PREPARED BY JEAN BEDEL
CONSULTANT
A great upheaval in the economic, social, political and technical environment has, during the course of the past decades, affected the rural societies of the sub-Saharan African countries. This has brought about a certain degree of awareness as well as the creation of initiatives that have resulted in progress, but it has also caused blockages and various difficulties due in large part to the degradation of natural resources (soils, water, vegetation).
Following a brief history of the evolution of the rural development policies followed during the past thirty years by the African countries, we shall present:
Rural development has, in a schematic manner, taken place in two major periods during the course of the past decades: the periods of major projects and those of participatory projects involving natural resources management.
During the 1970s major projects, which might be qualified as productive projects, were created and massively supported by international aid. In effect, their objective was to improve production, an objective that was legitimized by the desire to reinforce food security in the cities and the rural areas, as well as to allow the rural population to dispose of a surplus for capitalization, to reduce their precarious situation and enable them to find a way out of a situation of self-sufficiency which could not be guaranteed at all times.
These projects are centered upon an export-driven culture (groundnuts in the Sahelian region, cotton in the Sudanese and North Guinea region). Their characteristics are as follows:
With regard to the forestry sector, this period can be characterized by large plantations of rapidly growing exotic species generally found near the large cities. These plantations have to supply wood energy and wood for poles, posts, and other pieces for constructions in order to cover in part the needs of the large population centres, and to replace in part the products coming from the natural forests that have undergone considerable pressure and are rapidly being degraded.
Change occurred during the 1980s with regard to the development strategies of countries and sponsors. These changes were caused by:
This realization led the governments to establish new orientations, which were in better keeping with the models supported by a sector of public opinion in the developing countries:
These evolutions have varied from one country to another and projects having different inspiration often coexist in most countries. The ecological sensitivity of certain participants, the NGO's in particular, has allowed for the creation during the 1970s of projects based upon techniques that respected the environment (compost, improved homes, the planting of trees).
The degradation of natural resources is a reality common to nearly all the African countries. This degradation can be attributed to two sources:
Faced with these multiple restraints (lower precipitation levels, stagnation and the decrease in prices for agricultural products, the increase in input prices), farmers have been forced to adapt by digging into their own capital, in spite of their being aware that this might jeopardize their future.
The natural resources management projects have attempted, in part, to take the place of a more repressive approach and of a frequently clumsy application of nationally-engendered rules carried out by Government agents that rural populations have never been able to understand.
These projects were originally based upon the idea that sustainable development involves the patrimonial management of the resources of a given land area where a rural community exercises its rights (of growing crops, cattle grazing, hunting, harvesting, etc). Consequently, a patrimonial reflex had to be developed, which the first generation of land management projects attempted to do, attaching great importance to the setting of land limits and carrying out land zoning.
It soon became clear that rural populations were mainly interested in short-term goals and that their chief priority consisted in increasing their incomes and that they had little interest in zoning proposals or the sustainable management of natural resources. These projects were therefore faced with the difficult task of dealing, at one and the same time, with the immediate needs of the farmers and the medium and long-term objectives of sustainable management of the country's ecological capital. If priority were to be given to the medium and long-term objectives, there was the danger that the rural population would become apathetic.
The zoning activities and the deferred-result developments (anti-erosion activities for the rehabilitation of degraded lands) can only be carried out after considerable reflection and very frank discussions with villagers. Zoning proposals must only be broached at the moment when solutions are being sought to the problems indicated by the villagers. Discussing the need for zoning at a too early stage can often result in prematurely revealing power relationships and creating obstacles by pointing to the unequal access to natural resources by families having certain customary rights and other families, by the older as opposed to the younger villagers and by women as opposed to men. It is obviously unwise for an outsider to intervene with regard to these power relationships.
Experience has shown that a natural resources management project cannot ignore the economic, regional and national environment of the area where it is being implemented. This economic clarification makes it possible to propose solutions that can secure and grow financial revenues, in particular by diversifying activities and enhancing the value of certain products.
