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Agroforestry
Extension
Resources
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 A002 Agriculture in African Rural Communities. Crops and soils.
The Land and Life Series
Hughes Dupriez and Philippe de Leener. 1988. Macmillan Publishers in association with Terres et Vie
and CTA. Paperback, black and
white, A4 size, 293pp. ISBN 0-333-44595-3. English. Also available in French (Agriculture tropicale
en milieu paysan africain). (EXT008)
This is a very well designed textbook aimed at the agriculture extension worker and educated farmer
in Africa. It is a good example of text
using black and white photographs, which have been reproduced very clearly, supplemented by diagrams.
There is extensive coverage of
trees on farms. The whole text has been prepared starting from the farmer’s knowledge. See also
A105
for another title in this series -
Trees and multistorey agriculture in Africa.
 
CONTENTS:
Lessons 1 and 2 : Fields and farming
1 Visiting the fields
2 Farming : goals, means and limitations
Lessons 3 to 5 : The environment
3 The living environment
4 The physical environment
5 The economic and social environment
Lessons 6 to 8 : Fields change with the seasons
6 The story of a field In a dry region
7 The story of a field In a wet forest region
8 The rotation of crops and fallow lands
Lesson 9 : Legume crops
Lessons 10 to 15 : Some features of rural settlements
10 Mapping rural settlements
11 Land relief
12 Water resources In rural settlements
13 Land allotment
14 A rural settlement near Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso)
15 Land management in Serer country (Senegal)
Lessons 16 and 17 The need tar trees
16 Why trees are useful In the landscape
17 Trees act as windbreaks
Lessons 18 to 22: Soil and water
18 Soil composition
19 Soil structure
20 Soil horizons
21 Water movements
22 Altering water movements for the benefit of farming
Lessons 23 to 27 : Plant environment
23 Plants
24 Plants need light
25 The proper use of light
26 Agricultural calendars rain calendars
27 When do plants need water ?
Lessons 28 to 30 : Plant varieties and seeds for farming
28 Plant varieties
29 Planting material
Seeds
Vegetative seeds
Good seeds and how to obtain them
Ways of procuring good seeds on the farm
Grain seed must be fresh when sown
30 Seeds and farm economy
Should seeds be produced on the farm ?
Farm production of seeds is not worthwhile in every case
Lessons 31 and 32 : How plants use the soil
31 Roots
32 Knowing root zones
Lessons 33 to 36 : Soil life and humus
33 Animals, fungi and microorganisms In the soil
34 Plants transform the soil
35 Fallow land
36 Cultural practices for producing humus
Lesson 37 : Working the soil
Lessons 38 and 39 : Cutting the farmer's risks, Increasing his chances of success
38 Weather and biological risks In farming
39 Economic and technical risks
Lessons 40 to 44 : Feeding the soil with fertilizers
40 Plant nutrients
41 Organic fertilizers
42 Mineral fertilizers
43 The proper use of mineral fertilizers
44 Making the most of field space
Lessons 45 to 49 : Agricultural returns
45 Units of measurement and farm output
46 Production and return
47 The value of the food we eat
48 Measuring return tram fertilizers
49 Returns tram Intercropping
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