Theory question 111
West Africa and ECOWAS(a) Highlight any five features of rotational bush fallowing as practised in West Africa (b) State four advantages of this system of agriculture (c) Outline any four disadvantages of the system
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(a) Land cultivated for 2-3 years then left fallow to regain fertility; farmer moves to another plot but stays in the same village; land cleared by slash and burn; simple tools (hoe, cutlass); family labour; mixed cropping of food crops; small plots, mainly subsistence.
(b) Soil fertility restored naturally without fertiliser; cheap, needs little capital; easy with simple tools; fallow land provides grazing and fuelwood; mixed crops reduce risk.
(c) Needs a lot of land; low yields; cannot support a growing population (fallow periods shorten); bush burning destroys humus and causes erosion; land fragmentation; does not allow mechanisation.
Contrast with shifting cultivation: the village stays put.