Smallholder Farming Practices in Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas Lam.) Farms in Two Agroecological Zones of Burkina Faso

Orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) is cultivated by smallholder farmers in Burkina Faso, but production practices and constraints differ across agroecological settings. This study described smallholder OFSP production systems in the northern and southern Sudanian zones, with emphasis on crop management, fertiliser use and farmer-reported constraints. The study was conducted in 2024 and 2025 in the northern and southern Sudanese areas of Burkina Faso. Individual surveys and focus groups were carried out with 240 farm managers exactly in 11 villages across 3 provinces in the southern Sudanian zone and 10 villages in 2 provinces in the northern Sudanian zone. These surveys revealed agricultural practices in both zones, including monoculture, intercropping, and crop rotation. Crop rotation was dominant (80% of farmers) and alternates with other food crops and sometimes cash crops. The use of local varieties was predominant, but the use of inputs remained limited : 89.2% of farmers applied less than 10 t/ha of organic fertilizer (compost, manure, poultry droppings, household waste, biochar) and 60.8% used less than 100 kg/ha of mineral fertilizers (NPK, urea). Furthermore,significant constraints hampered production: poor soil quality (25.8%), lack of funds to purchase fertilizers (29.46%), and low rainfall (19.10%). Thus, to increase the production of orange-fleshed sweet potatoes in Burkina, it would be beneficial to improve soil fertility management, access to inputs and climate-adapted support strategies.