After a number of years of experience, the natural resources management projects that were increasingly conceived as local development projects now find themselves confronted with numerous problems, some of which are indicated below:
Parklands represent a traditional system of land utilization that is practiced by farmers in the Sahelian and Sudanese regions. The value of these systems has been widely recognized. They contribute to maintaining soil fertility. It has been proven that fertility levels are higher under the tree cover in parks than they are elsewhere. This has been attributed, for the most part, to a more intense microbe activity, to the better protection offered against erosion and to the increase in the soil's nitrogen levels in an area where vegetables are grown. In the case of Faidherbia albida, one of the most frequently found species in the parks whose foliation is inversed, the excrement left by animals that seek cover from the sun under the trees during the dry season effectively contributes to improving fertility. The fertilization effect on Faidherbia albida is more pronounced in less fertile soils during years when there is less precipitation.
The systems represented by parklands are in a state of crisis. The origins of this crisis can be traced to a number of different elements:
A positive dynamic has nevertheless been observed in certain countries. The recent demographic growth which characterises the piedmonts of the Mandara Mountains in the Cameroon has favoured the rehabilitation of the Faidherbia albida parks that had been abandoned for historic reasons. The Sereres peoples in Senegal, who have adopted a system of parklands where they carry out animal breeding that is closely linked to farming activities, exploit a land space with a high level of population density and they also enrich their parks.
This crisis is disturbing in terms of the future of parklands, but new farmer tree management practices are beginning to appear in the Sudanese and Sahelian regions. These practices principally concern:
In dense population areas, farmers frequently engage in the planting of trees, an often age-old practice. This is particularly true in the Bamileke region in West Cameroon, which is characterized by a hedgerow landscape. Trees are very closely linked to cultures and are planted both at the edge and within land parcels. Many species are utilized, particularly the Eucalyptus, which can also be found in tree colonies. These tree colonies are developed in accordance with a local silviculture model. When the colony is young, the more beautiful branches are gathered and sold in the form of perches, but when the trees are too large to produce perches, branches are removed in order to favour those, which will produce pods. These pods are sawed off using a chain saw, in two operations, in order to progressively free the tree from any growth constraints (such constraints are very strong in the Eucalyptus species, which makes it difficult for them to be utilized as timber) and to obtain high-quality beams and boards. The Bamilike farmers "construct" a bocage landscape on the higher areas of their lands, to the detriment of shepherds who traditionally exploit these spaces as pastures, keeping them open by a well-planned use of fire. There is a very active dynamic of reforestation by farmers in this region of the Cameroon. The Bamileke country covers not only its own needs in wood products, but is also able to export some of these products as well. It produces nearly all of the round wood line supports that are used in the Cameroon, in spite of the region's heavy population density.
Other regions of Africa, particularly the Zou region in the centre of Benin, have a tree plantation dynamic as well, where teak is planted in association with vegetable cultures, particularly yams. The trees are grown for the production of perches and wood energy purposes. This practice is limited by the land situation in the region, since farmers only plant trees in their land plots and their property rights cannot be contested.
This dynamic would appear to be growing. The increasing difficulty of finding wood in natural formations makes these planted trees particularly valuable and encourages an increasing number of farmers to plant trees.
In the majority of French-speaking African countries, the colonial administrations had created a political and legislative framework that was inspired by European practices. The Government entrusted itself with the exclusive control of forestry and animal resources management. In this manner, the Governments of these countries were able to completely ignore the capability of local populations to take on responsibility for this management, or even to play a partial role in this task.
The onset of independence has barely altered this situation and the national administrations of the new countries have, for a number of years, preserved the same management model as before.
A number of different elements however, have resulted in rural communities being given more responsibilities with regard to forestry management:
The idea of associating local populations to a greater degree in the management of forestry resources was born during the middle of the 1980s. This transfer of responsibility has had very encouraging results, particularly in the Niger and in Mali, by means of projects entitled "Wood for energy purposes".
