INDIGENOUS FARMERS MANAGEMENT OF LAND DEGRADATION: THE CASE OF ASUNAFO, GHANA

Abstract

The paper discusses farmers’ strategies for managing land degradation. Land user perception on effectiveness of 25 land degradation management strategies were examined as involving slightly effective (e.g. use of household refuse), moderately effectively (e.g. crop diversification), largely effectively (e.g. watering of crops) and very largely effectively (e.g. hand weeding 5 or 6 times). The strategies were further subjected to strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT), trend and cost-benefits analyses. About 71% of the management strategies showed higher benefits than cost (economically feasible) and 29% recorded higher cost than benefits. In the global quest to control land degradation, indigenous farmer knowledge, experience and experiments provide solid background.