Assessing the Impacts of Mulching on Vegetable Production Under Drip Irrigation in Burkina Faso

Blessing Masasi (), Niroj Aryal, Vinsoun Millogo, Jonathan Masasi, Ajit Srivastava and Prasanta K. Kalita
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Blessing Masasi: Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Design, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC 27411, USA
Niroj Aryal: Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Design, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC 27411, USA
Vinsoun Millogo: Agriculture Innovation Lab, Appropriate Scale Mechanization Consortium, Institute of Rural Development, Nazi Boni University, Bobo-Dioulasso 01 BP 1091, Burkina Faso
Jonathan Masasi: Department of Agribusiness, Applied Economics and Agriscience Education, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC 27411, USA
Ajit Srivastava: Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
Prasanta K. Kalita: Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61801, USA

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 3, 1-13

Abstract: Burkina Faso faces chronic food insecurity because of adverse agroclimatic conditions and significant soil degradation. Mulching, the practice of applying organic or synthetic materials to the soil surface, offers a promising avenue for enhancing agricultural production in this challenging agroecological setting. This study utilized the Sustainable Intensification Assessment Framework (SIAF) to evaluate the ecological, economic, and social impacts of mulching on vegetable production in Burkina Faso. Experimental and survey data collected from Sonsongona village in Bobo-Dioulasso were used to compare the production of mulched and non-mulched vegetables (tomato, cabbage, and onion) across the five SIAF domains. A calibrated AquaCrop crop model was also applied with 30-year historical weather data to simulate mulched and non-mulched cabbages for the study site. Our results reveal that mulching conserves soil moisture, suppresses weed growth, and enhances soil fertility, contributing to enhanced vegetable production and long-term sustainability. Economically, adopting mulching positively influences vegetable yields, reduces labor requirements, and increases income for smallholder farmers. These mulching benefits lead to community empowerment, particularly among women farmers. Our findings highlight the multifaceted benefits of mulching, suggesting that it holds promise for increasing agricultural productivity and improving economic stability, ecological sustainability, and social well-being in Burkina Faso. These insights contribute to developing context-specific strategies for sustainable intensification, with applicability across similar agroecological contexts in sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.

Keywords: AquaCrop; Burkina Faso; climate resilience; mulching; soil and water conservation; sustainable intensification assessment framework; vegetable production (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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