These projects attempt to reconcile a satisfactory supply of wood energy purposes for the cities with the sustainable management of forestry resources. They are based upon the contractual transfer of local forestry management to the rural riverside communities who will participate in a voluntary manner. The boundaries of the forest to be placed under "controlled" management are set, within the framework of the contract agreed to between the Government and the communities concerned. An annual quota of wood energy purposes is then assigned to the villagers. The forests in question are part of a simplified management plan which: defines what constitutes a land parcel, determines the rotation of tree-felling, designates the exploitable spaces, sets the minimal diameter and the height of the cuts to be made, defines the modalities that help natural regeneration, limits pasturing during the two years following the felling and determines the annual quota of wood energy purposes that villagers will receive. The wood that is exploited within the framework of this contract is sold by the "rural markets", which are favoured with a lower taxation rate. This formula has proven to be truly successful and all the rural markets that were created a number of years ago with the help of different development projects are still functioning. This choice was contested at first by certain members of the administration, who expressed their doubts with regard to the capability of the villagers to become familiar with these methods and to be able to defend their resources against the pressures exercised by the forestry developers. But this simplified development, based upon an exploitation technique that farmers are familiar with, has made it possible to resolve the traditional controversies between shepherds and woodcutters.
Forests are not endangered by agriculture in the Central African countries due to the low density of rural population there. Forestry exploitation, which requires considerable material and financing, is in the hands of large private companies that utilize industrial-type techniques. It is based upon the gathering of a limited amount of timber.
Some very promising development activities with regard to natural plantations of mahogany have been carried out since 1950 in Gabon. Unfortunately however, the feeling that the forests are inexhaustible has not prompted the Government there to expand these activities. The private concerns in Gabon have not been required to make a particular effort in order to manage their concessions in a sustainable manner. A number of different elements, particularly the threat represented by the international pressure exercised by ecologists in order to regulate, or even prohibit, the sale of tropical woods has caused the companies in question to modify their policies. These companies are now ready to develop their exploitation permits in a sustainable manner. The Government has agreed to delegate the elaboration of its development plans to the private sector, and reserve to itself the right to control the quality of its proposals and their conformity to the regulations. A partnership has been created between the private companies and the forestry service in order to permit the elaboration and implementation of these plans. This partnership has the benefit of international assistance. The development in question has taken into account the need to guarantee the durability of these forestry resources, and particularly the traditional products and usages (pharmacological products, fruits, hunting), but also to conserve the forest's biodiversity, which represents a guarantee of future production.
The cost of these activities is not a negligible one and the private forestry developers appear to have decided that they can pay for them. The Government must make certain that each developer lives up to his obligations, so as to avoid giving a competitive advantage to those who do not.
A considerable amount of deforestation has occurred in the Ivory Coast since the 1960's. This is the direct result of the development choices that were made by the country that were based upon a cash crop culture as well as the creation of heavy infrastructures (asphalt roads, the port of San Pedro), which opened up the country's underpopulated south-western region. This has resulted in the massive arrival of migrants and the appearance of pioneer groups.
The creation of Sodefor in 1965, in the spirit of the other specialized government companies (such as Sodepalm for palm oil) has made it possible to undertake major reforestation programmes. Sodefor had the considerable financial resources needed for the creation of 10,000 ha of planting per year. These trees were destined, in the long run, to take the place of the timber production that had come from the natural forests. This development choice has proven to be fairly unrealistic, due to the high cost of these plantations, particularly the cost of the mechanized cutting down of the pre-existing forest and the mediocre results achieved by certain types of plantation. These difficulties convinced the public authorities to re-direct Sodefor's activities during the middle of the 1980's toward the development of the permanent forestry domain (classified forests). This development called for solid competence, particularly in the inventory, cartography and data processing areas. The forests were divided by series: production series, reforestation series, improvement series, and agricultural series. The latter refers to areas where culture parcels have been illegally installed (cultures are forbidden in classified forests), parcels whose extension is strictly forbidden. This formula, which creates difficult relationships between farmers and Sodefor, was preferred to a change in status.
