Gray Leslie C., Morant Philippe. 2000. Reconciling local knowledge with western scientific notions of soil fertility decline in southwestern Burkina Faso. s.l. : s.n., 16 p.
Note générale : Preliminary draft, october 20, 2000
Résumé : Soil fertility decline has become a major concern of policymakers worldwide. While many researchers assume that the problem is widespread and universal, others question the assumptions, evidence and methodologies upon which beliefs of soil decline are based. Reconciling competing visions of African soils requires a close examination of both farmer perceptions and western scientific estimations of change at the local level. This paper will discuss local soil knowledge in one small village in southwestern Burkina Faso, relating scientific measures of soil quality to farmers' perceptions of soils types and changing soi] quality. Farmers' perceptions of soil types and characteristics match up very well with scientific investigations. It is with perceptions of soil degradation that differences occur. While farmers perceive that their soil is degraded, soil analyses show very little change. The goal here is not to argue that one type of knowledge is inherently wrong but to reconcile the two and see how and why differences emanate. Particularly important is a discussion of how contradictions emerge out of the social contexts in which perceptions, both at the local scale and broader scales, are embedded.
Mots-clés Agrovoc : fertilité du sol, dégradation du sol
Mots-clés géographiques Agrovoc : Burkina Faso
Mots-clés complémentaires : Savoir-faire, Stratégie paysanne
Classification Agris : P35 - Fertilité du sol
E14 - Économie et politique du développement
Auteurs et affiliations
- Gray Leslie C., Santa Clara University (CUB)
-
Morant Philippe, CIRAD-TERA-ERE (GIN)
ORCID: 0000-0002-5906-2260
Autres liens de la publication
Source : Cirad - Agritrop (https://agritrop.cirad.fr/478021/)
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