Twenty years later: migration, inter-ethnic relations and land rights in new settlements in Burkina Faso and Nigeria

The paper presents two case studies from Nigeria and Burkina Faso, that differ in many respects, but show also some significant similarities. In both cases, previously existing claims on land were not recognised by the national authorities who implemented development projects. But as a contrast, in the Nigerian case people had to move out of the territories that were now claimed by the state, whereas in the Burkina case people were brought into an area that was declared state property. As a result in both cases, this had specific implications for the inter-ethnic relations in the respective regions. In Nigeria, Kanuri farmers moved to new fertile areas that incidentally emerged parallel to the development efforts of the state

Systems of Land Use in the Firgi Plains of the Chad Basin

Studies on land use in Africa have usually been carried out by ethnologists or human geographers and were rarely concerned with data on the physical conditions of soil. There is hardly any issue, however, where interdependencies between natural and cultural factors are as evident as in the topic of land use. For this project the approach of three ethnologists, Braukämper, Kirscht and Platte, was therefore combined with the analysis of Thiemeyer as physical geographer. The area of research is the Local Government Area of Marte in the Nigerian State of Borno. As part of the Chad Basin this region is mainly characterised by clay sediments which are commonly labelled firgi by its inhabitants. Beside this general term, however, the local peasants clearly distinguish five types of soil (Kanuri: katti), to which different physical conditions and qualities with respect to their cultivation are attributed. The question arose how far can this popular knowledge, accumulated by agricultural experiences over generations, be correlated with scientific data. That is why samples of the mentioned types of soil were collected by the members of our team and analysed in the laboratory of the Frankfurt Institute of Physical Geography. The detailed presentation of this analysis has to be preceded by the classification of the respective soil types in the terminology of the indigenous farmers

Masakwa dry season cropping in the Chad Basin

In the inundation area - the basin of the former larger Lake Chad - a special type of sorghum is grown on the clay soils (firgi). This dry-season guinea corn is also called dwarf sorghum or masakwa. In Kanuri, the dominant language in the region, sorghum is called ngawuli. The dry-season types are called ngawuli firgibe (lit. translated: sorghum of the firgi). During the dry season when the natural vegetation becomes dry and yellow, masakwa fields appear in prominent green covering large areas of the clay plains. The most important natural factor for this specialized dry season cropping is the presence of soils with a high clay content. For a better understanding of masakwa and its related issues, a multidisciplinary sub-project (G1) has been established within the SFB 268 (Joint Research Project: History of Culture and Language in the Natural Environment of the West-African Savannah). This project in which all disciplines participate is entitled: "Natural basis for masakwa cultivation and its meaning for the settlement history of the clay plains (firgi) in the Chad basin"

Natural environment and land use in the Chad Basin, NE-Nigeria : preliminary results of an interdisciplinary research

The objective of this paper is to combine the environmental conception of the Kanuri with detailed findings of pedological and botanical field investigations. Interpretation of multitemporal satellite data and aerial photographs should provide land cover and land use information for an extended area. The area of investigation was outlined within the transitional zone from the clay plains to the sandy areas by interpretation of satellite images. The presented subset of a SPOT-XS-satellite image shows part of the Marte Local Government Area with its capital Old Marte in the north-eastern part of the image. The darker colours represent the clay plains while the lighter parts are related to the sandy areas. Almost half of the research area is covered by clay but all settlements are located on the slightly elevated sandy areas. Within these sandy areas different gray shades demonstrate the pattern of the rainy season farming area. Differences in colour within the clay plains are mainly due to variances in soil, water content and vegetation cover. In the north-eastern part of the image irrigation channels of the South Chad Irrigation Project are visible. The main attention, especially of the pedological and botanical research, was directed towards the south-western part of the subset in the vicinity of the villages of Wulwa, Dura, Kajere and Ngubdori

Farmers Perception and Criteria for Cassava Variety Preference in Cameroon

To assess farmers' perception and criteria for cassava variety preference prior to the dissemination of improved varieties in Cameroon, field visits were organized at the Mbalmayo research farm of International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA ) during the vegetative and harvest periods, and a sensory quality test was conducted in a participatory manner. Parameters recorded were statistically analyzed using analysis of variance procedure (ANO -VA ), resulting in the selection of five varieties for multilocational testing and demonstration. To complement this effort, thirty cassava farmers in Ebolowa, Bertoua, Bamenda, Ngaoundere making a total of one hundred and twenty were interviewed following structured questionnaires, and their fields assessed. Results show that farmers cultivate many varieties of cassava for different uses but prefer early maturing variety (96.7%), high yield (89.2%), and resistant to pests and diseases (88.3%). In addition, there was regional preference. Farmers in Ebolowa and Bertoua preferred leafy, sweet roots and early branching varieties (TMS -92/0326, TMS -96/0023) while those in Bamenda and Ngaoundere preferred tall, drought tolerant (TMS -92/0057), fibrous (TMS -96/1414) for gari (roasted cassava granules) and in some cases flowering varieties (M94/0121) for apiculture. Results served as feedback information to research, extension, policy makers and other stakeholders. This constitutes an attractive scheme for deployment of the improved varieties and complements programs of the Cameroonian government for roots and tuber (PNDRT ), with the main objective to increase the productivity of cassava

Gendered Awareness of Pig and Poultry Farmers on the Potential of Black Soldier Fly (<i>Hermetia illucens</i>) Farming in Kenya

Given the need to boost food production while guaranteeing environmental sustainability, the black soldier fly (BSF) (Hermetia illucens (L.), Diptera: Stratiomyidae) is gaining traction worldwide as an alternative protein source. In Kenya, BSF production and its use as a feed component is an emerging business, but farmer awareness of the potential use of BSF in animal feed has received limited attention. This study examined the factors influencing farmer awareness of insect farming and its usefulness as ingredient in livestock feed from a gender perspective. The analysis employed a mixed-methods approach by combining binary logistic regression analysis using cross-sectional survey data from a sub-sample of 235 pig and poultry farmers and content analysis from in-depth phone interviews. The study was implemented in Kiambu County, Kenya. About 44% of the farmers were aware of the use of black soldier fly in the animal feed industry, of which 46.72% were female, and 41.59% were male. From the results, years of education, the number of chickens owned, and membership in agricultural groups significantly influenced male and female farmers’ awareness. In addition, age and the number of pigs owned significantly influenced female farmers’ awareness. The results suggest that these factors are important to consider when strategies are developed to create awareness of BSF farming. Lessons learned from this study will inform BSF dissemination strategies to better target potential men and women BSF producers, influence their decision-making ability and improve information flows between scientists and producers