Acceptability Factors of Agro-Sanitation Business Model in Light of Time Allocation

Case of Rural Households in Burkina Faso

Abstract

In a pilot study of an agro-sanitation business model introduced in Burkina Faso, only one of four pilot families succeeded in earning cash from their agro-sanitation business. We conducted a time allocation survey of these pilot families and several control families to measure the additional workload resulting from the application of the agro-sanitation business model. We then sought to identify differences between the family that succeeded in its adoption of the model and those that did not, and attempted to determine the factors that explained these differences. Overall, we found that (1) the additional workload seems small in comparison to other work, (2) among the activities associated with the agro-sanitation business, processing products for sale and selling in the market require considerable time, although the time for these activities was not distinguishable from the time required in customary practice, (3) characteristic differences in time allocation were mainly observed in working-age females, (4) a significant feature of the workingage females in the successful pilot family was the allocation of considerable time for economic activity in the dry season and for subsistence activities in the rainy season, and the relatively short time devoted to housekeeping in the rainy season and to personal activities throughout the year, and (5) important factors for success appear to be that the women in the family are familiar with selling their products in the market and are able to manage their time efficiently. Based on these findings, reasonable strategy for diffusing the agro-sanitation business model should include focusing on women as the key players, identifying women who have features similar to the women in the successful family described in this study, and devising an effective cultivation schedule that considers their seasonal time allocation.