Performance technico-économique de la motorisation de la gestion durable de l'eau agricole: Cas de la pratique zaï dans la région du centre au Burkina Faso

In Burkina Faso, farmers have adopted the practice of manual zaï and mechanized zaï for the rehabilitation of the productivity of degraded lands to meet the water needs of rainfed crops through the making of pockets. The arduousness of the work for making the pockets remains the major constraint to the adoption of the zaï practice. The objective of this study is to analyze the technical and economic performance of zaï. Using a block device, the practice of making pockets with the Zaïner is compared to those made manually with the daba and mechanized using animal traction. The technical and economic performance of the practice of motorized zaï is evaluated based on yield, investment, working time and net margin. The results show that sorghum yields from motorized zaï (1844 kg/ha) are higher than those from manual (1413 kg/ha) and mechanized (625 kg/ha) zaï. The practice of mechanized zaï requires less work time than motorized and manual zaï. The net margin is estimated at 176,871 FCFA/ha, 263,548 FCFA/ha and 56,025 FCFA/ha respectively for manual, motorized and mechanized zaï. The implementation of motorized zaï makes it possible to generate a higher net margin than other practices. However, it is necessary to continue testing the motorized zaï in a peasant environment depending on the agro-climatic zones to guide decision-making on its scale-up.