Informations et ressources scientifiques
sur le développement des zones arides et semi-arides

Titre : Contribution of home gardens to household income generation in Burkina Faso : a case study of Bieha District

Auteur : Guuroh Reginald Tang

Université de soutenance : Technische Universität Dresden

Grade : Master of Science in Tropical Forestry and Management 2011

Résumé
High population growth rates, increasing land fragmentation and continuous mono- cropping have resulted in low farm productivity and food insecurity in Burkina Faso. Most, households in rural Burkina Faso keep a homegarden in addition to their farms. Although homegardens are known to substantially contribute to food/fodder production and cash income generation of farm households, there is lack of quantitative information on the benefits of homegardens in the country. The main purpose of this research was therefore to study the structure, functions and contribution of homegardens to rural household s’ income generation. The study was conducted in the Bieha department of southern Burkina Faso. In consultation with administrative authorities of the District, the village of Prata was selected for field data collection. The study employed Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) techniques such as personal observation, key informant interview, and focus group discussion. A household questionnaire survey was used to complement the RRA for data collection. Eighty (80) households were selected for the survey based on systematic sampling. The total homegarden area of each sampled household was measured and they were put into three groups as follows : small (households with homegarden size of 0.1-1.5 ha), medium (1.6-3.0 ha) and large (>3.0 ha). Data was collected by interviews at household level. The research showed that all the surveyed households manage homegardens composed of trees, animals and crops. It was found that, homegarden size and farm size are not significantly related though farm sizes tend to decrease slightly with increasing homegarden sizes. There was a significant positive correlation between homegarden size and the number of crop species grown. However, the correlations between homegarden size and the number of trees/animal species were insignificant. In terms of inputs and outputs per unit area, it was found that there is higher input and output in smaller homegardens than larger ones per hectare. The correlation between homegarden output and number of crop species was found to be significant. Homegardens in the study area have a potential to improve livelihoods significantly especially if farmers take the necessary steps to make production more sustainable. A key lesson from this study is that farmers should adopt mixed cropping as well as increasing livestock and tree components of homegardens.

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