Exploring ndigenous Soil Knowledge in Gourel Yoba, Senegal: Two Years as a Peace Corps Volunteer

摘要

Through my participation in the Masters International Program at the University of California, Davis (UCD) and during my service as a Sustainable Agriculture Peace Corps Volunteer in the village of Gourel Yoba, Senegal, I explored the nature of indigenous soil knowledge to better understand how farmers living at a subsistence level recognize soil resources and whether this knowledge is used to make crop management decisions. A two-part investigation was conducted—first, in the village where farmerswere interviewed and second, back in the United States where soils were analyzed. Villagers recognize seven main types of soil. These are Fahro, Baleeri, Kenyeri, Seeno, Kahran-Kahran, Wendou. and Kahrel, which are differentiated by color, texture, drainage class, and vegetation. The first four are agricultural soils, and the villagers know the crops best suited to each soil. The soils of Gourel Yoba were found to have low fertility with average total N (for samples tested, n = 16) of 0.25 g kg1. Average total C and extractable P was 2.9 g kg1 and 2.6 kg ha1, respectively. Farmers in Gourel Yoba have good working knowledge of their soil resources, but factors such as risk management behaviors and climate change prevent them from always using this knowledge to make the best crop management decisions, Simple steps such as concentrating manure along crop rows are recommended to build on what they already understand about their soils to improve crop performance.