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A survey undertaken in 1998 in Macina and Bafaloubé showed that low soil fertility and weak traction animals in the beginning of the rainy season are major problems for the farmers. A project on Integrated Plant Nutrition Management was developed to address these problems and experiments started in 2000. Methods tested in this project are urea-treatment of straw, soil and water conservation by use of the zai method (a hole in the ground for water collection), micro-dose of mineral fertilisers and compost enriched with rock phosphate from Telemsi, Mali. These methods were tested in a participative research and development project in CARE-Macina and AIDeB-Bafaloubé. The results were evaluated based on yield and observations by farmers and researchers. The results were discussed in regional workshops in Bafaloubé and Macina and in a national workshop in Segou. Farmers, project staff and researchers participated in the regional workshops whereas participators in the national workshop were farmers, extension agents, representatives from the business community, NGO staff, politicians and researchers.

In total 72 villages was involved in the project in 2002. The majority of these villages (61 villages) have joined the project on own initiative. This is an evidence of the interest the project has created in Bafaloubé and Macina.

The results of the project are as follows:

• About 6 tonne of straw has been treated with urea in the Macina area. 53 traction oxen have been feeded with this straw. Farmers have observed that these oxen can work for longer hours in the field thus assisting the farmers in overcoming the lack of traction power in the beginning of the rainy season.
• The zai was tested by 26 farmers that requested to test the technology. In total 3.6 ha have been treated with the zai method rehabilitating degraded land. The zai method increased sorghum yield with 168 % over the control in Bafaloubé.
• Use micro-doses of inorganic fertiliser gave as in the previous years very encouraging results. More than 120 hectares have been sown with micro-doses of fertiliser in 2002. Two methods have been tested. The method that consisted of mixing fertilisers and seeds in the ratio 1:1 ration produced 25 kg of grain per kg of fertiliser in 2002 in Bafaloubé. In the treatment where 6 g mineral fertiliser was applied to each pocket of seeds, yields were increased by 1,7 kg per kg of fertiliser.
• Making of compost enriched with rock phosphate has been very much appreciated by the women in Macina. 127 women and 22 men have adopted this technology and the average volume of compost produced per household was 1.5m

The IPNM technologies are now clearly understood at the project sites and results indicate that farmers are now adopting the technology at a large scale. A plan for how to extent the activities was agreed in the regional workshop. Elements of this plan are as follows:

• Formation of IPNM committee in each village
• Creation of a credit fond for IPNM
• Improve the contact between dealers of input and farmers

In 2003 it is planned to introduce urea-treatment of straw in Bafaloubé. It is also planned to extend the project to the CARE project in  Koro-Bankass and to the OADS project in Gourma. Contacts have already been made with these two areas in the north.

At the same time, work will continue to improve the performance of the technologies.

• What are the best forms of fertiliser?
• Can the micro-dose technology be mechanised?
• How are farmers improving the technologie?