Soil and Water Management in West Africa: An Economic Analysis

摘要

Water conservation is a necessary component in efforts to raise the productivity of traditional rain-fed farming in West Africa. Soil-water balance relationships and a whole-farm modeling approach are used to estimate benefits of conservation on a typical farm in Mali. Increased rainfall infiltration could quadruple income and raise food grain production from 60 to 90 percent in combination with small amounts of fertilizer.