The persistent low yields of millet and sorghum are primary due to the low input use and the continued practice of traditional production techniques.The cultivation of these crops is often carried out without the use of fertilizers and few improved technologies.

1. Feb 2017
Economic analysis of alternative systems for sorghum
production in Southern Mali
Felix Badolo1
, B. Kotu2
, Z. Birhanu1
, and J. Nzungize1
1
International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)
2
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)
About ICRISAT: www.icrisat.org
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Corresponding author email: f.badolo@cgiar.org
Key messages
• The persistent low yields of millet and sorghum are
primary due to the low input use and the continued
practice of traditional production techniques.
• The cultivation of these crops is often carried out
without the use of fertilizers and few improved
technologies.
• Adoption of sustainable intensification innovations
is essential to improve productivity and income of
smallholder farmers.
Objectives and approach
• Objectives:
aim to compare and contrast the four crop treatments
with respects their economic advantages and
production risks (control treatment, treatment with
only manure, treatment with mineral fertilizer, and
treatment with manure and mineral fertilizer).
• Approach:
Cost - benefit analysis and stochastic dominance are
used to assess grain yields and cash income associated
with each treatment. The study used data covering the
periods 2014 and 2015.
Key results
• Treatment with manure and mineral fertilizer gives
higher yields and net returns compared to the three
other cropping treatments.
• The control treatment generates only 811 kg/ha of
grain yields, while the manure treatment, mineral
fertilizer treatment, and manure and mineral fertilizer
treatment have respectively 1,076 kg/ha, 1,308 kg/ha,
and 1511 kg/ha of grain yields.
• The average net returns were estimated to USD
121.63 per ha for treatment with manure and mineral
fertilizer, USD 87.20 per ha for treatment with only
mineral fertilizer, and USD 83.58 per ha for treatment
with only manure.
Concluding remarks
• Given farmers prefer more to less, and also prefer
avoid low value outcomes, they could make the choice
of manure and mineral fertilizer treatment in the
sorghum production systems
• The adoption of this technology should be
accompanied by the development strategies of inputs
market particularly manure and mineral fertilizers
in order to make them available for the smallholder
farmers.
Table 1. Effect of cropping treatments on sorghum yields
Treatment
Year
2014
(Kg/ha)
2015
(Kg/ha)
Mean (2014 - 2015)
(Kg/ha)
Traditional system
(control treatment)
811a
884a
847a
Treatment with
only manure
1,025b
1,076b
1,051b
Treatment with
only fertilizer
1,267c
1,308c
1,287c
Treatment with
manure and
fertilizer
1,479d
1,511d
1,495d
Table 2. Effect of cropping treatments on net returns of
sorghum
2014 - 2015
Treatments
Gross margin
(USD/ha)
Total cost
(USD/ha)
Net return
(USD/ha)
Traditional system
(control treatment)
64.70a
8.45a
55.27a
Treatment with
only manure
99.37b
15.80b
83.58b
Treatment with
only fertilizer
123.58c
36.38c
87.20d
Treatment with
manure and
fertilizer
165.90d
44.28d
121.63d