Soil fertility renewal in millet-based cropping systems in the Groundnut Basin of Senegal: Evolution and ways of improvement

The traditional agrarian system of the Groundnut Basin, which used to be characterized by the integration of agriculture and livestock, has been transformed over time. This article tried to trace this evolution through a bibliographic review. Its evolution is marked by three periods. At the beginning of the 19th century, the system was based on the continuous cultivation of early millet, which dominates the house-fields where fertility is maintained by spreading domestic waste and park cattle at the end of the dry season. The bush-fields are characterized, on the one hand, by long-cycle millet plots and, on the other hand, by enclosed fallow land grazed during the rainy season. The second period (first half of the 20th century) was marked by the introduction of peanut cultivation in the bush-fields and the development of the animal-draw. This led to the expansion of cultivated areas and, consequently, the gradual disappearance of fallow land and pastoral space. The situation intensified in the second half of the 20th century with the virtual disappearance of traditional soil fertility renewal practices that were based on the integration of agriculture and livestock. In this context, the sustainability of the system would depend on the use of adapted soil regeneration technologies.
African and Mediterranean Agricultural Journal - Al Awamia, No 137 (2022)