In Western Africa, agro-sylvo-pastoral systems are dominant and food demand is booming. To meet this demand, many farmers intensify the production with industrial inputs (mineral fertilizers, feeds, pesticides, herbicides). However, the price of these inputs is rocketing. To face this issue, some farmers reconsider crops, livestock, and tree synergies and by-product recycling to increase their production sustainably at a lower cost. The study aimed to characterize the diversity of Koumbia’s farming systems and to assess farming systems’ technical performance in an agroecological perspective. We surveyed 391 farms in the county of Koumbia (Burkina Faso). Considering 15 agricultural practices (4 on by-products recycling, 4 on soil protection, 4 on industrial inputs limitation, 2 on smart use of natural resources, and 1 on cropping diversification), a multivariate analysis (PCA+HAC) combined to an agroecology (Ae) scoring system (−15 to +15) based on 15 specific indicators (one/practice), we highlighted 3 agroecological farming systems clusters. These clusters are distributed along a gradient of agroecology intensity (Ae+: high degree of Ae, Ae+/−: medium degree, and Ae−: poor degree). Ae+ farms (Ae score: +3.0) group 17% of the farms, Ae+/− (Ae score: −4.5) group 58% of the farms, and Ae− (Ae score: −10.5) group 25% of the farms. Ae+ raise more livestock and recycle a higher rate of crop-livestock by-products in fodder, organic manure, and mulch. These recycling practices are facilitated by better levels of equipment for transportation and storage and soil water and crop residue conservation measures, including maintenance of the wooded park on the cultivated fields. This set of practices, which close better the agricultural system, produces a systemic effect which has a positive impact on yields and on the whole ecosystem. Our findings outline for the first time that crop-livestock synergies and by-product recycling are major factors of agroecological transition in agro-sylvo-pastoral systems.

在西非，农林牧系统占主导地位，粮食需求蓬勃发展。为了满足这一需求，许多农民通过工业投入（矿物肥料、饲料、农药、除草剂）来强化生产。然而，这些投入的价格正在飙升。为了面对这个问题，一些农民重新考虑作物、牲畜和树木的协同作用以及副产品回收利用，以较低的成本可持续地提高产量。该研究旨在描述库姆比亚农业系统的多样性，并从农业生态学角度评估农业系统的技术性能。我们调查了库姆比亚县（布基纳法索）的 391 个农场。考虑 15 种农业实践（4 种副产品回收、4 种土壤保护、4 种工业投入限制、2 种自然资源合理利用和 1 种种植多样化），采用多变量分析（PCA+HAC）与农业生态学相结合(Ae) 基于 15 个具体指标（一个/实践）的评分系统（−15 至 +15），我们重点介绍了 3 个生态农业系统集群。这些簇沿着农业生态强度的梯度分布（Ae+：Ae 程度高，Ae+/-：中等程度，Ae−：Ae 程度差）。 Ae+ 农场（Ae 得分：+3.0）占 17% 的农场，Ae+/-（Ae 得分：-4.5）占 58% 的农场，Ae−（Ae 得分：-10.5）占 25% 的农场。 Ae+ 饲养更多牲畜，并在饲料、有机肥料和覆盖物中回收更高比例的农作物畜牧副产品。更高水平的运输和储存设备以及土壤水和农作物残留物保护措施（包括维护耕地上的树木繁茂的公园）促进了这些回收实践。这一套做法可以更好地封闭农业系统，产生系统性效应，对产量和整个生态系统产生积极影响。我们的研究结果首次概述了作物-畜牧业协同效应和副产品回收是农林牧系统农业生态转型的主要因素。