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SustainSahelCommunicationsPhoto gallery

Photo Gallery

Photo gallery update - October 2023

Fresh P. reticulatum mulch in a sorghum field, Photo: Sidiki Gabriel Dembélé, IPR-IFRA, Mali
Fresh Gliricidia sepium mulch in a sorghum field, Photo: Sidiki Gabriel Dembélé, IPR-IFRA, Mali
Dissemination Days in Burkina Faso, Photo: Ouattara Obi, CPF, May 2023
Dissemination days in Senegal, Photo: Fatim Lo, CSE, April 2023
Interview with farmer, Photo: Paul Van Mele, Access Agriculture, Burkina Faso, February 2023
Interview with farmer, Photo: Paul Van Mele, Access Agriculture, Burkina Faso, February 2023
Sorghum and F. albida planted at 200 plants per Ha. Photo: Sidiki Gabriel Dembélé, IPR-IFRA, Mali
Looking for soil macrofauna, Photo: B Bazongo, INERA, BurkinaFaso, August 2023
Looking for soil macrofauna, Photo: B Bazongo, INERA, BurkinaFaso, August 2023
Litterfall collection, Photo: Agbotui, Uni Kassel, Mali, June 2023

Photo gallery update - December 2022

Alley cropping of Leucaena leucocephala (at the age of two months from planting) in association with maize (Zea mays) on Sekou Traore's farm in August 2022 in the village Touroumadie in the Sikasso region of Mali. Photo: Yaya Traore, Sept 2022.
Preparation of the organic fertiliser called Bokachi at the agroecological farm Hamidou Diawara of Tamala (Ouelessegou, Mali). "If producers are to make an agroecological transition, they must be accompanied and trained in alternative practices, such as the preparation of organic Bokachi fertiliser and the preparation of bio-pesticides to fight against insect attacks and others and to fertilise the soil", explains Hamidou Almamy Diawara, President of AMSD.
Photo: Ndeye Fatim Lo, CSE. Oct 2022.
Local food presented and prepared at the agroecological farmers' fair, organised by AMSD, the Malian Association for Solidarity and Development. Photo: Ndeye Fatim Lo, CSE, Oct 2022.
Farmers learning about the different bushes and trees at the agroecological farmers' fair in the commune of Ouelessegou and Tamala, organised by AMSD. Photo: Ndeye Fatim Lo, CSE, Oct 2022.
At the INERA station, in Burkina Faso, Dr. Barthelemy Yelemou practices assisted natural regeneration. By planting local species, such as Néré and Karité.
Photo: Ndeye Fatim Lo, CSE, Sept 2022.
Community plot in Senegal, the women develop many activities. They have installed a nursery and fruit trees such as lemon, mango and guava among others.
Photo: Ndeye Fatim Lo, CSE, Sept 2022.
Discussion with the producer Awa, owner of the sorghum field. She is an example for the producers, because for several years she has had a very profitable crop. Burkina Faso.
Photo: Photo: Ndeye Fatim Lo, CSE, Sept 2022.
A visit to the experimental fields in Ouarkhokh, Senegal, enabled the producers to better explain the research work that is being carried out there. Some of them have started to replicate these trials and they are seeing positive returns, especially with the use of Guiera leaves as straw and organic matter.
Photo: Ndeye Fatim Lo, CSE, Sept 2022.
Visit of the producers to the experimental field of the innovative techniques of the station of INERA.
Photo: Ndeye Fatim Lo, CSE, Sept 2022. Saria, Burkina Faso.
In Mali, the plant Gliricidia Sepium is highly prized by farmers, as well as being very effective in fertilising the soil and an excellent feed for livestock. However, not all farmers have access to it, as it is not a local species. During the visit to the IPR station in Koulikoro, Mali, the researchers let the farmers cut branches of Gliricidia to propogate on their farms.
Photo: Ndeye Fatim Lo, CSE, Oct 2022.
Producers went to the trial fields in Ouarkhokh, Senegal, to see the research work that is being done. Already, some of them have begun the multiplication of these trials and they see positive returns.
Photo: Ndeye Fatim Lo, CSE, Sept 2022.

Photo gallery update - April 2022

Shade trees in Ouarkokh, Senegal, September 2021, Cicek, FiBL.
Wild bird using shrubs as habitat, Ouarkokh, Senegal, September 2021, Cicek, FiBL.
Community fences, Ouarkokh, Senegal, September 2021, Cicek, FiBL.
Farm field school in Koulikoro, Mali, August 2021, Cicek, FiBL.
Field visit in Sikasso, Mali, August 2021, Cicek, FiBL.
IPR experimental fields, Koulikoro, Mali, August 2021, Cicek, FiBL.

Contrasts of the Sahelian dry and rainy seasons

The Sahelian Acacia Savanna ecoregion stretches across the African continent from the North Senegalese Atlantic coast in the west to the Sudanese coast in the east at the Red Sea. All the SustainSahel projects project focus areas are located in the western Sahel ecoregion in Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal, characterised by a tropical, hot, and strongly seasonal climate. There are quite distinct dry and rainy season; the dry season is in the winter lasting eight months, with the rains coming in the summer. Soils are mostly sandy and highly permeable, so most surface water is seasonal. During the distinct dry season, most plants shrivel up whilst some rivers dry up and most of the temporary surface water which accumulated during the rainy season disappears. In the rainy season plants are lush, water is more freely available, and crops are grown (mostly sorghum, millet and peanuts).

