Determinants of adoption of soil and water conservation techniques in Burkina Faso

This study examines the determinants of soil and water conservation (SWC) practices adoption and use in three agro-ecological zones in Burkina Faso. Our study uses farm-level data that have been collected on 254 households in three agro-ecological zones in Burkina Faso over the period 1999--2003. Logit, Multinonomial logit, and Tobit models are used to examine the factors affecting adoption of Zai structures (water and silt catchments), stone bunds and manure soil amendment.; Across all three models, community prevalence or pressure to adopt conservation practices significantly affected the adoption of two or more of the techniques. This result suggests economies of scale in changing attitudes and prevalence of adoption of techniques through education and extension. Since both agricultural and non-agricultural income increases farmer's likelihood of investing in manure and zai techniques, this suggests that there is a role for subsidization of SWC or expanding access to credit. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...