Staggered Planting as a Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (ProSOL Bénin)

Staggered Planting as a Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (Benin)

Description

Staggered planting of crops successively over the season mitigates the risks associated with pockets of drought and increases the chances of successful harvests.

Staggered planting of both food and cash crops is a climate change adaptation approach implemented in the Banikoara commune. This technology is designed to minimize the risk of crop failure due to irregular rainfall, and to reduce peak periods (of work overload). It is a technology that can be applied in conditions of irregular rainfall cycles, in areas where it is difficult to predict rainfall accurately. The technology applies to all crop types. Applied to cotton, for example, seeding is carried out in two or three stages. If three stages are chosen, the distribution may be ½ of the total area planted initially, then a further ¼, and finally the last ¼. This staggered approach covers a period from two weeks to a month and one to two months after the initial rains. Most producers opt for planting crops between mid-May and the first ten days of August.
To facilitate its implementation, it is necessary to:
(i) accept the risk of losing part of the seed
(ii) be ready to seize any opportunity of adequate rainfall to perform early sowing
(iii) combine this strategy with cover seeding techniques
(iv) make meteorological information accessible to farmers (rural radio and other information and communication technology channels, including community radio BANIGANSÉ FM in Banikoara in this case).
The implementation of staggered sowing effectively addresses the issue of total seed germination losses. If part of the field is lost, the chances are that another is successful. Additionally, this technology streamlines the distribution of work, preventing overlapping field activities. This, in turn, facilitates efficient labour management.
Despite this overall risk-avoidance strategy, this technology presents a number of challenges. These include germination losses in specific sections of their fields, crop losses, and even pest attacks resulting from the selection of an inappropriate seeding period based on soil type and rainfall. Nevertheless, farmers still manage to avoid losses that might have occurred if seeding had been conducted simultaneously across the entire cultivated area.

Location

Location: Banikoara, Alibori, Benin

No. of Technology sites analysed: single site

Geo-reference of selected sites
  • 2.42861, 11.3243
  • 2.42858, 11.32431
  • 2.42858, 11.32431
  • 2.42858, 11.32431
  • 2.42858, 11.32431
  • 2.43216, 11.30679
  • 2.43221, 11.30682
  • 2.43221, 11.30682
  • 2.43221, 11.30682
  • 2.43221, 11.30682

Spread of the Technology: evenly spread over an area (1.0 km²)

In a permanently protected area?: No

Date of implementation: 2016

Type of introduction
Staggered seeding (ProSOL Bénin)

Classification of the Technology

Main purpose
  • improve production
  • reduce, prevent, restore land degradation
  • conserve ecosystem
  • protect a watershed/ downstream areas – in combination with other Technologies
  • preserve/ improve biodiversity
  • reduce risk of disasters
  • adapt to climate change/ extremes and its impacts
  • mitigate climate change and its impacts
  • create beneficial economic impact
  • create beneficial social impact
Land use
Land use mixed within the same land unit: No

  • Cropland
    • Annual cropping: cereals - maize, fibre crops - cotton
    Number of growing seasons per year: 1
    Is crop rotation practiced? Yes

Water supply
  • rainfed
  • mixed rainfed-irrigated
  • full irrigation

Purpose related to land degradation
  • prevent land degradation
  • reduce land degradation
  • restore/ rehabilitate severely degraded land
  • adapt to land degradation
  • not applicable
Degradation addressed
  • biological degradation - Bs: quality and species composition/ diversity decline
SLM group
  • Adaptation to climate change
SLM measures
  • agronomic measures - A1: Vegetation/ soil cover
  • management measures - M1: Change of land use type, M4: Major change in timing of activities

Technical drawing

Technical specifications
A producer looking to sow seeds across a 3-hectare area can spread the planting over three periods:
- First seeding: 1 hectare as soon as the rains commence.
- Second seeding: one to two months after the onset of rainfall.
- Third seeding: two to three months after the beginning of the rains, especially for soybeans and, in the case of some producers, short-cycle maize varieties.

