Baseline characterization of farming systems in the province of Bassitenga in Burkina Faso
Paper Details
Baseline characterization of farming systems in the province of Bassitenga in Burkina Faso
Abstract
The security crisis in Burkina Faso has driven internal population displacement, increasing pressure on agropastoral resources and exacerbating food insecurity in areas with fragile farming systems. Using a systemic approach, this study characterized farming systems in 18 villages of two communes (Loumbila and Zitenga) in Bassitenga province, Burkina Faso, to establish the baseline of the farming systems for targeted and structural support to households. Potential usable agricultural land area, cattle size, cropping and cattle breeding systems, number of active household workers, and farm equipment were used to discriminate against farming systems. Fifteen cropping systems and nine livestock breeding systems were identified, grouped into five farming system types. Type 1 (22% of households) covered 2.5 ha, with poultry, small ruminants, basic tillage equipment, and a donkey. Type 2 (39% of households) covered 4 ha, combining draft animals, cattle, small ruminants, rainfed crops, and market gardening. Type 3 (21% of households, 3.5 ha) and Type 4 (18% of households, 5 ha) relied on free-ranging cattle, rainfed cropping, draft animals, poultry, and market gardening, with progressively more equipment. Type 5 (0.5%) comprised specialized laying-hen holdings. Livestock breeding and market gardening emerged as means for households to build resilience against shocks underscoring their role in stabilizing farming systems in the study area.
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Copyright © 2026 by the Authors. This article is an open access article and distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) license.