Farmers' Soil Fertility Management in Niger and Opportunities for Improvements Through Mechanization, Microdosing, and Seed Coating
Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems December 8, 2020 Abdourahamane Issa M. Nourou, Addam Kiari Saidou, Jens B. Aune
In Niger, pearl millet production can be substantially improved with a low-cost package that combines mechanized sowing, seed priming, fungicide seed treatment, and fertilizer. A survey found that most farmers use manure, but few use mineral fertilizer or microdosing due to high labor demands. Field experiments over two years at three sites tested two improved packages against a control. The first package (NPK fertilizer mixed with seed) increased yield by 70.9% and net benefit by 111.8%, while the second (rock phosphate seed coating) increased yield by 42.7% and net benefit by 72.8%. Both packages reduced time to maturity by 10 days and lowered weeding costs, making production more climate-resilient.