Establishment and maintenance: activities, inputs and costs

Calculation of inputs and costs
  • Costs are calculated: per Technology area (size and area unit: 1ha)
  • Currency used for cost calculation: CFA F
  • Exchange rate (to USD): 1 USD = 615.0 CFA F
  • Average wage cost of hired labour per day: 2500
Most important factors affecting the costs
Labour
Establishment activities
  1. Land preparation / clearing (Timing/ frequency: March-April)
  2. Ploughing (Timing/ frequency: May)
  3. Seeding (Timing/ frequency: May-July)
  4. Sarclo buttage (Timing/ frequency: July-August)
Establishment inputs and costs (per 1ha)
Specify input Unit Quantity Costs per Unit (CFA F) Total costs per input (CFA F) % of costs borne by land users
Labour
Land preparation / clearing ha 1.0 17000.0 17000.0 100.0
Ploughing ha 1.0 30000.0 30000.0 100.0
Seeding ha 1.0 12000.0 12000.0 100.0
Hoeing and ridging ha 1.0 20000.0 20000.0 100.0
Total costs for establishment of the Technology 79'000.0
Total costs for establishment of the Technology in USD 128.46
Maintenance activities
  1. Hoeing and ridging (Timing/ frequency: June-July)
Maintenance inputs and costs (per 1ha)
Specify input Unit Quantity Costs per Unit (CFA F) Total costs per input (CFA F) % of costs borne by land users
Labour
Hoeing and ridging ha 1.0 15000.0 15000.0 100.0
Total costs for maintenance of the Technology 15'000.0
Total costs for maintenance of the Technology in USD 24.39

Natural environment

Average annual rainfall
  • < 250 mm
  • 251-500 mm
  • 501-750 mm
  • 751-1,000 mm
  • 1,001-1,500 mm
  • 1,501-2,000 mm
  • 2,001-3,000 mm
  • 3,001-4,000 mm
  • > 4,000 mm
Agro-climatic zone
  • humid
  • sub-humid
  • semi-arid
  • arid
Specifications on climate
Average annual rainfall in mm: 850.0
Slope
  • flat (0-2%)
  • gentle (3-5%)
  • moderate (6-10%)
  • rolling (11-15%)
  • hilly (16-30%)
  • steep (31-60%)
  • very steep (>60%)
Landforms
  • plateau/plains
  • ridges
  • mountain slopes
  • hill slopes
  • footslopes
  • valley floors
Altitude
  • 0-100 m a.s.l.
  • 101-500 m a.s.l.
  • 501-1,000 m a.s.l.
  • 1,001-1,500 m a.s.l.
  • 1,501-2,000 m a.s.l.
  • 2,001-2,500 m a.s.l.
  • 2,501-3,000 m a.s.l.
  • 3,001-4,000 m a.s.l.
  • > 4,000 m a.s.l.
Technology is applied in
  • convex situations
  • concave situations
  • not relevant
Soil depth
  • very shallow (0-20 cm)
  • shallow (21-50 cm)
  • moderately deep (51-80 cm)
  • deep (81-120 cm)
  • very deep (> 120 cm)
Soil texture (topsoil)
  • coarse/ light (sandy)
  • medium (loamy, silty)
  • fine/ heavy (clay)
Soil texture (> 20 cm below surface)
  • coarse/ light (sandy)
  • medium (loamy, silty)
  • fine/ heavy (clay)
Topsoil organic matter content
  • high (>3%)
  • medium (1-3%)
  • low (<1%)
Groundwater table
  • on surface
  • < 5 m
  • 5-50 m
  • > 50 m
Availability of surface water
  • excess
  • good
  • medium
  • poor/ none
Water quality (untreated)
  • good drinking water
  • poor drinking water (treatment required)
  • for agricultural use only (irrigation)
  • unusable
Water quality refers to: ground water
Is salinity a problem?
  • Yes
  • No

Occurrence of flooding
  • Yes
  • No
Species diversity
  • high
  • medium
  • low
Habitat diversity
  • high
  • medium
  • low

