Effect of Integrated Soil Fertility Management Technologies on the Performance of Millet in Niger: Understanding the Processes Using Simulation

Low soil fertility and erratic rainfall are the most limiting factors to crop production, in the Sudano-Sahelian zone of West Africa. The region is the home of the world’s poorest people, 90% of whom live in villages and gain their livelihood from subsistence agriculture. However, yields of cereals in general, and millet in particular that constitute the staple food of rural people, are very low (300–400 kg/ha). Research has developed technologies of integrated soil fertility management, but resource poor farmers have not adopted them. DSSAT (Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer) is a tool incorporating models of 16 different crops with software that facilitates the evaluation and application of crop models for different purposes. Its use requires a minimum data set on weather, soil, crop management and experimental data. The simulations from these data can help scientists to develop promising management options to improve farmer’s conditions. However, requirements for such model use is to evaluate its capabilities under farming ­situations, soils, and weather that are characteristic of the area where it will be used. This study was conducted to evaluate the DSSAT millet model capabilities for ­simulating the interactions between soil fertility and millet yields in three sites (Banizoumbou, Bengou and Karabedji) of Niger over 5 years (2001–2005) and ­different nitrogen management.