per It is published by the Africa Region's hectare varies from 12,000 to 25,000. After Knowledge and Learning Center as part of an evolving IK partnership digging the pits, organic matter is added at between the World Bank, communi- an average, recommended rate of 0.6 kg/ ties, NGOs, development institutions pit and, after the first rainfall, the matter is and multilateral organizations. The views expressed in this article are covered with a thin layer of soil and the those of the authors and should not be World Bank seeds placed in the middle of the pit. attributed to the World Bank Group The excavated earth is ridged around the or its partners in this initiative. A webpage on IK is available at // demi-circle to improve the water retention www.worldbank.org/afr/ik/ capacity of the pit. Zaï fulfils three func- default.htm 2 Indigenous Knowledge for Development provided support to mented the list of solutions proposed by farmers for scaling up the dissemination of the Zai technique farmers,presented a complete description of the Zai tech- in three provinces in central Burkina Faso. The Association nique and invited farmers to join the experiments. pour la Vulgarisation et l'Appui aux Producteurs Agro- · Demonstration of the technique - The technical team orga- écologistes au Sahel (AVAPAS) provided day-to-day guidance nized a demonstration session for farmers that included to farmers. Other local development actors (administration, digging pits, organic manure application and provision of extension workers, local authorities, community leaders) basic equipment. The equipment is used in rotation and supported the initiative to ensure sustainability. organized by the farmers themselves. The campaign was carried on through the period 2002 ­ · Field trips - During the growing season, follow-up visits re- 2003. The farmers highly appreciated the technique espe- inforced the necessity to apply the entire technical pack- cially since it increased productivity. Unfortunately, farmers age to achieve the highest impact. did not always follow all the recommended steps so as to make a better profit from the technique. For example, the Analysis of various operations during the adoption of dimensions of the pits were not always as recommended, re- the technique sulting in poor plant and stem development Delayed digging of the Zaï pits and inadequate application of organic matter Zaï operations were implemented by farmers at different (timing and quantity) can all contribute to substantial yield periods depending on the availability of labor, organic mat- losses. ter and the interest of each farmer. Farmers who participated The team proposed a second season of implementation in in the earlier campaign were invested in the technique much order to make it possible for farmers to master the tech- earlier. For the most informed (earlier participants), work nique and to disseminate its application among other farm- started at the beginning of June and extended until mid-July. ers. This was carried out in 2003 - 2004. For the others, the activities started at the beginning of July During the second campaign, farmers started to cultivate and finished end-July. "common fields". In the common fields, all the recom- mended steps were applied strictly and this became a dem- 1. Digging Zaï pits onstration site for the farmers of the sample as well as for the The size of Zaï pits varied by farmers during the first year. other farmers of the village. The objective was only to start with digging the holes. Those who had not followed the minimum dimension rule were obliged to restart the pits during the second growing Presentation of the zone of activities season. By the 2002-2003 campaign, a clear mastery of the The activities were carried out in 32 villages in the following operation by farmers was noted. In fact, the size of the six provinces of the central zone of Burkina Faso: Kadiogo, seed holes was according to recommendations, in part at- Bazega, Oubritenga, Kourweogo, Sanmatenga and tributed to the availability of equipment provided by Zoudweogo. Rainfall during this season was exceptional with AVAPAS (drill, peck axes). only few dry spells. 2. Application of organic manure The unavailability of good organic matter was one of the Diffusion of the technology constraints during the dissemination of the technique. The diffusion of the Zai technique in central Burkina Faso was Some farmers, in the absence of compost, applied fresh organized in three phases: organic matter in the pits, resulting in seedling damage. It · Information and sensitization sessions - During this phase, became apparent and essential that farmers needed to be a discussion was organized with farmers on the strengths better informed regarding this specific stage of organic and weaknesses of their production systems. Farmers as- matter application which is crucial for the success of the sessed their cropping lands and proposed solutions to the technique. constraints they had identified. The AVAPAS team comple- 3 During the 2003-2004 campaign, the country had on skeletal non-Zaï field. The findings are consistent with those from grounds that are poorer than those in the central part of the other