Characteristics of land users applying the Technology

Market orientation
  • subsistence (self-supply)
  • mixed (subsistence/ commercial)
  • commercial/ market
Off-farm income
  • less than 10% of all income
  • 10-50% of all income
  • > 50% of all income
Relative level of wealth
  • very poor
  • poor
  • average
  • rich
  • very rich
Level of mechanization
  • manual work
  • animal traction
  • mechanized/ motorized
Sedentary or nomadic
  • Sedentary
  • Semi-nomadic
  • Nomadic
Individuals or groups
  • individual/ household
  • groups/ community
  • cooperative
  • employee (company, government)
Gender
  • women
  • men
Age
  • children
  • youth
  • middle-aged
  • elderly
Area used per household
  • < 0.5 ha
  • 0.5-1 ha
  • 1-2 ha
  • 2-5 ha
  • 5-15 ha
  • 15-50 ha
  • 50-100 ha
  • 100-500 ha
  • 500-1,000 ha
  • 1,000-10,000 ha
  • > 10,000 ha
Scale
  • small-scale
  • medium-scale
  • large-scale
Land ownership
  • state
  • company
  • communal/ village
  • group
  • individual, not titled
  • individual, titled
Land use rights
  • open access (unorganized)
  • communal (organized)
  • leased
  • individual
Water use rights
  • open access (unorganized)
  • communal (organized)
  • leased
  • individual
Access to services and infrastructure
health

poor
good
education

poor
good
technical assistance

poor
good
employment (e.g. off-farm)

poor
good
markets

poor
good
energy

poor
good
roads and transport

poor
good
drinking water and sanitation

poor
good
financial services

poor
good

Impacts

Socio-economic impacts
Crop production
decreased
increased


Staggered seeding reduces the risk of crop loss.

expenses on agricultural inputs
increased
decreased

farm income
decreased
increased

Socio-cultural impacts
food security/ self-sufficiency
reduced
improved

recreational opportunities
reduced
improved

SLM/ land degradation knowledge
reduced
improved

Ecological impacts
Off-site impacts

Cost-benefit analysis

Benefits compared with establishment costs
Short-term returns
very negative
very positive

Long-term returns
very negative
very positive

Benefits compared with maintenance costs
Short-term returns
very negative
very positive

Long-term returns
very negative
very positive

Climate change

Gradual climate change
annual temperature increase

not well at all
very well
seasonal temperature increase

not well at all
very well
Season: dry season
annual rainfall decrease

not well at all
very well
seasonal rainfall increase

not well at all
very well
Season: dry season
Climate-related extremes (disasters)
drought

not well at all
very well

Adoption and adaptation

Percentage of land users in the area who have adopted the Technology
  • single cases/ experimental
  • 1-10%
  • 11-50%
  • > 50%
Of all those who have adopted the Technology, how many have done so without receiving material incentives?
  • 0-10%
  • 11-50%
  • 51-90%
  • 91-100%
Has the Technology been modified recently to adapt to changing conditions?
  • Yes
  • No
To which changing conditions?
  • climatic change/ extremes
  • changing markets
  • labour availability (e.g. due to migration)

Conclusions and lessons learnt

Strengths: land user's view
  • Timely maturation of agricultural produce
  • Opportunity to take advantage of adequate rainfall for early planting
  • Facilitated division of labor (avoids work overload)
Strengths: compiler’s or other key resource person’s view
  • Resilience to climatic hazards
Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks: land user's viewhow to overcome
  • If a substantial portion falls into a drought pocket, the crop is lost. Maintain a rational approach to seeding
  • High seed consumption Collect an adequate quantity of good quality seeds (high germination capacity)
Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks: compiler’s or other key resource person’s viewhow to overcome
  • Difficulties in preserving products for crops planted early Utilization of products for subsistence and for sale

References

Compiler
  • Gatien AGBOKOUN CHRISTOPHE
Editors
  • Siagbé Golli
  • Abdoul Karim MIEN
  • DOSSOU-YOVO bernardin
  • Tabitha Nekesa
  • Ahmadou Gaye
Reviewer
  • Sally Bunning
  • Rima Mekdaschi Studer
  • William Critchley
Date of documentation: March 13, 2023
Last update: May 24, 2024
Resource persons
Full description in the WOCAT database
Linked SLM data
Documentation was faciliated by
Institution Project
Key references
  • Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, 2018, Compendium de fiches techniques du formateur:
  • Idani M., Akindélé A. A., Medéou F. K., Ogouwalé E., 2013. Stratégies d’adaptations paysannes au changement climatique dans l’Arrondissement de Dassari (Bénin, Afrique de l’Ouest) XXVIème colloque de l’Association internationale de climatologie. PP 291-296.:
This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareaAlike 4.0 International