Combining on-farm innovation tracking and participatory prototyping trials to develop legume-based cropping systems in West Africa

In the cotton-production zone of Burkina Faso, poor soil fertility and limited access to appropriate fertilizers call for alternative approaches sustain productivity, such as introduction more legumes into agroecosystem. Legumes have nearly disappeared from local cropping systems under pressure cotton monocropping model. To develop new legume-based using a bottom-up approach, this study was based on farmers' agroecological innovations. first step, called on-farm innovation tracking, five innovative were identified characterized farms located in area through interviews with “innovative farmers” who had designed implemented these systems: (i) Sorghum legume (cowpea, soybean or peanut) intercropping rotation maize cotton; (ii) Soybean cash crop (iii) Red cowpea intra-annual succession biomass crop; (iv) Mucuna maize; (v) Pigeon pea maize. second systems” (ICSs) “participatory prototyping trials” (PPTs) two communities they evaluated during field days by farmers (“field-day farmers”) having no previous experience ICSs. By comparing evaluations made those field-day farmers, it shown that locally ICSs adapted drivers change are great interest other study's two-step participatory approach is an original relevant way co-design introduce