Farmers combine crops, livestock, and trees to reap big profits

Hello listeners, welcome to our program. Today, we’re going to talk with our guests about an agricultural practice called agro-sylvo-pastoralism.

It is a farming system that combines trees, crop production and livestock production. Many farmers practice agro-sylvo-pastoralism in both forest and dryland areas of Côte d’Ivoire.

In this program, we talk to Mr. Tuo Dognima Augustin, who practices agro-sylvo-pastoralism in northern Côte d’Ivoire. We’ll talk to him about this farming technique, its advantages and disadvantages.

Then we’ll talk to Mr. Yao Kouamé René, a specialist in agroforestry. He will discuss the benefits of this practice for the community and the environment. Finally, Kouamé Yao Allay Emmanuel, agricultural economist and technician specializing in perennial crops at the Agence Nationale d’Appui au Développement Rural, will give us his expert opinion.

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Good afternoon, sir. Can you introduce yourself to our listeners?

My name is Tuo Dognima Augustin. I live in the village of Ganon, in the department of Korhogo, more than 600 kilometres from Abidjan, the economic capital of Côte d’Ivoire. I’m a farmer specializing in agro-sylvo-pastoralism.

Specifically, how do you practice this type of farming?

I grow rice, maize, cotton, and cashew nuts on 15 hectares of land. I also raise pigs and some goats. The plot is divided into several parts. I grow cashew nuts on four hectares, rice on two hectares, cotton on four hectares and maize on two hectares. The area where I grow cashew nuts is exclusively dedicated to cashew nuts. Cashew nuts produce their fruits during the dry season from March to May. I collect the edible seeds to sell. Every year the government sets the price per kilogram. In 2023, the price of cashew nuts was set at 315 CFAF per kilogram.

How do you organize yourself to grow all these crops on the same plot?

I plant the same crops every year, but in rotation. In other words, if I plant cotton on my four-hectare plot this year, I will plant rice on the same plot next year. Where I plant maize this year, I can plant groundnuts next year, and so on. What’s difficult is growing maize. For example, I can’t grow it in the same soil two years in a row. So crop rotation is a way of regenerating the soil and making it more productive. If you grow the same crop on the same plot of land every year, the soil becomes poor in nutrients.

What are the benefits for the soil? Are the yields better and higher?

There are crops that impoverish the soil by removing a lot of nutrients. For example, growing cashew or cotton is not compatible with growing maize because they all need a lot of nutrients in the soil. Some crops add nutrients such as nitrogen to the soil, especially legumes such as groundnuts. With proper rotation, crops grow well, and this is profitable. Field yields are higher. For example, for a one-hectare cotton field, I earn 200 or 300 thousand FCFA at the end of the harvest. A good groundnut crop means that I can sell a 50-kg bag for 5,000 FCFA, with one hectare costing 200 or 250 thousand CFA francs to grow.

In terms of crops that deplete the soil, you can’t grow cashews and mangoes on the same land. These are both crops whose root systems seek nutrients deep in the soil, and disrupt the growth of the other. The same applies to rice and maize

In addition to growing crops, you’re also a livestock farmer in your region. What is the relationship between these two practices?

I have 10 pigs, five goats and four oxen, including two cows and two bulls. The oxen provide a lot of compost for my field. With the oxen, we use a daba (Editor’s note: A daba is an African tool that enables farmers to plough the soil with the help of animals) to make mounds in the fields, for example. I also use animal excrement as fertilizer for our seeds. It’s a natural fertilizer that keeps costs down. The price of chemical fertilizer varies between 30,000 CFAF and 35,000 CFAF for a 50-kg bag. For a one-hectare field, I need five 50-kg bags of chemical fertilizer. With compost, I use only three bags of chemical fertilizer at a cost of 105,000 CFA francs instead of 175,000 CFA francs. I also use crops and crop residues for animal feed.

How did you learn this farming technique?

I’ve been trained by local NGOs such as Animation Rurale de Korhogo and Agence Nationale d’Appui au Développement Rural. These organizations supervise us and show us how to grow certain plants at the same time in the field. As far as plants to avoid, we’re advised not to plant eucalyptus or teak in our fields, because these plants absorb a lot of water. On the other hand, a field of mangoes combined with cashew nuts is a good association.

