Perception of the Mechanization of Rice Cultivation and Its Effects on the Soil in the Senegal River Valley

Abstract

In Senegal, particularly in the Senegal River valley, agricultural mechanization remains limited, mainly due to a lack of agricultural equipment, a lack of expertise in agricultural machinery and an apprehension of the consequences on soil quality. To better understand agricultural mechanization of rice cultivation, this survey study has been carried out in the Senegal river valley. Precisely, this work aimed to characterize farm machinery and its effects on soil and rice cultivation. A questionnaire was administered to 304 out of 1270 farmers, spread over 8 rice-growing areas, 4 of which are located in the Podor department, three in Dagana and one in Saint-Louis. The results showed that 99.3% of farmers used motorized equipment, with 95.7% using tractor and 3.6% a power tiller. Offset tillage, which is a shallow cultivation practice carried out to break up hard soil without turning it over, was most widespread among growers (95.4%). 78.3% of the valley’s farmers felt that the machinery used to carry out tillage operations was inefficient. According to the farmers, the main constraints on the use of agricultural machinery in the valley were: the upkeep and maintenance of equipment (57%), the lack of expertise in mechanization (31%), and issues adapting machinery to local conditions (12%). Those constraints have contributed to a drop in yields in recent years, the spread of weeds on cultivated plots and the gradual degradation of the soil in the area according to 78% of farmers.