An Interdisciplinary Approach to Understand the Resilience of Agrosystems in the Sahel and West Africa

Luc Descroix (), Anne Luxereau, Laurent A. Lambert, Olivier Ruë, Arona Diedhiou, Aïda Diongue-Niang, Amadou Hamath Dia, Fabrice Gangneron, Sylvie Paméla Manga, Ange B. Diedhiou, Julien Andrieu, Patrick Chevalier and Bakary Faty
Additional contact information
Luc Descroix: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR (Unité Mixte de Recherche) PALOC (Patrimoines Locaux, Environnement, Globalisation), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (MNHN)/IRD, 57, Rue Cuvier, CP 26, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France
Anne Luxereau: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR (Unité Mixte de Recherche) PALOC (Patrimoines Locaux, Environnement, Globalisation), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (MNHN)/IRD, 57, Rue Cuvier, CP 26, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France
Laurent A. Lambert: Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, Doha BP 200592, Qatar
Olivier Ruë: International Consultant, 86100 Chatellerault, France
Arona Diedhiou: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR Institut des Géosciences et Environnement (IGE) CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)/Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)/UGA (Université Grenoble-Alpes)/Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble (INPGrenoble), 38400 Saint Martin d’Hères, France
Aïda Diongue-Niang: ANACIM, Agence Nationale de l’Aviation Civile et de la Météorologie, Dakar 12000, Senegal
Amadou Hamath Dia: Department of Sociology, UASZ Université Assane Seck de Ziguinchor, Ziguinchor 27000, Senegal
Fabrice Gangneron: CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) UMR (Unité Mixte de Recherche) GET (Géosciences Environnement Toulouse) CNRS/IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement)/UPS (Université Paul Sabatier), 31000 Toulouse, France
Sylvie Paméla Manga: EPT Ecole Polytechnique de Thiès, Thiès 23000, Senegal
Ange B. Diedhiou: Laboratoire Mixte de Recherche “Patrimoines et Territoires de l’Eau” (LMI PATEO), IRD Dakar, Dakar 18000, Senegal
Julien Andrieu: IFP Institut Français de Pondichery, Pondichéry 605001, India
Patrick Chevalier: International Consultant, 29340 Riec-sur-Belon, France
Bakary Faty: DGPRE Direction de la Gestion et Planification des Ressources en Eau, Dakar 20000, Senegal

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 13, 1-19

Abstract: Sub-Saharan African farmers have long been portrayed with very negative representations, at least since the beginning of coordinated European colonialism in the late 19th century. In the Sahel-Sudan area, agrosystems have been described as overgrazed, forests as endangered, and soils as overexploited, with local and traditional “archaic” practices. Against this background, the objective of this article is to focus on these agrosystems’ resilience, for which several criteria have been monitored. The approach used in this research was to synthesize observations from a large amount of material gathered over multiple years by the authors, drawing on our long-term commitment to, and inter-disciplinary study of, the evolution of surface hydrology, ecosystems, and agrosystems of West Africa. The positive trends in rainfall and streamflows, reinforced by farmer’s practices, confirm the overall regreening and reforestation of the Sahel-Sudan strip, especially in areas with high population densities, including the mangrove areas. The intensification of agricultural systems and the recovery of the water-holding capacity of soils and catchments explain the recorded general increase in terms of food self-sufficiency in the Sahel, as well as in crops yields and food production. Finally, we compare the neo-Malthusian discourse to the actual resilience of these agrosystems. The article concludes with a recommendation calling for the empowerment of smallholder farmers to take greater advantage of the current wet period. Overall, the speed of change in knowledge and know-how transfer and implementation, and the farmers’ ability to adapt to ecological and economic crises, must be highlighted. Far from being resistant to change, West African agriculturalists innovate, experiment, borrow, transform, and choose according to their situation, projects, and social issues.

Keywords: Afro-pessimism; agrosystems; local knowledge and know-how; resilience; Sahel-Sudan Africa; water-holding capacity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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