Cropping and phytosanitary management led-farmer socio-demographic profile in market-garden systems in the Sudano-Sahelian zone of Burkina Faso

Abstract Market-gardening systems in Burkina Faso include farmers with contrasting access to land, labour and production resources, but the extent to which this heterogeneity is associated with differences in cropping and pesticide management remains poorly understood. This study aims to contribute to the development of strategies for reducing reliance on synthetic pesticides in market-gardening systems in the tropical Sudano-Sahelian zone of West Africa, in line with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2, 3, 5 and 12. A survey of 300 market gardeners across urban, peri-urban and rural production environments in the Sudano-Sahelian zone of Burkina Faso was conducted. Multiple correspondence analysis followed by hierarchical clustering identified three farm types. Small rural farms managed predominantly by women and characterised by limited land and labour resources (G1; 33.7%); established farms managed mainly by men and relying largely on inherited land (G2; 52.7%); and younger, more highly educated peri-urban farmers cultivating rented land with larger labour (G3; 13.7%). Practice differed significantly among farm types. Micro-irrigation was concentrated in G3 (70.7%) but was rare in G1 (3.0%) and G2 (5.1%), whereas surface irrigation was used by more than 91% of farmers in G1 and G2. Synthetic pesticide use was general (95.6–98.0%), although pesticide mixing was more frequent in G2 (72.2%). Twenty-five pesticide chemical classes were recorded, with pyrethroids and avermectins predominating across groups. The crops receiving the most pesticide treatments differed significantly among farm types (Chi-2 = 173.52, p < 0.001). Tomato predominated in G1 (44.0%), cabbage in G2 (61.4%) and chilli pepper in G3 (39.0%). These findings show that farmer profiles capture important differences in cropping and pesticide management, while reliance on synthetic pesticides remains widespread across farm types. Extension strategies should therefore combine profile-specific agronomic advice with broader integrated pest management and pesticide-risk reduction measures. Such targeting can contribute to safer food production (SDG 2, 3, 12) and to narrowing gender gaps in access to resources (SDG 5).