AgriGuide

Food and Cash Crops

In the box on the right, you will find advise about organic farming by food and cash crops.

Topics of learning and sharing

The following are recurrent topics to be discussed among farmers to grasp their knowledge and understanding of farming issues.

Have farmers experienced any decline in food and cash crops yields over the years?
What do farmers think the main causes of declining yields are?
What do farmers think needs to be done to improve food and cash crops yields?

Understand the relevance of site selection, landraces and preparation of planting material;
What ecological, economic and social factors influence the cultivation of food and cash crops in the area (soil characteristics, household preferences, market demand, national and international economic policies, infrastructure, marketing structures etc.)?
What relevance do growers attribute to intercropping and crop rotation for soil fertility?
Do growers see any advantages/inconveniences in intercropping/rotating crops?
Seed selection and multiplication;
Recognize potential for crop rotation improvement; do growers see any potential improvements to production?
Learn locally adapted combinations for intercropping;
Understand the relevance of soil fertility management for improved food and cash crops cultivation, and options for its implementation in the local context;
Understand the relevance of and the approaches to pest and disease management;
Managing Striga weed, weevils in stored grains;
Identifying strategies to reduce harvest and post-harvest losses;
Organic farming and certification.

How much attention growers pay to cultivating leguminous crops?
Have legumes also been grown as green manure? What advantages and inconveniences does incorporating a legume as green manure before flowering have, compared to the incorporation of the crop residues after the harvest of the beans?
Do growers perform experiments in alley cropping leguminous trees? Under what conditions is it advantageous to combine trees with annual crops?

Millet is the cereal with the highest tolerance to heat and drought;
Application of cultural practices in millet results in higher and more secure yields.

Recognize diversification strategies in rice production;
Learn good husbandry practices in rice production, especially on System of Rice Intensification (SRI);
Develop awareness on how to improve incomes and organic certification of rice production;
Different cropping patterns may increase total yield and improve soil fertility.

Sorghum is suited to hot and dry conditions and can contribute to sustainable agriculture;
Where sorghum is grown with low inputs, considerable increases in yield is possible with improved management practices (timing, rotation, soil fertility, cultivar selection, cropping system);
The demand for sorghum is expected to increase. To improve the market potential of sorghum and overcome constraints, concerted action along the whole supply chain is necessary;
What comes to growers and buyers mind when thinking of sorghum?
What are the good reasons for growing sorghum?
What constrains sorghum cultivation?
Is more or less sorghum being grown in the region? Why?
What do consumers think about sorghum? Social aspects involved in sorghum consumption.