Sustainable Agriculture In The West African
Savannah: Considerations For Modern Crop
Promotion In Traditional Farming Systems
Author(s)
B. Polidoro & E. H. Franz
Abstract
Sustainable agriculture techniques in West Africa are largely based on the
planting of modern crop varieties of nitrogen-fixing legumes to improve soil
fertility and increase harvest yields for the subsistence or smallholder farmer. In
the northern savannah of Togo, native crop varieties, or landraces, of
intercropped sorghum and cowpea were grown in a demonstration field for
comparison with internationally promoted monocropped soybean and the cover
crop mucuna. After two growing seasons, no significant changes in soil
chemistry were observed. However, harvested yields of the native crops were
double those of the promoted modern crops. Several biological and practical
reasons account for the failure of soybeans or mucuna to improve soil fertility
over the two-year period. Similarly, the genetic and cultural benefits of
traditionally intercropped sorghum and cowpea may further hinder local farmer
adoption of soybean or mucuna. These observations suggest that the widespread
promotion of soybean and mucuna to improve soil fertility may not be
appropriate within the context of specific environmental conditions and cultural
practices. Sustainable agriculture initiatives might be better achieved if based on
increased research of native crops, trees and forages for use within tailored ‘in
situ’ soil conservation projects that incorporate indigenous farmer knowledge
and local cultural values. For this aim, appropriate sustainable agriculture
projects require adaptive interdisciplinary approaches that integrate farmer
participation with both socioeconomic and biophysical research.
Keywords: soil fertility, harvest yield, landraces, West Africa, nitrogen fixation,
cover crops, indigenous knowledge, sustainable agriculture.
Keywords
soil fertility, harvest yield, landraces, West Africa, nitrogen fixation,
cover crops, indigenous knowledge, sustainable agriculture.
Related Book
Other papers in this volume
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