K. Savadogo et al., ADOPTION OF IMPROVED LAND-USE TECHNOLOGIES TO INCREASE FOOD SECURITY IN BURKINA-FASO - RELATING ANIMAL TRACTION, PRODUCTIVITY, AND NONFARM INCOME, Agricultural systems, 58(3), 1998, pp. 441-464
This article analyzes the determinants of animal traction adoption, an
d for traction and non-traction groups, the levels of land and labor p
roductivity in Burkina Faso. There are three main conclusions. First,
non-farm income was found to be an important indirect determinant of f
arm productivity, and ability to intensify production, via its effect
on animal traction adoption. This was, in particular, the case for the
zone where agriculture commercialization is occurring (the Guinean zo
ne). Second, in a region where farmers were traditionally and even tod
ay thought to be tied to safety-first, subsistence strategies, our fin
dings show that improved capital and variable inputs-traction and fert
ilizer and manure, and even labor and best quality land-are applied on
cash crops, not on subsistence crops. Third, animal traction greatly
improves land and labor productivity, particularly in more favorable a
groclimatic zones such as Burkina's Guinean zone, and in the 'intensif
ication crops' that are also the main cash crops (maize and cotton). T
raction farmers have an advantage in the quest to intensify farming in
a region where population density is increasing rapidly. (C) 1998 Pub
lished by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.