As far as environmental protection is concerned, I’ve taken training courses that I use in my field.

Give us a practical example,

There’s a technique that consists of making earthen bunds in our fields when they are eroded by rainwater. Earth bunding is a technique essentially used to capture rainwater and/or limit the damage to soil and crops caused by its runoff. It involves the construction of a compact earthen structure in the form of a small wall. We also use the stone line technique on the plot in question. This prevents small gullies from forming on the downward slopes of the field from runoff water. We also do reforestation.

Are there other trees besides cashew on your farmland?

The main tree species on the site are teak and shea.

Do you do all the work yourself?

No, I have three wives and children, both boys and girls. The work is divided among them. My wives and daughters are in charge of cleaning the animal pens every morning. I have a pit at home where we pile up all the animal waste to be composted. My wives and daughters take it in turns to clean and collect the fertilizer, which we take to the field in a cart. The women also help with the cooking. They help us with field work, weeding, and harvesting. A working day starts at 5 a.m. and ends around 6 p.m. in the evening.

Is your income large enough to feed the whole family?

I would say yes, because I can send my eight children to school and also provide for them when they’re sick. When I sell cotton, rice, and groundnuts, we also keep some for our own consumption. What’s more, my animals are invaluable. The pigs reproduce quite well. When I have to sell some to tide me over, pigs are very profitable. I sell them when they are old and large enough to sell. There’s an interval of nine to 10 months between the birth of a pig and the time of sale. I sell a pig for 50 to 60 thousand CFA francs. Ten pigs can bring me 600,000 CFA francs.

Is agro-sylvo-pastoralism difficult to practice?

Nothing in life is easy. You have to get up early in the morning every day because there are so many things to do. When I’m not around, it’s my three wives and my daughters who feed the animals. They give them water to drink, and food like grass and maize bran. They milk the cows to collect milk for consumption. By accompanying me to the field and observing me in my daily tasks, they have learned from me and mastered the work. They are experienced in this farming practice.

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We now welcome Mr. Yao Kouamé René. You are a farmer in Azaguié, 40 km from Abidjan, in the southern region of Côte d’Ivoire. You specialize in agroforestry. Please describe what you grow and what practices you use.

I grow cocoa. On my plot, I’ve combined trees that are compatible with cocoa cultivation. I have fraké, a tropical tree whose scientific name is Terminalia superba; niangon, a tree in the Sterculiaceae family; framiré, whose scientific name is Terminalia ivorensis, and mahogany. These trees help feed the cacao tree by producing compost from their leaves. They also provide shade for the cacao. Cacao doesn’t like too much sun or water. Fruit trees help alleviate this problem. I’ve also added fruit trees like avocado, orange, and tangerine.

What are the advantages of combining all these plants?

It’s for a better yield of my cocoa. Like I said, the other trees protect the cocoa trees by providing shade. I make money by selling cocoa and I sell the wood from these trees to the forestry industry. Fruit trees allow farmers to sell good quality fruit and make money. Fruit is sold seasonally. For example, I have avocado trees and three avocados are sold for 100 CFAF. Some of the fruit is also used for local consumption. As for cocoa, I have eight hectares. With the price of cocoa set at 1,000 CFAF per kilo, I often produce 700 kg per hectare. That is 700,000 CFAF per hectare.

Doesn’t this combination of different crops affect the soil?

No, it depends on the distance you have to maintain. And these trees don’t get enough shade. The falling leaves fertilize the soil.

Since you’ve been practicing agroforestry, what benefits have you received?

Agroforestry combats soil erosion. This is because the trees that are planted intercept the rain so that it doesn’t erode the soil, especially when it rains heavily. This creates a microclimate that increases crop yields. In Côte d’Ivoire, the Ministry of State and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, talk about a yield of 500 kilograms per hectare for cocoa. But we who practice agroforestry end up with a higher yield, about 600 to 700 kilograms per hectare. When you associate trees and implement good farming practices, you can increase your income when you combine it with livestock production, especially poultry. Chicken droppings can be used as fertilizer. In the cocoa field, you can combine several sources of income by planting orange and avocado trees. Next to this, you can create a space for raising chicken. When the chicken mature, we can sell them.

What do we mean by good farming practices?

