WI: Better Sahel Agriculture in Antiquity?

[DominusNovus]

Zaï - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

https://www.zef.de/fileadmin/webfiles/downloads/zefnews/No8-9-2001-engl.pdf

In the past generation, there has been a bit of a revolution in the agricultural practices in marginal Sahel lands. There is a traditional agricultural technique called Zai, which is simple on its face: dig pits where you plant, in order to collect water before it runs off the soil completely. I haven't found just how old this technique is, but it is consistently described as 'traditional' so I'm going to assume it has been around an arbitrarily long time. What modern Sahel farmers have done is introduce a few refinements:
- Place rows of small stones along the contours of the land, to slow water further, allowing even more to soak in during the rainy season (think of them as very small weirs)
- Fertilize the pits with manure and compost (it boggles my mind that this is an innovation)
- Planting trees amongst the crops, to act as windbreaks and help form microclimates
- Nurture populations of termites, who tunnel around the various zai pits and irrigate and loosen the soil
- Dig the pits before the rainy season, when there is plenty of labor

All of this combines to produce yields of 1,200 kg/hectare (comparable to Italy during the Roman Empire, or just about 2/3 of Roman Egypt's productivity) all with brute manual labor (if you watch the video, one of the more innovative farmers is using animal labor), in some of the most degraded soil on Earth. All with no technology that wasn't used prior to the neolithic. In fact, it seems that the more degraded the soil, the faster the manure breaks down into fertile soil.

Before I get ahead of myself, I will add the caveat that I've watched a few documentaries and read a bit on this, and it seems too good to be true, so if there's any counter evidence, I'll put my utterly unsurprised face on. It does seem that one of the biggest limitations is the available manure, which can be somewhat scarce (esp when one considers that these societies often use it for fuel). Of course, these techniques pale in comparison to modern industrialized agriculture, and I can't wonder what these farmers could do with a hand held auger and a can of gasoline. Still, all these concerns aside, 1,200 kg/ha is nothing to sneeze at, especially when one considers the feedback loop that can occur, as more crops mean you can feed more livestock. Further, when forestry is incorporated into the technique, the resulting microclimates can hold the gradually growing desert at bay, and possibly even reclaim some of its southern reaches.

So, let us assume that at some point in antiquity (lets just say around the first century, BC or AD, your pick), zai farming techniques are already being used, and some enterprising farmers stumble across doing what I'll call modern zai planting. Give it another few centuries to get refined and spread out across the region, but before the fall of Rome, the Sahel states are producing comparable agricultural yields to the more fertile parts of the Mediterranean. This means a larger, more productive society, likely quite richer, as well. Especially when the trans-Sahara trade routes open up.

Outside of the scope of my interest, I do have to think that these techniques could be used in other regions, as well.

 

[Revachah]

Serer agroforestry was very adapted to the environment and likely used zai holes as well. I'd do some Google searches on it, you'll find good info.

Their religion and especially their creation story is highly connected to the oft nitrogen fixing sacred trees from the foundational “primordial swamp” a time period I connect to the time of the Neolitic Subpluvial.

Historically we have some early accounts of the Sahel were of semi-arid woodlands.

Of course local climate shifts altered the environment but I'm a proponents of the trans-saharan and trans Atlantic slave trade dramatically defoliating and altering the land to the desertification we see today.

 

[DominusNovus]

Serer agroforestry was very adapted to the environment and likely used zai holes as well. I'd do some Google searches on it, you'll find good info.

Their religion and especially their creation story is highly connected to the oft nitrogen fixing sacred trees from the foundational “primordial swamp” a time period I connect to the time of the Neolitic Subpluvial.

Historically we have some early accounts of the Sahel were of semi-arid woodlands.

Of course local climate shifts altered the environment but I'm a proponents of the trans-saharan and trans Atlantic slave trade dramatically defoliating and altering the land to the desertification we see today.

I have done some searching on the topic, and I completely take for granted that these techniques date back very far. However, they do not seem to have incorporated the various innovations mentioned in my post until our lifetimes, for whatever reason. As for the landscape, any areas of the Sahel that are now degraded enough for this technique to be worthwhile but were not in ancient times, likely would have been bordered by areas to the north, closer to the Sahara, that were appropriate then.

 

[Revachah]

I have done some searching on the topic, and I completely take for granted that these techniques date back very far. However, they do not seem to have incorporated the various innovations mentioned in my post until our lifetimes, for whatever reason. As for the landscape, any areas of the Sahel that are now degraded enough for this technique to be worthwhile but were not in ancient times, likely would have been bordered by areas to the north, closer to the Sahara, that were appropriate then.

I disagree. Looking at the various agricultural systems that exist today they are related to a post population drain and colonial extractive model found in much of the region.

However the Serer agroforestry systems as well as a specific Fulani agricultural system in Fouta Djallon still persist to this day.

We cannot look at African agricultural systems anywhere to be symbolic of the pre-existing agricultural norms.

Neither can we take them without understanding the climatic fluctuations that existed in the last couple hundred years.

African current predicament is not due to African agrarian traditions, indeed West African agrarian tradition arose at the start of Saharan desiccation as a low input extensive cattle and agroforestry based food system.

