Factors affecting adoption of the improved living hedge in Mali

Over the last few years, in Mali, vegetable and cassava production during the dry season have been increasing. Traditionally, these crops were protected from roaming livestock by dead fences made of thorny tree branches. In order to reduce the pressure on the woody component of the surrounding parklands, some experts promote the use of live fences made of multipurpose fast growing trees planted close to one another around the plot as an alternative to dead fences. However, various constraints impede the adoption of live fences by farmers. A study was therefore undertaken in the Segou area in order to characterize the Agricultural Production Units (APU) using a live fence and identify the factors determining its adoption. The APU that use live fences have access to more labour force, more agricultural equipment and more livestock than non users. The fact that these factors are typical of the wealthiest APU raises concern about the overall accessibility of this agroforestry technique for the poorest farmers. Results also show that the use of live fences is determined by variables related to information and of farmers.