Economic Performance of Soil and Water Conservation Practicesin Burkina Faso

Abstract

The continuous degradation of agroecosystems is a major concern for Sub-Saharan African countries, particularly Burkina Faso. To fight against this problem, various research projects and programs have implemented Soil and Water Conservation practices (SWC) in Northern Burkina Faso. The objective of this study was to assess the economic performance of stone rows, grass strips, zaï, filtering dikes, half-moons and agroforestry on agricultural production in this part of Burkina Faso. Stochastic Frontier Analysis was used to estimate SWC’s technical efficiency. Results indicated that the cost for SWC construction did not influence white sorghum and pearl millet yield. However, an increase of 1% in the investment for SWC implementation results in a 0.42% increase in groundnut yield and 0.19% in cowpea yield. Although, the half-moon technique had a positive effect on the farmer’s technical efficiency, the effects of stone rows, filtering dikes, zaï and grass strips were not significant. Given the tremendous efforts that farmers develop to implement these anti-erosion practices, one recommendation is that policy makers strengthen the technical, financial and equipment supports to farmers for efficient implementation of SWC techniques to ensure sustainability of agricultural production systems in Northern Burkina Faso.