About the Saria area

History

The Agricultural Research Station of Saria is in the province of Boulkiemdé in the west-central Region of the country, in the village of Saria from where it takes its name. It was created in the 1960s as an antenna of the Bambey Research Station in Senegal and is located 80 km west of Ouagadougou. This is an INERA research station, where a system has been in place since 1960 to study the influence of different cultivation practices on soil fertility changes. Studies on agroforestry have been carried out there for many years.

About the area

The Saria Station is installed on a relatively flat area (altitude 300 m). It covers an area of 400 ha. According to the 2006 general census, the population of the village of Saria is estimated at 3,195 inhabitants (RGPH, 2006). Saria, like the Central Plateau, is a densely populated area. There is a high rate of migration affecting mainly the 19-39 age group. The agricultural landscape highlights the importance of demography and the saturation of social space. The population of Saria is composed in the great majority of Mossi, but also Pulani and Gurusis. The dominant religious beliefs in the region are Christian, Animism and Islam. The main income-generating activities practiced by the population are agriculture, breeding, trade and handicrafts.

The climate of Saria is of the Sudano-Sahelian type characterized by a long dry season from October to April and a short rainy season from June to September. The average annual rainfall is around 800 mm with a high inter-annual variability and the number of rainy days on average is 65 ± 9 in Saria. The average annual temperature in Saria is 28°C with extreme temperatures fluctuating between 12°C in December-January and 40°C in March-April. The area is subject to two types of winds: a humid wind called the monsoon, blowing from May to October and a hot and dry wind called the harmattan, which occurs from December to April. The terroir of Saria presents a lateritic plateau morphology, with an average altitude of 300 meters. The soils of Saria are characterized by a deficiency in phosphorus, low soil organic matter and low cation exchange capacity. They asphyxiate rapidly under continuous cultivation and chemical fertiliser inputs which are not organic. The vegetation of Saria is characterised by savannas with annual grasses, trees and shrubs. As for the herbaceous carpet, it is mainly composed of Andropogon gayanus, Loudecia togoensis and Schoenfeldia gracilis. The production systems encountered in Saria are: the agropastoral system and the park system which is the most widespread. The main crops are millet, maize, sorghum, voandzou, peanuts and cowpea. The animal types encountered in Saria area are poultry, goats, sheep, cattle and pigs.

Annual rainfall: 800 mm/year

Population density: 100 people/km²

Main ethnic groups: Mossis, Gourounssi

Study site approximate area: 300 km2

Livestock density: 14 TLU/ha

Experiment

Conservation agriculture, soil fertility management, agroforestry systems.

Contribution of fodder shrubs in agro-sylvo-pastoral production systems in the North Sudanian zone.