Changes in West African Savanna agriculture in response to growing population and continuing low rainfall doi.org/10.1016/0167-8809(90)90214-X

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 31(2) (2022) 115-132; doi.org/10.1016/0167-8809(90)90214-X

Changes in West African Savanna agriculture in response to growing population and continuing low rainfall

H. I. D. Fierich and W. A. Stoop

International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics ICRISAT/UNDP, P.O. Box 1165, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

(Accepted 12 September 1989; available online 27 June 2003.)

Abstract

Changes in village farming systems brought about by population growth and continuing low rainfall, are described for the three main agro-ecological zones in Burkina Faso. The toposequential land use and cropping patterns were used as the basis for a model, which describes the long-term ecological degradation from declining proportions of fallow land and over-cropping. The implications of these changes for land tenure systems have also been considered. The result provide a human and ecological setting for th current land degradation problem in the West African savanna and thereby indicate possible directions and priorities for future agricultural research.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/016788099090214X