Exploring opportunities to improve crop-livestock integration and production in mixed farms with a serious game: The case of semi-arid Burkina Faso

Context: Serious games are increasingly recognised as powerful tools to deepen knowledge and stimulate (social) learning among game participants. Objective: We developed a serious game, called QUEEN, to better understand farmer decision-making and to explore potential options to improve crop-livestock integration and production as seen from the farmer perspective using a case study of a semi-arid farming system in Burkina Faso. Methods: The development of the serious game was an iterative process with several rounds in which local farmers and local researchers played a pivotal role. The game included options for soil fertility management, crop and livestock production, market opportunities and interactions among participants. Three game sessions were organized to collect data on farmers' decision-making and management strategies. Beyond gameplay, the game was used as an experimental platform—its solution space was explored through simulations to assess the outcomes of possible strategies, and the impacts of assumptions and game's mechanics on the game's outcomes. Results and conclusions: We showed that while the participants remained generally close to their real-life farm management, in the game they all applied mulch, cereal-legume strip intercropping and rotations, which is less common in reality. This demonstrates the capacity of the game to encourage farmers to explore alternative practices. The solution space exploration helped identify trade-offs between objectives (e.g., livestock production vs. income generation), and pathways to improve crop-livestock integration. Significance: QUEEN is a valuable learning and research tool for Burkina Faso and other semi-arid systems, engaging stakeholders in critical reflection on system constraints and innovations.