Wind erosion control technologies in the West African Sahel: The effectiveness of windbreaks, mulching and soil tillage, and the perspective of farmers

Wind erosion constitutes a major threat for the sustainable use of land resources in the Sahel. It is favored by a long dry season, low vegetation cover, sandy soils and the occurrence of strongly erosive winds at critical times of the year, Wind erosion can result in considerable losses of soil and nutrients at the plot and field scale and impart significant damage to crops through sand blasting and seedling burial. Current land management such as land clearing practices also largely favors the occurrence of wind erosion, forcing farmers to actively implement conservation measures that reduce the potential impact of wind erosion. As a rule, such measures need to be low cost, rely on local skills and knowledge, and typically present multiple benefits besides wind erosion control such as soil fertility improvement or the production of products for household consumption. The present paper reviews the current knowledge about the extent and severity of wind erosion in the Sahel at scales up to village land units, and discusses some of the technological options that are available to farmers for reducing the impact of wind erosion on agricultural land. Emphasis is laid both on the technical and socio-economic feasibility of the techniques.