Factors influencing agropastoralists’ adoption of fodder banks in the Central West Region of Burkina Faso, West Africa

Background: In the Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa, the reduction of natural rangelands due to an unbridled advance of the agricultural front has a negative impact on livestock production, which is mainly based on the rangeland ecosystems. Thus, there is a need for improvements to the livestock feeding system. One possible solution is the adoption of fodder production techniques, including fodder banks, by agropastoralists. This study examines the factors influencing agropastoralists' decisions to incorporate forage production (i.e., fodder banks) into their fields. Methods: This study was carried out in the villages of Somé and Tiogo situated in the western-center region of Burkina Faso. The Participatory Analysis of Poverty and Livelihood Dynamics method was used to classify each farm household according to their wealth status using a stratified sampling approach. Data were collected from surveys of 240 agropastoralists using a questionnaire and an interview guide during January to December 2022. . Data were analyzed using principal component analysis and linear multiple regression. Results: The results of the Bartlett sphericity test were significant (χ2 = 2658.145, df = 190, p ˂ 0.0001). The three-component solution accounted for a total of 45% variance, with the three components contributing 27%, 12%, and 6%, respectively. Factor analysis summarized 25 indicators into three factors (i.e., reasons for participating in a forage production program, benefits and opportunities, and constraints). These results show that agropastoralists' decisions to produce fodder in their fields are mainly due to their level of skills/knowledge on fodder production, their perceptions of benefits and opportunities related to the conservation of fodder trees in the fields, their membership of agropastoralist groups/associations, and constraints related to the establishment of fodder banks. Factors most associated with variations in agropastoralists’ level of motivation for forage production and conservation include socio-economic and demographic factors such as gender, source of income, household wealth status, household size, type of livestock, education, livestock herd size, membership of farmer and herder groups, ethnicity, marital status, land tenure, and livestock trend. Conclusions: The success of projects seeking to popularize the adoption of fodder banks amongst agropastoralists is dependent upon adequate consideration of their determinants of innovative technology adoption. Keywords: Forage conservation; forage crops; livestock production; Principal Component Analysis; semi-arid areas; socioeconomic and demographic attributes