| This cultural ecological study describes the subsistence farming systems of the Dogon, Kurumba, Fulani and Riimaaybe ethnic groups in the settlements of Banh and Toulfe in tropical semi-arid, northern Yatenga (Upper Volta). The purpose of the study was to describe the "subsistence risks" encountered by both sedentary farmers and semi-nomadic herders, and the adaptive mechanisms, resource management and coping strategies used by them to survive in the Sahel. An adjunct objective was the formulation of recommendations for development planners and agricultural specialists that could possibly assist in policy and program development in the Sahel. The methodology utilized in the study was a cross between that known as "cultural ecology" in anthropology and geography, and "farming systems research" in agricultural economics.;In the first section a general description of the physical, biotic, and sociocultural characteristics of the Sahelo-Sudanian zone (450-700mm rainfall) in the Niger Bend region of West Africa, specifically northern Yatenga in Upper Volta, is presented. "Folk scientific" (ethnoscience) knowledge and adaptive practices in the areas of soils, vegetation, hydrology, landforms, land use, land tenure, settlement patterns, and specifically drought adaptation are analyzed.;Description of the interactions between semi-nomadic herders and sedentary farmers in Northern Upper Volta are included along with an evaluation of the acculturative and social change processes and trends noted in the two principal study villages, Banh and Toulfe.;The principal focus of the study was first of all, the description and analysis of the structural components of the subsistence farming system: farming hazards, farming technology, crops, cropping systems, land tenure, and field types; and secondly, the description of how the farming system functions through time. The latter emphasized detailed analyses of labor allocation patterns, crop yields, drought history, economic transactions, and seasonal dietary patterns.;Numerous recommendations are offered in the concluding chapter on agricultural and development policy and research. |