Sodefor now has considerable development experience, with procedures and techniques that are well broken in. This is the result of the large amount of financing the company has received and the obligation it now has to show results, due to the very strong pressure exercised by the classified forestry agriculture.
Progress then is being made with regard to the development of dense and humid forests, but this is a fairly difficult task, because the knowledge concerning the manner in which these forests react to the felling activities is not fully understood.
In the Sudanese and Sahelian regions, as well as in those countries where forestry development is carried out in close collaboration with rural communities (the Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso), a forester becomes a partner of the communities concerned. The forester is the organizer of an activity which consists of determining the limit of the forestry area to be developed, identifying the users of this resource, clearly defining a parcel, rotation, felling regulations and the sales modalities of forestry products. He or she sets up the rural market and can provide financial aid for equipment. The forester arbitrates any conflicts that might appear in implementing the development plan and preserves his or her role as a regulator, but also controls the application of freely accepted rules and supports the social consensus rather than attempting to impose it. The forester's role as counselor and organizer takes precedence over the statutory mission.
Foresters have been important participants in the first generation of natural resources management projects. This involvement on their part can be considered legitimate inasmuch as these projects favoured space management. This experience helped to open their horizons and give them the competence needed to work as negotiators. They were able to familiarize themselves with the strategies used by the different actors in this sector and often participated in the carrying out of frequently difficult negotiations. It is vital that they continue to be involved in local development projects, since they have acquired a global vision of the issues at stake.
Foresters should become even more aware of the agro-forestry dynamics. They have an important role to play with regard to the choice of forestry species, the production of high quality vegetable products and plant production techniques. They should feel deeply concerned by the crisis facing most of the parklands in the Sudanese and Sahelian regions.
Foresters operate in a domain that is very specific to them in developing the dense and humid forests. In the majority of Central African countries, they are obliged to collaborate with private partners, namely, the large forest development enterprises; this is a totally new situation for them. The permanent personnel who work for these companies rarely have the competence needed in order to elaborate the development plans of the forest concessions their companies possess. They are therefore obliged to contract, for these specialized services, private companies who use engineers for this work.
A certain degree of forestry expertise has been recently emerging in a number of countries. This tendency on the part of foresters to create private consultancy offices should be encouraged, since it calls for specific competence and initiatives.
In elaborating a development document with regard to a private forest concession, particular use of digital cartography must be made. A good knowledge of teledetection is therefore indispensable in order to do this work.
Most of the countries concerned have created regulations with regard to the sustainable development of the resources in the forestry sector, taking into account the local utilization of natural resources. The developer must therefore be able to identify the users and work out the necessary formulas with them, in order to avoid exploiting certain tree species that are of particular interest to the developer but that also have important local use. He must also take into account the demands made by certain villages. This considerably increases his workload, which is already difficult enough, since he painfully lacks the necessary technical references.
It would be very difficult to contest the degree of responsibility and competence a forester must possess in the protected area development domain and in that of wild fauna management. The missions carried out by developers have also evolved in this domain. Most of the protected areas in the Western and Central African countries were created during an era when these regions had very small populations. This situation has considerably changed since then, particularly in the Niger, in the area that is located near the West Niger National Park, where the population has greatly increased following the massive arrival of migrants. This is equally true in the Marahoue and Tai National Parks, both located in the Ivory Coast. A developer cannot ignore the very large degree of pressure that is being felt in these protected areas. The fact that there is a limited maneuvering space makes the task even more difficult, since developers cannot exceed the limitations imposed by the considerable use that characterizes the central area. They can attempt of course to find a formula that would allow the riverside populations to financially benefit from the work being locally done with equipment, as well as from the maintenance of the protected area. They can also try to find ways that would allow these people to have the maximum benefit from the positive consequences of tourism in the park. In addition, they can allow them to gather certain products in the park for their use (particularly straw, when it becomes difficult to find outside), but they must strictly control such removal, in order to avoid it becoming excessive. They must encourage land development activities in the peripheral areas, in order to relieve pressure on the central area, but their role is not easy, since their image is a repressive one, which makes it difficult for them to have a relaxed dialogue with the people living along the roads.
