Sadya NACRO

PhD topic: Use of Biochar as an amendment to improve soil fertility, crop yield and carbon sequestration in cotton–maize rotation systems in the Central-West of Burkina Faso.

Summary: In Burkina Faso, natural resources are undergoing continuous degradation and this constitutes a major problem affecting the agricultural sector, thereby hindering progress toward social resilience, food security, and poverty reduction (Lompo et al., 2020). Moreover, soil degradation, which is particularly pronounced in Burkina Faso, has led to the expansion of cultivated land into marginal areas and to changes in land use and production systems. These systems are characterized by traditional extensive agriculture, marked by very low return of crop residues to the soil (Koulibaly et al., 2010). As a result, there is a continuous decline in soil organic matter and available phosphorus, which represent major constraints to the intensification of agricultural production (Lompo et al., 2009). In Burkina Faso, crop residues—particularly those from cotton—are poorly utilized. The majority of these residues are either left in the fields or burned in heaps, thereby releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide into the atmosphere (Zhang et al., 2010). Today, in the context of global climate change and rising energy costs, the production of fertilizers and energy from organic waste has become a major and priority challenge (Mounirou, 2022).Biochar is a carbon-rich material produced through the pyrolysis of crop residues.This thesis aims to contribute to improving soil productivity through the use of biochar-based organic amendments in cotton–maize rotation systems in the Central-West region of Burkina Faso. The overall objective is to contribute to sustainable soil management in Burkina Faso.The methodology consisted of chemically characterizing the co-compost obtained after incorporation of cotton stalk biochar during the composting process.  A study  of the effects of applying cotton-residue co-compost on soil productivity in a cotton–maize rotation system in the Central-West region of Burkina Faso was also performed. Finally, surveys were conducted among farmers to assess their perceptions of the production and use of biochar-based amendments in the Central-West region of Burkina Faso. The results showed that co-compost derived from cotton stalks Co-compost derived from cotton stalks resulted in the highest cotton and maize yields over the two years of crop production. The co-compost + NPK increased soil chemical parameters in the cotton and maize plots compared to the control. All farmers who implemented the experiment acknowledged that plant growth under the co-compost treatment was visually superior to that of the control and the treatment with mineral fertilizer (NPK) alone.

Supervisor(s) name(s): Dr. LOMPO Desire Jean Pascal/Dr.Sven.Goenster-Jordan

Area of interest: Agronomist/Agro-Pédology

Educational background: 

• 2019-2021: Water and land resources management / irrigated agriculture
• 2014-2017: Bachelor’s degree  in Agro-sylvo-pastoral/ animal Production
• 2012-2014: Rural development engineer/agronomy

Professional experience: 

• 2020–2021: 12-month practical internship at the Bagré Irrigated Perimeter.
• 2017–2018: 12-month practical internship at the Environmental, Agricultural and Forestry Research Center.
• 2016: Training in the Active Participatory Research Method (APRM/MARP) in the village of Péni.

Awards/scholaships: 

• 2022: PhD PRO-RUWA scholarship
• 2019-2020: full residential scholarship CIHEAM Bari campus/ Master Programme in “Land and Water Resources Management: Irrigated Agriculture”

Primary research keywords: Biochar, organic amendment, soil fertility, productivity, Burkina Faso

Email address:sadyanacro[at]gmail[dot]com