All,
We’re hoping to gain some insight about the Sahel region. Your thoughts and experience are appreciated. Thanks.
- Is BioChar useful in the Sahel region? What are the pluses and minuses? What adoption approach has worked well?
- Is Atmospheric Water Generation being used in the Sahel? How can we learn about this? What is holding back the use of this technology?
- Is Algae useful in the Sahel region? As a soil amendment? Is the semi-arid climate conditions and govt. instability the main reasons that production is limited in this region or are there other factors?
I tend to be extremely negative about intentionally producing biochar in almost all contexts based on my experience in working in South Sudan and Nuba Mountains which have sahelian regions. I would strongly advise you not to make biochar in the sahel. Here are my reasons: #1 Why with limited wood in the sahel for cooking/heating/construction/fencing would you deprive yourself of that limited resource by producing biochar which is of limited usefulness relative to other more readily accessible ways to make your soil fertile? #2 Biochar is mostly a fad. Although carbon and charcoal are great to have in your soil it is time consuming to produce it and the charcoal or wood should be used for other things more appropriately. There are other ways of increasing fertility such as use of human urine, legumes, mulching, organic matter placed in planting holes or in the raised/sunken bed, etc. #3 Since most sahelian societies depend on charcoal for heating you should have a ready source of charcoal for soil fertility enhancement just from collecting where the charcoal is burned or where the charcoal is stored or sold. In many cases this will more than supply the need for soil amelioration.
Regarding atmospheric water generation: You should consider and exhaust your trials of all forms of water harvesting techniques and maximizing production on a large-scale during the time of rain, no matter how limited before you attempt that technique. You can try companion compensation techniques of growing a higher value crop between alternating rows of a lower value more reliable crop. Part way through the season you can start to favor one or the other as to acquisition of light. The other can become fodder or the two can grow together. You can try deep hole techniques if you have an alluvial plain where water is known to soak in. Mulching extensively or even producing a mulching material plot.
Algae: Maybe someone can answer this better than me but I don’t see a role for algae in sahelian regions. It is really to dry to encourage their growth. Mycorrhizae though a different story and you should focus on enhancing its growth. There is a lot more I could say but that is a start.