The Implementation of Anti-Erosion Techniques in the Sahel: A Case Study From Kaya, Burkina Faso

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to examine the ecological and economic conditions affecting the region of Kaya in the center of the Mossi Plateau in Burkina Faso. The background research and the field experiments, which were carried out under the auspices of an international nongovernmental organization (NGO), aimed to encourage the local people to find solutions to the major problems they faced there.' The initial section deals first with the general geographical, economic, and political situation in the area and then with the attempts by various groups and organizations to address the main problems. It also discusses our fieldwork in detail and makes reference to other relevant publications. We completed the background research for the paper during the period from 1985 to 1986 and carried out the experiments between 1985 and 1988. The technical conclusions drawn in this paper apply in the main to the Mossi Plateau and should not be generalized to cover other parts of the Sahel. Each area of the Sahel has its own particularities, in terms of both the physical environment and the traditional and modern political systems. It would be beyond the scope of this paper to discuss all the different ecological problems that the people of the Sahel face and their various attempts to address them. We also judged that there is a wealth of relevant material from Burkina Faso alone, which is considered by many to be far in advance of its neighbors in the practice of soil restoration and improved agricultural techniques. The lesson to be learned from the Burkinabe experience would therefore not necessarily be a