Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
14
Preliminary observations on effects of
traditional farming practices on growth
and yield of crops
Leonard Asafo, Ebenezer Laing, Lewis Enu-Kwesi,
and Vincent V. Vordzogbe
Introduction
Scarcity of land, particularly for farming, has become a major problem in Ghana. It
is attributed to increasing population pressure, which among other things results in
deforestation and loss of biodiversity. Closely associated with the forest destruction
are unsustainable farming practices such as the slash-and-burn land preparation meth-
ods and continuous cropping without adequate soil fertility regeneration measures.
Even so, there are traditional practices which, if encouraged, could help alle-
viate the problem. Those practices are founded on what has come to be variously
known as traditional knowledge, local knowledge, and indigenous knowledge.
Traditional knowledge refers to the knowledge, innovations, and practices of
indigenous local communities. It is developed primarily from experience and is
transferred from one generation to the next by oral tradition or word of mouth.
Agroforestry is an outstanding example of traditional practices based on an
intimate understanding of local conditions. Since times immemorial, farmers
have practised traditional agroforestry by growing crops in association with trees
deliberately left unfelled.
In simple terms, agroforestry refers to the deliberate association of trees and other
woody plants with crops or animals or both on the same piece of land. It has been
suggested as a practice that can halt or drastically reduce the rate of deforestation,
especially in the tropics.
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