Production and use of homemade dry manure-based tea in fertigation systems in North Africa

Leauthaud Crystèle, Ameur Fatah, Richa Amina, Ben Yahmed Jihène, Tadjer Nouredine, Bakouchi Sahbi, Akakpo Koladé, Djezzar Miliani, Amichi Hichem. 2022. Production and use of homemade dry manure-based tea in fertigation systems in North Africa. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 37 (9) : 248-256.

https://doi.org/10.1017/S174217052100051X

Article de revue ; Article de recherche ; Article de revue à facteur d'impact

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Résumé : Organic matter water extract, or so-called "tea", may be used to correct nutrient deficiencies in crops or enhance their defense systems. Such tea mixtures are prepared locally by Mediterranean farmers to offset a multitude of constraints, particularly a scarcity of organic manure or high synthetic input costs. However, the diverse range of tea production and usage practices and farmers' underlying rationales have yet to be thoroughly studied. Yet locally they constitute real alternatives that allow farmers to maintain their income levels while reducing reliance on chemical inputs. The main objective of this study was to gain insight into farmers' rationale and practices regarding the production of homemade dry manure tea (HMT) in North Africa, while also highlighting the benefits perceived by farmers. Nearly 50 interviews with farmers were thus conducted in three irrigated cropping areas in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Our results showed that HMT is widely used in intensified family horticultural cropping systems that usually rely on drip irrigation and chemical fertilization. The analysis of farmers' practices revealed that HMT was generally made from aged manure that was pure or consisted of a mixture of sheep, cow or poultry dung. The production protocol varied in terms of drenching techniques, maceration time, container volume and type, and filtration techniques. Farmers applied the derived tea via the drip irrigation system, regularly or with a limited number of applications. The analysis of farmers' rationales and perceptions regarding HMT clearly highlighted that they felt that these practices played a positive role. HMT was considered to improve vegetative growth, yield and, to a lesser extent, soil properties. These benefits could in turn lead to decreased use of synthetic fertilizers by farmers, while boosting their income. The increased understanding of HMT and the underlying rationales showcased in this study could help scientists better analyze and assess these practices in the future. The findings could also facilitate improvement and wider dissemination of these practices to achieve more sustainable irrigation systems in the intensified irrigated cropping areas that abound in North Africa.

Mots-clés Agrovoc : irrigation fertilisante

Mots-clés géographiques Agrovoc : Maroc, Algérie, Tunisie

Mots-clés libres : Agroecology, Algeria, Tunisia, Fertigation, Irrigation, Leachate, Liquid extract, Manure

Classification Agris : F06 - Irrigation
F04 - Fertilisation

Champ stratégique Cirad : CTS 2 (2019-) - Transitions agroécologiques

Agences de financement européennes : European Commission

Agences de financement hors UE : Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Direction Générale de la Recherche Scientifique et du Développement Technologique

Programme de financement européen : FP7

Projets sur financement : (EU) Coordination of the Agricultural Research in the Mediterranean

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