Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Is Mulching a Cost-Effective System? Case Study of Pineapple Cropping Systems of the Donomadè Ecovillage in Yoto Prefecture in Togo, West Africa

Wouyo Atakpama
* ORCID logo ,
Hodabalo Pereki
,
Fousseni Folega
,
Ivan Potin Novotny
,
Badabate Diwediga
,
Agbéwanou Attisso
,
Emmanuel Frossard
,
Anne Dray
ORCID logo ,
Garcia A. Claude
ORCID logo ,
Komlan Batawila
,
Koffi Akpagana
Version 1 : Received: 20 September 2023 / Approved: 20 September 2023 / Online: 21 September 2023 (03:22:13 CEST)

How to cite: Atakpama, W.; Pereki, H.; Folega, F.; Novotny, I.P.; Diwediga, B.; Attisso, A.; Frossard, E.; Dray, A.; Claude, G.A.; Batawila, K.; Akpagana, K. Is Mulching a Cost-Effective System? Case Study of Pineapple Cropping Systems of the Donomadè Ecovillage in Yoto Prefecture in Togo, West Africa. Preprints 2023, 2023091428. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202309.1428.v1 Atakpama, W.; Pereki, H.; Folega, F.; Novotny, I.P.; Diwediga, B.; Attisso, A.; Frossard, E.; Dray, A.; Claude, G.A.; Batawila, K.; Akpagana, K. Is Mulching a Cost-Effective System? Case Study of Pineapple Cropping Systems of the Donomadè Ecovillage in Yoto Prefecture in Togo, West Africa. Preprints 2023, 2023091428. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202309.1428.v1

Abstract

One of the main constraints of agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa is the steady decline in the level of soil fertility resulting in a continuous decline in crop yields. This study assessed the impact of grass mulch on: the productivity, the income, the soil carbon, and the phytodiversity within three pineapple-based systems of the ecovillage of Donomade in Togo. They are: a model farm with mulch, adopters’ farms, and non-adopters. Production-related data (e.g., number of plants, the number of productive individuals, the mass of products harvested) was obtained by a sampling an area of 100 m². These measurements were coupled with a semi-structured individual’s interviews of producers on the history of the plots and production costs in order to assess their profitability. The fruit production was three times higher within the adopters’ plots (21240 ± 11890 kg/ha) than the non-adopters (7840 ± 7890 kg/ha) and the two thirds of the model farm (33838 ± 9460 kg/ha). Consequently, the net income was 8 to 11 times higher than the conventional pineapple cropping system. According to the cropping systems, the total soil carbon was higher within mulching plots including the model farm and the adopters’ plots and lower within the non-adopters’ plots.

Keywords

Pineapple, sustainable production, alternative systems, ecovillage of Donomadé, Togo

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Agricultural Science and Agronomy

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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