The first thing to do is to look after the field and cut the suckers, which are stems that grow around cocoa plants and consume nutrients. This prevents the fruit from growing. Next, we have to do a good job of composting and weeding the field, which includes removing dead leaves and branches and spacing these plants properly. When you space cocoa plants 10 metres apart within a row and space rows 10 metres apart, you have 100 trees per hectare. About 70% of trees grow to maturity. You can plant whatever fruit tree you want between the cocoa trees because the fruit trees don’t grow very high or have deep roots. So they have no negative impact on the cacao tree.

Are there any disadvantages to agroforestry?

In my opinion, no, I can only see advantages. At the moment, there are no forests left. By protecting the orchard with all these trees, it’s a kind of advantage. They reduce the heat for the cocoa trees.

What about environmental protection?

All these trees help regulate the climate, fight coastal erosion, and replenish the soil with organic matter. Trees and shrubs stabilize river banks, and the intertwined roots hold the soil and limit erosion. Trees have the capacity to hold large quantities of water in their leaves, branches, and trunks. At the onset of a rainstorm, much of the water is retained by the dry parts of the plant, reducing the impact on the soil and the potential for water erosion. As for organic matter, the decomposition of dead branches and roots as well as leaves will help to increase biological activity in the soil, improve soil structure, and maintain or even increase the depth of the top layer of soil.

The climate regulation I’m talking about involves regulating the seasons by mitigating global warming. Trees reduce atmospheric CO2 by sequestering carbon in their trunks, branches, and leaves. They also reduce the impact of heavy rainfall and runoff, and protect soils and cocoa trees from ultraviolet rays.

In our region, we encourage many farmers to adopt these practices.

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We’re now going to speak to Mr. Kouamé Yao Allay Emmanuel. He is an agricultural economist and technician specializing in perennial crops at the Agence Nationale d’Appui au Développement Rural. How would you define agro-sylvo-pastoralism?

Agro-sylvo-pastoralism is the planned association of crops, trees, and animals on the same plot of land.

What areas are suitable for agro-sylvo-pastoralism in Côte d’Ivoire?

All agricultural areas are suitable for this practice. Before you start farming, you have to understand the environment you’re in. In other words, depending on the type of soil, the climate, and whether the land is hilly or flat, there are specific crops, types of trees, and types of livestock that can be grown. For example, in the forested south where cocoa farming is well established, there is poultry farming under cocoa trees in association with forest trees such as iroko, whose scientific name is Milicia excels, and dabema, scientifically known as Piptadeniastrum africanum. Whether in an arid or a very humid zone, adaptation depends on taking into account the aspects I mentioned above.

What are the best practices for combining crops, trees, and animals?

You have to make sure that the species you want to grow at the same time are compatible. To practice crop rotation and enrich the soil , it is necessary to avoid keeping animals that would consume the produce and/or dangerous plants or tree species that are incompatible with the crop. One positive combination is cocoa farming, combined with forest trees such as fraqué, framiré, tiama and others, and traditional chicken farming under cocoa trees. In terms of danger, the risk is practically zero, since the chickens’ activity has a beneficial impact on the soil and reduces insect pests. Trees spaced at a reasonable distance have beneficial effects.

What are the advantages of agro-sylvo-pastoralism for a farmer?

In terms of advantages, we could talk about enriching of the soil and how animals reared on the plot provide organic fertilizers. This method also diversifies income streams. It also combats climate change by sequestering carbon, preserves biodiversity, and creating a climate conducive to agriculture.

Why do so few people practice agro-sylvo-pastoralism?

There’s a lack of knowledge about the practice, and a lack of mastery in managing the elements to be combined. But some people do it without even knowing that it is a farming practice.

Thank you for all your comments, Mr. Kouamé Yao Allay.

Today, we have heard from two farmers and a technical specialist on agro-sylvo-pastoralism. They explained this farming method, its advantages, difficulties, and disadvantages. Our specialist for the day, Mr. Kouamé Yao Allay, encouraged farmers to adopt this practice. The same applies to Tuo Dognima Augustin and René Yao, whose lives have been transformed thanks to keeping crops, animals, and trees together.

We hope you’ll take the plunge and reap the benefits in terms of crop diversification, increased income, and environmental protection. Thank you to all our guests and to you who follow us. See you soon for another program.