Traditional Ag in West Africa

This is an exert from my independent research. I adding it to give you guys some background on traditional agriculture in West Africa. Enjoy!!

Traditional agriculture in West Africa is comprised of many complicated and intricate systems (contrary to popular western belief), that have developed over millennia to a specific ecosystem. These systems produced a tremendous variety of domesticated crops and livestock and methods of farming. It is these systems of agriculture that have been able to sustain diverse cultures and civilizations for thousands of years up until the present day. Researchers are beginning to appreciate that many traditional farmers in West Africa are still practicing farming methods that are in balance with surrounding ecosystems, stable, sustainable and highly efficient. Farmers, who have been portrayed as ignorant and not adaptive, have actually been using very sophisticated agricultural methods for thousands of years (Traditional Agriculture: Overview).

However, in many countries in West Africa traditional methods are mostly seen as backward. An agricultural extension worker in West Africa, who wants to inform a visitor about his “impact” in the region, will show “model” farmers using fertilizers and pesticides, and planting new varieties in rows. Yet if the visitor goes to the extension worker’s own fields, he will be surprised at what he sees and conclude that the extension worker does not belong to the category of modern “model” farmers. The visitor will see that the extension worker is cultivating the same way as his ancestors and completely differently from what he is telling his farmers (Traditional agriculture and integrated pest management).

Plant protection is a good example of how traditional agriculture methods differ from the modern industrial methods. In traditional fallow systems, plant protection methods were first of all preventive methods. Elements of these preventative methods are: choice of varieties, choice of field, mixed cropping, crop rotation, selection of seed and planting methods, and storage. For example, the storage systems of crops are well adapted to the ecosystems. In the humid climate of southern Togo, traditionally small, open granaries are used for storing corn. This is done to achieve good ventilation for the wet-harvested corn. In northern Togo where the harvest of millet is dried in the field, the granaries are closed and made of loam and straw. Industrial styled projects trying to improve these storage systems have been utter failures because they insisted on using cement (cement turns out to be hygroscopic and does not isolate very well, causing an increase in storage pests and diseases). Furthermore, in place of toxic chemicals, farmers use neem leaves (natural pesticide) to mix with the stored crops. In northern Togo beans in storage are completely surrounded by sand in order to prevent damage from beetles (Traditional agriculture and integrated pest management).