Sustainability Assessment of the Agricultural and Energy Systems of Senegal

Abstract

Abstract:To improve decision-making, sustainability-based approaches to assessment of options and undertakings demand that we move beyond narrowly defined considerations to address the full suite of requirements for progress towards sustainability. This paper reports on a sustainability assessment exercise that originally focused on burning agricultural residues, primarily peanut shells, for cooking applications in Senegal. The scope of assessment had to be expanded to address the agricultural and energy systems of Senegal, when closer examination revealed a complex set of energy and agricultural system interactions that could undermine the anticipated positive effects of initiatives centred primarily on peanut residue cookstoves. The case highlights the need to be open to expanding the scope of assessment to address underlying and/or unexpected issues that cannot be addressed appropriately at the project scale. In particular, the case illustrates how the assessment of an energy system may serve as an entry point into a deeper exploration of the context in which the energy system is embedded. The analysis also illustrates a situation in which different paths that may be followed, each with its own degree of uncertainty, path dependence, feasibility, fairness, cultural sensitivity, trade-off acceptability and possibilities for public judgement of overall desirability. OPEN ACCESSEnergies 2015, 8 3504

Evaluating pearl millet and mungbean intercropping in the semi‐arid regions of Senegal

“…Short fallow periods (less than 5 yr), increased demand for arable land, and high rates of crop residue removal for feed, fuel, and construction have contributed to poor soil structure, increased soil erosion, low soil organic matter and water‐holding capacity, and nutrient deficiency (Manlay, Cadet, Thioulouse, & Chotte, 2000; Sarr, Agbogba, Russell‐Smith, & Masse, 2001). Senegalese agriculture is still extensive and essentially rain‐fed (Diangar, Fofana, Diagne, Yamoah, & Dick, 2004; Fall & Lo, 2009; Gaudreau & Gibson, 2015). It is also characterized by family farms smaller than 3 ha (Willems, 2013) whose access to inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, or equipment) is limited by the low income of farmers (Barrett & Bevis, 2015), limited access to credit (Seck, 2017) but also the limited use of soil fertility improvement and management practices (Diatta et al., 2016; Settle & Garba, 2011; Tounkara et al., 2020).…”

“…However, these agricultural systems, like those of other sub‐Saharan African countries, face various constraints which are mainly due to climate variability and increased frequency of extreme weather events, intrusion of salt water, and pest and disease incidence (Daryanto et al., 2020; Faye et al., 2019; Kotir, 2011; Mbow, Mertz, Diouf, Rasmussen, & Reenberg, 2008b; Roudier, Sultan, Quirion, & Berg, 2011). In addition, poor agricultural practices such as reduction of fallow periods, crop residue removal, and little to no fertilizer inputs (Diatta et al., 2016; Gaudreau & Gibson, 2015) resulted in land degradation and stagnation or even a decline in agricultural production at a time when population growth is accelerating at 2.7% per year (The World Bank, 2018). Short fallow periods (less than 5 yr), increased demand for arable land, and high rates of crop residue removal for feed, fuel, and construction have contributed to poor soil structure, increased soil erosion, low soil organic matter and water‐holding capacity, and nutrient deficiency (Manlay, Cadet, Thioulouse, & Chotte, 2000; Sarr, Agbogba, Russell‐Smith, & Masse, 2001).…”

A Novel Framework for Inner-Outer Sustainability Assessment

“…Accordingly, venues for application have covered a wide diversity of contexts where authorities and stakeholders face demands or expectations to address multiple needs for stewardship and change, and to apply foresight. Integrated requirements-based approaches have been valuable in urban and regional planning, especially where cities face growth demands that cannot be met in established ways without compromising affordability and quality of life [239,253,254] in regional land use planning, including where there evident needs for changes to enhance prospects for viable economic and ecological futures [255]; in rural areas where there may be competing options for food and agricultural systems [256,257] and in evaluations of poverty reduction strategies including at the national scale [258]. Sustainability-based assessments using requirementsbased criteria and seeking positive interactions have also been designed and undertaken for project-planning and assessments, in mining [245,259] hydrocarbon extraction and transportation, and hydropower development [260].…”