Overview

The success of rural development schemes in Africa, particularly those involving land, is heavily dependent on understanding the local ecology. Any farmer knows this, yet rarely has development project design catered adequately for the vicissitudes of the African environment. Although environmental unpredictability was recognized in the temperate zone by the mid-nineteenth century, the ecological theory which was subsequently developed and most widely accepted, was based on concepts of norms and equilibria. History has shown that the application of such ecological assumptions to African environments is wholly inappropriate. This book argues that many methods used by West African smallholder farmers and pastoralists are properly adapted to the region's unpredictable physical environment. Field examples from the semi-arid and humid zones demonstrate the nature of environmental variability, and the skill of indigenous farmers and pastoralists in exploiting this. It is thus argued that development planners should, where possible, model development schemes on the more successful, ecologically sound methods of indigenous land management.

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9780198233930

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A useful contribution to the discipline. Its strength is the synergism the author has managed to evoke by combining a wealth of data and referenced material to support a well-argued thesis that weaves non-equilibrium ecology with indigenous farming practices in West Africa. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education The chapter order is logical and meaningful. In addition, each chapter can easily stand alone ... While consistency in argument is a primary characteristic of the volume, healthy and appropriate use of data is another hallmark ... sources are current and the documentation of references at the end of each chapter is certainly one of the book's chief assets. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education This book works well as an overview text and an introduction to the region's farming systems, illustrating the value of comparative analysis and the presentation of vignettes of particular farming systems and ecologies ... the book balances the much greater literature on West African political economy, politics, and agrarian history, in which ecological questions often take a back seat. African Affairs

A useful contribution to the discipline. Its strength is the synergism the author has managed to evoke by combining a wealth of data and referenced material to support a well-argued thesis that weaves non-equilibrium ecology with indigenous farming practices in West Africa. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education The chapter order is logical and meaningful. In addition, each chapter can easily stand alone ... While consistency in argument is a primary characteristic of the volume, healthy and appropriate use of data is another hallmark ... sources are current and the documentation of references at the end of each chapter is certainly one of the book's chief assets. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education This book works well as an overview text and an introduction to the region's farming systems, illustrating the value of comparative analysis and the presentation of vignettes of particular farming systems and ecologies ... the book balances the much greater literature on West African political economy, politics, and agrarian history, in which ecological questions often take a back seat. African Affairs

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