Strategies for sustainable land management in the East African highlands

/pdf/land-tenure-and-administration-in-africa-lessons-of-ws77vnpskt.pdf

Land tenure and administration in Africa : lessons of experience and emerging issues

https://www1.montpellier.inra.fr/lameta/articles/4.2_Hediger_2003_EE.pdf

Sustainable farm income in the presence of soil erosion: an agricultural Hartwick rule

Even though perception varies with agro-ecology and socioeconomic situation of the farming community, there are insufficient reports about farmers’ perception on land degradation in the semiarid ar...

Farmers’ perception on land degradation in northern Ethiopia: Implication for developing sustainable land management

Economic analysis can assist in the understanding of the factors that determine the success of trypanosomosis control by cattle farmers in the cotton zone of West Africa. Trypanocides are the most widely used method of control, and determining their shortand long-term productivity provides important information. However, this must be interpreted in the light of emerging drug resistance, which poses a major obstacle to the sustainability of drug use. More generally, this research aims to advance the methodology of measuring the productivity of animal disease control inputs in West African cattle production. The study includes an empirical assessment of the productivity of trypanocidal drugs and the costs of trypanosomosis under village conditions. The analysis was extended to capture the implications for the livelihood of the poor cattle farmers of a declining susceptibility of trypanosomes to drugs. The results of this research can help decision-makers to put in place strategies for improved management of trypanosomosis and trypanocidal drug resistance. The study was conducted in Burkina Faso and Mali from June 2003 to May 2004. Data were collected by a team of veterinary epidemiologists, technicians and agro-economists. In all, 206 herds with a total of 3565 cattle in eighteen villages were monitored during a period of twelve months. Input and output data were collected by enumerators posted in villages for which epidemiological conditions were assessed throughout the study period. Additional price information was collected in local markets, abattoirs and through focus group discussions. It was found that cattle-keeping is important in both Mali and Burkina Faso; however, herds were larger in Mali. The smaller herd size in the study area compared to other parts of sub-Saharan Africa and the higher ratio of draught animals to male adult cattle, especially in Burkina Faso, indicate a farming system more oriented towards intensive use of draught animals in crop production. The majority of cattle farmers in the study area considered trypanosomosis the most important disease of cattle, and knowledge of the cause of trypanosomosis in the study zone was relatively high compared to other parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Farmers are aware of many strategies to control the disease. However, their preferred strategy is the use of trypanocidal drugs and the majority of treatments are given by cattle farmers, although this is not legal.

P. Hazell

Papers

Integrating environmental and sustainability concerns into rural development policies.