Sorghum Quality, Organic Matter Amendments, and Health: Farmers’ Perception in Burkina Faso, West Africa

Abstract

In West Africa, many people suffer from micronutrient deficiencies. Current interventions have low chances of succeeding. Therefore, a food chain approach including local practices is proposed. This article takes local ecological, cultural, and socio-economic aspects into account through a household survey in northern Burkina in 2002. Farmers’ knowledge was compared with available scientific information. Organic matter production is a function of the number of animals owned and the availability of labor and equipment. Organic resources are allocated to various fields according to soil texture and the crop to be grown. Farmers were unable to link micronutrient deficiency in the soil directly to food quality and human health. However, they indicated that some disorders (e.g., fatigue in adults, stunted growth of children, anemia) are associated with a low level of micronutrients in the diet. For the application of organic amendments to be modified to improve grain yield and food quality in the Sahel, the relation between organic amendment and food quality must be better understood by both scientists and farmers.

Keywords:

• Compost
• farmyard manure
• sorghum quality
• human health
• micronutrients

Acknowledgments

The authors thank all the farmers from Gourcy and Somyaga in Burkina Faso for their help during the survey. We extend our gratitude to Africare Burkina and the regional representative of health and children education (Direction Provinciale de l’Agriculture and Direction Provinciale de la Santé) in Ouahigouya. Dr. Joy Burrough improved our English.

Notes

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