
Land tenure and the potential for the adoption of alley farming in West Africa
Abstract
Alley cropping was developed by IITA as a technology to solve soil fertility, erosion and low crop yield. Although crops overwhelmingly dominate the farming system in humid west Africa, livestock, particularly small ruminants, are an integral component of the system accounting for 10-20 percent of farm income. The poor quality and inadequate quantity of feeds, especially during the long-dry season, is one of the major constraints to small ruminant production. To overcome this problem, ILCA has developed methods of using leguminous trees as a source of protein-rich feed for animals. A portion of the tree foliage from alley-cropped fields may be fed to animals rather than being laid on the ground as a mulch. Following on-station research, IITA and ILCA have tested these technologies on farms in Southern Nigeria. The objective of this study is to determine whether the areas in which alley farming had been tested were representative and to clarify what types of land tenure were favourable for alley farming.
Citation
Outlook on Agriculture;23(3): 183-187