Determinants of sorghum and cowpea cropping systems in the Centre-West region of Burkina Faso

Abstract

A study of the determinants of sorghum and cowpea cropping systems was carried out in the Centre Ouest region, with a view to gaining a better understanding of cropping systems and their determinants. The results of the study showed that 98.3% of respondents' main activity was farming; the majority of respondents used local variety seeds, 91% for sorghum and 84% for cowpea; 53% of respondents combined sorghum with cowpea; 96% of respondents did not apply any phytosanitary treatments to sorghum, compared with 93% of respondents who did apply treatments to cowpea. With regard to the determinants of cropping systems, the results showed that: improved variety seeds are used by growers for their short cycle and high yield potential; on the other hand, local variety seeds are used by growers for their availability and easy access. The facilitation of cultivation operations motivates pure cultivation, while crop diversification motivates growers to combine sorghum with cowpea.