In this photo gallery the dichotomies in the landscapes and activities between the rainy and dry seasons in the Sahelian rangelands are presented.

Dry season Rainy season

Topic: Fodder and animals diets

Cows browsing the last remnants of fresh fodder directly from the Gliricidia shrub, towards the end of the dry season. Gliricidia is one of the few sources of palatable feed during dry season. Sikasso, Mali. Cicek, April 2021.
Gliricidia in the wet season growth is rapid, it provides an opportunity to use cutting for mulch or as fodder, fresh or dried. Koulikoro, Mali. Andrea Fliessbach, October 2017.
Dried fodder is the dominant source of feed for animals the driest parts of the dry season. Fodder is dried and stored in various ways, here one example of drying fodder on the roof. Mali, Cicek, January 2021.
In the rainy season, green fodder acts as the basis of animals’ diets. And fodder is actively collected and preserved for the dry season. This family is grazing their herd amongst Guiera Senegalensis bushes and shea trees near Saria, Burkina Faso, Cicek, September 2021.
Herder uses a stick to knock leaves out of the Acacia sp. tree to provide fodder for his livestock herd. Ouarkokh, Senegal, Cicek, March 2021.
Herders with their goat herds grazing the Sahelian rangelands during the rainy months in Ouarkokh Senegal, Cicek, September 2021.
Farmer and extension officer, Louise Kama, shows a large sack of dried fodder from a mixtures of trees and bushes near Saria, Burkina Faso. Cicek, January 2021.
The rainy season is time to collect fodder for use in the dry season. Here, the useful plant Piliostigma reticulatum can be used as living fences that provide a source of biomass for mulching and nutritious fruits that are used as animal feed. Saria, Burkina Faso. Cicek, September 2021.

Topic: Village life - water

Yilou citizens collecwing water for various household usage. Animals are brought to drink directly from such ponds, as you can see by the disturbed muddy margins. Burkina Faso, Cicek, March 2021.
In the rainy season, the water at the well runs freely, which is not always the case in the dry season, when wells can either be significantly lower or in some cases, dry out completely. Yilou, Burkina Faso, Cicek, September 2021

Topic: Village life - work

In the dry season, livestock owners find fresh fodder from trees and bushes, like this Khaya senegalensis in Koulikoro, Mali. Cicek, March 2021.
The rainy season is cropping season – and keeping crops in the Sahel requires care, as resources are limited (e.g. water, nutrients). Livestock are often used for field work, like we see here where farmers weed their field of pearl millet and sorghum. Koulikoro, Mali. Cicek, August 2021.
During the dry season there is not much fodder available in biting distance, so herders often travel long distance to fulfil livestock’s appetite. Transhumance is a very common phenomenon in Sahelian countries, with herder and their livestock travelling sometimes as far as 2,000 kms or more! Sikasso, Mali. Cicek, April 2021.
Weeding is important to ensure the crop doesn’t have to compete for resources, like water and nutrients. Koulikoro, Mali. Cicek, August 2021.
Woman transports preserved forage through Sikasso, Mali. Cicek, April 2021.
Women carrying rice seedling to be transplanted in the rice field. Sikasso, Mali. Cicek, August 2021.

Topic: Landscape - ecology

Sahelian Acacia savanna landscape in the dry season in Mali. Buerkert, January 2021.
Fields of green in the rainy season in Farako, Mali. Cicek, August 2021.
The Sahelian rangelands dry season causes most of the plants to completely dry out, leaving only some trees and bushed as greenery in the landscape. Ouarkar, Senegal. Cicek, March 2021.
During the rainy season, the rangelands reawaken providing more opportunities for grazing, Ouarkokh, Senegal. Cicek, September 2021

Photo gallery - May 2021

Girl herding cattle in Yilou, Burkina Faso. SustainSahel project, March 2021.
Project meeting in Koulikoro, Mali. SustainSahel project, March 2021.
Baobab trees with harvested millet crop stubbles stocked up for later use as a forage in dry season. Focus area Niakhar, Senegal. SustainSahel project, January 2021.
Cows grazing on shrubs, Sikasso, Mali. SustainSahel Project, April 2021.
Grain silos in Saria, Burkina Faso. SustainSahel project, March 2021.
Half moons near Yilou, Burkina Faso. Andreas Buerkert, January 2021.

Photo competition gallery - January 2021

Agro-silvo-pastoral landscape during the wet season. A mosaic of millet and groundnut fields dominated by Faidherbia albida trees (defoliated during the wet season). Niakhar, Senegal. Alain Audebert, August 2018.
A food stand in Burkina Faso, with tree products. From left to right: 1) Sumbala from Parkia biglobosa, 2) flower calyxes from Bombax costatum; 3) fruits from Vitellaria paradoxa; 4) fruits from Adansonia digitata; 5) Tamarindus indica and 6) pods from Faidherbia albida. Fernando Sousa, January 2021.
Fragile soils of Senegal running through farmer's fingers. Extremely degraded soils in Ouarkhokh are limiting the productivity. Fernando Sousa, January 2021.
Meeting under a neem tree in Koulikoro, Mali. Trees also provide a "habitat" for humans to interact and discuss the future. Fernando Sousa, January 2021.
Protecting an orange seedling from animals. This requires a lot effort particularly when resources such as fences are limited. Koulikoro, Mali. Fernando Sousa, January 2021.
Watering cattle in Senegal. Water is scarce during the 9 months dry season. Herders must find wells to water their animals. Fernando Sousa, January 2021.

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