Agroforestry Parklands in Sub-Saharan Africa
Agroforestry Parklands in Sub-Saharan Africa

Author: Jean-Marc Boffa

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 9789251043769

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This document attempts to present the current state of knowledge on agroforestry parkland systems. These systems, which for many local populations are very important for food security, income generation and environmental protection, are found primarily in the semi-arid and sub-humid zones of West Africa. The document first provides a thorough description of their distribution and diversity and discusses different ways of classifying them. It also presents data on current trends in parkland development and assesses determining factors. The document then provides an in-depth analysis of biophysical tree-soil-crop interactions and the factors regulating them, and describes various improved parkland management techniques. It goes on to examine the strength and limitations of institutional arrangements as well as the constraints imposed by Sahelian forest policies on the sustainable management of parklands. The production, use and marketing of parkland products is reviewed with an emphasis on their contribution to food security, local and national income as well as social values. Overall costs and benefits of the practice of parkland agroforestry are evaluated. In conclusion, the document identifies crucial research needs and promising avenues for promoting sustainable management of parkland systems.

Sahel Visions
Sahel Visions

Author: Della E. McMillan

Publisher: University of Arizona Press

Published: 2022-07-12

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 081655014X

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When an international health initiative succeeded in wiping out river blindness in Burkina Faso, it allowed the settlement of the sparsely populated Volta Valley by the Mossi people--a development plan by which the Burkinabe government sought to relieve population pressure, establish communities, and increase cotton production. Anthropologist Della McMillan followed this visionary plan over twelve years as people relocated communities, founded farms, dealt with officials, entered the market, and in some instances moved on. Her study examines the question of how development occurs or fails to occur and offers unusual insight into how visions of progress--held by developers, settlers, and even researchers--originate and are revised.

Land in African Agrarian Systems
Land in African Agrarian Systems

Author: Thomas J. Bassett

Publisher:

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 440

ISBN-13:

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Land in African Agrarian Systems argues that proposals for sweeping changes in African agricultural land tenure are misconceived. Colonial administrators, African elites, and foreign aid donors have historically viewed the variety of indigenous landholding systems as obstacles to increased agricultural production and to economic progress in general, believing that only private land ownership will provide the investment security necessary for agricultural efficiency. This volume contends that privatisation is not the panacea for Africa's agrarian ills, and that any solutions must take into account critical social dynamics that influence how productive resources are acquired, used, contested and underutilised.