Combined effect of fertilizer micro-dosing and intercropped millet/cowpea effect on agronomic and economic advantages in prone Sahel area, Niger

Climate change is affecting crop production in the West Africa Sahel. Farmers develop many adaptation strategies However, few of them have been tested to find their climate smartness, primarily their agronomic and economic benefits. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the field experiment in two successive years, 2020 and 2021, in rainy conditions, the combined effect of millet/cowpea intercropping and fertilizer microdosing on the yield and their economic advantages. Two genotypes of cowpea (ISV128 and Tiligre) and a variety of millet, Heini Kirey Precoce (HKP), were intercropped. At the treatment level, there is a net benefit of the crop association compared to the pure cultivation of each of the millet and cowpea species with total LERs, an average of 1.48 in 2020, and 1.43 in 2021 for microdose treatment and 1.55 in 2020 and 1.13 in 2021 for the control. However, there is no significant difference in cowpea genotype on LER and millet yields in the 2 years (P = 0.65 in 2020 and 0.29 in 2021). Yields of millet and cowpea were higher in the sole crop than in intercropping. The intercropping showed a significantly higher monetary advantage than the sole millet crop in both years. ISV128 is the most profitable because it is less competitive and less aggressive in intercropping with millet and offers a considerable monetary advantage. The findings are invaluable in implementing resilience strategies for smallholders who must be encouraged to adopt these cultural practices due to global warming.

Automated summary

Climate change is impacting crop production in the West Africa Sahel region. A study found that intercropping millet and cowpea, along with microdosing fertilizer, resulted in higher yields and economic benefits compared to monoculture. The cowpea genotype ISV128 was identified as the most profitable.