studies on Zaï in other regions which show the effect of country. the practice on the yield of sorghum (Sawadogo, 2001, Dakuo, 2000, Bamboo, 1996, Kabore, 1991). The yield in- crease is attributed to a better use of rainfall and improve- Vegetative Development of the Crop (Sorghum) ment of soil fertility as results of the application of organic To monitor the vegetative development of the crops and es- matters in the pits. pecially to exchange views with the farmers, site visits were organized in collaboration with AVAPAS to address problems Results and impact of the technique on farmers which arose during the growing season: the seedling stage, the flowering stage and during maturity. Farmers who en- · In the execution of this project, AVAPAS facilitated the countered difficulties in the implementation of their activi- transfer of local technology from a local development or- ties were invited to visit plots of other participating farmers. ganization to the farmers on the one hand, and subse- quently between farmers. Seedling stage · More than 100 farmers in 32 villages benefited from this Seedlings in the village of Niniogo in the department of transfer. Pabré did not survive in the Zaï plots. Farmers had just · The NGO played a significant role in the knowledge trans- adopted the technology but did not yet have all the neces- fer to and between farmers. sary experience to ensure the success of the technique. Zaï · The exchanges between farmers and follow-up visits from seeding holes were fertilized with manure freshly collected the AVAPAS team made it possible to reinforce the knowl- from the park and seeds sown only two days after that. Farm- edge that farmers have acquired and to address concerns ers attributed the loss of the seeds to the variety of sorghum arising during the application of the Zaï technique. used or to the lack of rain immediately after sowings. · The application of organic matter remained one of the least adopted steps by farmers. The recommended quan- Flowering stage tity (i.e. two handles per seed hole) was not always fol- The vegetative development of Sorghum in Zaï fields was lowed which resulted in the appearance of Striga (bad particularly appreciated by all farmers. In Korsimoro, one of bleaches on grass indicating the extreme poverty of the the farmers made it known that the Zaï was the only tech- soil) in the plots. Chemical analysis of the organic matter nique that helped him recover land which he had abandoned could be used for designing an optimal production capac- for several years because of the hardened surface. One ity. farmer's field became the subject of curiosity amongst his · In the majority of villages, the surplus production realized neighbours in the village who asked him many questions by farmers in one hectare was higher than 0.5 ton. This about the technique. validates the effectiveness of the technique in increasing the productive capacity of the plots. Maturity stage It is especially worthy to mention that in the province of Farmers noticed that the vegetative development of the Yatenga (rainfall between 300 and 600 mm), Zaï remains the crops in the Zaï fields was normal or better than in those in single technique that makes it possible to carry out agricul- the non-Zaï plots. While the sorghum was stunting in the tural performances on skeletal grounds that are poorer than non-Zaï plots, the leaves were still green in the Zaï fields. those in the central part of the country Sorghum yield Conclusions and Recommendations The yield for sorghum grain was evaluated in the Zaï and the non-Zaï plots during two growing seasons. Overall, the Zaï technique seemed to have been mastered by Data are from 16 villages in 2002 and 32 villages in 2003. farmers of the central region of the country. From the two The results show significant differences between the Zaï and years experiment, the following conclusions can be drawn: 4 · Farmers can master the entire technical package if the op- The concerned farmers welcome further support from all erations are well planned, as dictated by the seasonal re- partners so that this technique can be mastered and imple- quirements. mented by the entire farmers' population of the region and · The Zaï technique can increase crop yields and reduce the elsewhere in the country. risks for food insecurity in rural areas. · The technique does lead to soil improvement and recu- peration of degraded lands. · To scale up the benefits of this technique, some scientific work is necessary in (i) the chemical analysis of organic matters produced by farmers as well as the proper dosage to use during the application; and (ii) the testing of high productive cultivars in order to increase profits. This article was reproduced by Suzanne Essama, Knowledge Sharing Officer, Africa Region, the World Bank, from an activity completion report submitted by a team composed of Mme Millogo Sorgho Marie-Claire Institut de l'Environnement et de Recherche Agricoles (INERA),. Korogo Sylvain and Traoré Karim. Association pour la Vulgarisation et l'Appui aux Producteurs Agro-écologistes au Sahel (AVAPAS). Funding for the activity was provided by the BNPP Trust Fund for Local Community Capacity Building.