Introducing third PhD student from UNB in Burkina Faso

Yawo Joseph Sehoubo, is a PhD student in the SustainSahel project, Work Package 4: Shrub based farming systems design of the NERA-Saria Institute. He is enrolled in the doctoral school of Natural Sciences and Agronomy of the Nazi Boni University of Bobo-Dioulasso. His thesis is on the theme: "Impact of agroforestry park management methods on the sustainability of agrosystem productivity in Burkina Faso".

After obtaining his Baccalaureate, he chose to study biological sciences. Two years later, he obtained my Diploma of General University Studies in Agronomy and joined the Institute of Rural Development. In the framework of the preparation of his diploma in rural development engineering, he worked on the theme "Floristic diversity and ecosystem services of plant formations in the Nazinga reserve and its surroundings in the south of Burkina Faso". For the Master's degree in Integrated Natural Resource Management, he worked on the topic "Contribution of local knowledge to the conservation of biodiversity in plant formations in western Burkina Faso".

His passion about the issue of natural resource management remains strong, so he undertook his current PhD thesis in the field of sustainable management of fragile agrosystems. The different objectives of this thesis are, among others:

1. the characterisation of the woody structure of agroforestry parks,
2. the identification of different agroforestry park management methods,
3. the diachronic analysis of the evolution of agroforestry parks and the evaluation of the present and future impacts of agroforestry park management methods on soil and sorghum productivity in Burkina Faso.

These objectives are closely related to the main objective of the SustainSahel project, which is to improve the resilience of agricultural systems in the Sahel through the study and dissemination of appropriate crop, shrub/tree and livestock management practices. Yawo's future goals and ambitions are to become a teacher-researcher in Agroecology, to conduct studies in this field and to propose effective and efficient solutions for the management of agricultural systems.