Forester missions have evolved:
This evolution must be applied to training programmes. How? By which means? And by using which pedagogical tools? Other persons than myself will answer these questions. I would simply like to say that the opening to the rural world should be based upon a good knowledge of the practices used by farmers and breeders. These practices are carried out on a number of different levels: the agrarian system, the production system, the culture system, etc. This knowledge can only be acquired by working in the field and this should be given a primary role in training programmes. The formula involving collective training sessions for analyzing national resources management practices in small rural areas has been found to be pedagogically effective. These training sessions must be looked upon as a diagnostic study carried out on a participatory model, with the objective of creating proposals for action.i
i Reminders of some definitions:
Farmers' practices: The concrete manner in which farmers operate. A practice is the manner in which a farmer carries out a technique. A practice is the result of an operator's choice. It is reasoned out in function of the objective being carried out by the person using it and takes into account the constraints to which it is subject. A practice involves doing, while a technique involves knowing. A practice is not the accidental and random carrying out of a technique, but rather the result of a structured process involving decisions and the attainment of knowledge and know-how.
System: The ensemble of all the elements linked to one another by relationships which give them the coherence needed to fulfil certain functions. A system is characterized by two elements: its structure (the characteristics of the elements which make it up) and its manner of functioning (the relationship between the different elements in the system and the relationship between these elements and the system's "environment").
Agrarian system: The agrarian system is "the spatial expression of the association of productions and techniques carried out by a rural community in order to satisfy its needs". It can be defined as a "way of developing a historically-constituted and sustainable milieu, a system of production resources that is adapted to the bioclimatic conditions of a given space and that fulfils the social conditions and needs of the moment". An agrarian system can also be defined as the ensemble of production and exchange relationships that a local society has with the territory whose natural resources it exploits. The study of an agrarian system implies several different levels of analysis: a) the cultivated ecosystem which results from the historical transformations of the milieu and the techniques used by the local society; b) the productive forces which are characterized by the means of production (implements, genetic material, heavy equipment, etc.) and the working forces which utilize them; c) the production and exchange relationships: land management regulations, sales relations, distribution of the production factors and the labour produced by social groups; d) the institutions, ideologies and policies which maintain the social reproduction of the agrarian system.
Production system: A production system can be defined as a "combination, both in space and time, of production factors (working force, land, equipment, capital) with a view to obtaining different agricultural, plant or animal production". The head of the production unit is at the heart of the system, directing the work and making the decisions which are the answers he or she believes are the most pertinent to the environment. These decisions relate, on the one hand, to the management system and regard the mobilization of the means of production and on the other, to the technical production system. The latter corresponds to the ensemble of technical processes (for a breeder: the choice of livestock, how to work with the animals, etc.). The exploiter makes the choices needed in order to adjust the means of production to his or her objectives, and vice-versa. Their means are limited by the physical and economic constraints that will affect the making of management choices. They will therefore attempt to optimize the capacity of the production system involving these constraints, in order to come as close as possible to the goals that have been set. Rationality in the choice of actors for production units can be clarified by studying these actors' practices: they can be defined as "the way these actors work", i.e. an ensemble of the intentional and regular material activities which actors develop in carrying out the agricultural production processes.
Culture system: The culture system is part of the production system and corresponds to the ensemble exploitation workshops whose objective is obtaining a plant product.
Breeding system: The breeding system is included in the production system. Its objective is obtaining an animal product. It can only be described in relation to the breeder's decisions and actions, and therefore in relation to his practices. One can create a typology of breeding systems by dividing the breeders' practices as follows: a) forage practices, which include all the cultural operations on forage fields; b) pasture management practices (as well as forage stocks, in certain cases), which involve a relationship (direct or not) between the flocks and the surface sub-units); c) breeding practices in the strictest sense, in which they directly intervene with the animals. These practices are organized in accordance with the different steps relating to the management of the breeding system.
