Effect of adopting sustainable agricultural practices on food security in rural Burkina Faso: Do agro-ecological zones matter?

Abstract

There is considerable empirical evidence that adopting sustainable agricultural practices significantly impacts the food security of farm households in Africa. However, the association between agro-ecological conditions and the magnitude of the impact of the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices remains unknown. This study takes into account differences in agro-ecological conditions to assess the effect of the adoption of sustainable practices on the food security of farmers. Based on a Probit–2SLS approach with instrumental variables and using nationally representative farm household data collected by the Ministry in charge of agriculture in 2022, we find that the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices increases the level of food security of farmers by about 39.10%. Furthermore, the effect of adopting sustainable agricultural practices on food security varies according to agro-ecological conditions. We found that the effect of adopting sustainable agricultural practices was positive and significant in the Sudanian zone, whereas in the other two agro-ecological zones, the effect was positive but not significant. To accelerate agricultural growth to improve food security in rural Burkina Faso, our results suggest that interventions that promote the dissemination and adoption of sustainable agricultural practices should take into account the agro-ecological conditions of the zones for greater effectiveness.