Dynamics and Diversity: Soil Fertility and Farming Livelihoods in Africa : Case Studies from Ethiopia, Mali, and Zimbabwe

Front Cover
Ian Scoones
Earthscan, 2001 - Business & Economics - 244 pages
Soils are critical to agriculture and, in turn, to food supply and livelihoods. Sustainable management of soils is crucial for a large proportion of the population of Africa. Contrary to many claims, soil fertility is improved and managed successfully by small-scale farmers there. Careful studies from widely different areas reveal how closely bound up soil management is with complex social, cultural and ecological factors - requiring a far more subtly tuned approach to development policy and practice. This work is a study of how the context of livelihood systems has to inform development policy and practice.

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Contents

Styles of investigation and sources of evidence
8
some contrasts and comparisons
15
new perspectives on soil management
26
Copyright

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About the author (2001)

Ian Scoones is a fellow at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex. He is co-editor (with Chris Reij and Camilla Toulmin) of 'Sustaining the Soil'.

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