Noted here

The study notes that European colonials’ imposed-production systems drastically raised the once small population of the Sahel to intolerable proportions and the environment began to break down. Europeans’ disruptive actions are clearly described in the following quote: “In the process of extending this system, Europeans intervened in West Africa in several ways with many destructive effects—effects that in turn would greatly influence the development of the ecology of the region, making it increasingly vulnerable to droughts (Franke & Chasin, 1980, p. 63).” Moreover, annual precipitation in the Sahel has been decreasing considerably during most of the recent decades; it fell between 20 and 40 percent from 1931 to 1960 levels.

 

[DominusNovus]

I really get the impression you’re responding to some grander point that I’m not making.

 

[Revachah]

I really get the impression you’re responding to some grander point that I’m not making.

Nope but also if you wanted my response you could have quoted it.

As stated in most studies in Parkland and agroforestry papers on the Sahel there are systems that utilized leguminous trees for the purpose of fertility.

Focusing on a continuation of traditional sahelian agriculture in ancient times can and will be useful for any ATL.

I always base my commentary of research that informed by science, take that for what it is honestly.

This forum doesn't research topics around Africa and luckily I had notes that I already bookmarked as someone who uses these strategies.

You asked a question and I answered it. The conditions of the Sahel over the last century are not the result of ineffective traditional agrarian practices. Focusing on reinforcing said practices can and will be useful

 

[DominusNovus]

The conditions of the Sahel over the last century are not the result of ineffective traditional agrarian practices.

I never said they were.

 

[Revachah]

I never said they were.

You stated :

However, they do not seem to have incorporated the various innovations mentioned in my post until our lifetimes, for whatever reason.

The traditional practices of indigenous sahelian agricultural practices are in line with the planting techniques found with zai holes.

- Fertilize the pits with manure and compost (it boggles my mind that this is an innovation)
- Planting trees amongst the crops, to act as windbreaks and help form microclimates
- Nurture populations of termites, who tunnel around the various zai pits and irrigate and loosen the soil

I'm informing you that your assumptions of Sahelian agriculture are not accurate and by looking into scientific research papers you'll find that said practices were well used historically.

 

[DominusNovus]

You stated :


The traditional practices of indigenous sahelian agricultural practices are in line with the planting techniques found with zai holes.



I'm informing you that your assumptions of Sahelian agriculture are not accurate and by looking into scientific research papers you'll find that said practices were well used historically.

These were not assumptions, these were claims specifically made by present day farmers in the Sahel, as represented in the various links I provided. Every video and paper I read on the topic says that modern farmers in the Sahel have refined older practices.

That being said, whether or not they fertilized with manure or other techniques in times past is nowhere near saying that the conditions in the region themselves are a result of not applying those techniques. I can provide an analogy if you like.

EDIT: It is also worth noting that I specifically said that I was skeptical of the claims that the innovations being trumpeted in these papers are actually innovations, and that I'd be quite unsurprised to learn otherwise. If you have some sources showing that these particular techniques were being used in conjunction with zai planting, or other similar methods, prior to modern times, I'd be quite eager to believe those sources. That said, given that I provided a source from an actual university that has been studying this, which claims that fertilizing the holes with manure is only relatively new.

 

[Revachah]

These were not assumptions, these were claims specifically made by present day farmers in the Sahel, as represented in the various links I provided. Every video and paper I read on the topic says that modern farmers in the Sahel have refined older practices.

That being said, whether or not they fertilized with manure or other techniques in times past is nowhere near saying that the conditions in the region themselves are a result of not applying those techniques. I can provide an analogy if you like.

EDIT: It is also worth noting that I specifically said that I was skeptical of the claims that the innovations being trumpeted in these papers are actually innovations, and that I'd be quite unsurprised to learn otherwise. If you have some sources showing that these particular techniques were being used in conjunction with zai planting, or other similar methods, prior to modern times, I'd be quite eager to believe those sources. That said, given that I provided a source from an actual university that has been studying this, which claims that fertilizing the holes with manure is only relatively new.

Well I was trying to at the beginning but you already said that you were well read on the subject then you claimed I was not speaking to your incorrect statements but rather some loftier and higher matter.

So what is it? Are you at the point of recognizing maybe you aren't as informed on African agriculture like you originally thought And you were needlessly defensive over nothing?

 

[DominusNovus]

Well I was trying to at the beginning but you already said that you were well read on the subject then you claimed I was not speaking to your incorrect statements but rather some loftier and higher matter.

So what is it? Are you at the point of recognizing maybe you aren't as informed on African agriculture like you originally thought And you were needlessly defensive over nothing?

I said I had done some searching on the topic, which is what you were advising me to do, I did not say I was well read. You said “do some google searches,” which is exactly what I had done. I also specifically stated my skepticism about the claims made in those sources in my opening post.

So, if there is an abundance of material available online showing that the traditional farming techniques in the region were as - or nearly so - sophisticated as they are presently (this includes zai pits and a variety of other related techniques), I have not found them, and I ask you in good faith to provide them. The only citation you provided was on the general impact of colonial practices, not the specifics of this topic. It’s a 188 page citation, so perhaps there is more information there that I did not see - if you would be so kind to direct me to the relevant portions if that is the case, I would appreciate it.

This is not me being defensive, this is me saying “I did exactly what you recommended prior to starting this discussion, and I have yet to see anything contradicting what my initial impressions were, but I continue to be open to such contradicting information.” I would like to know what, exactly, you have in mind when you say that I made any statements that were incorrect. As it stands, the only claims I made were those made by the sources I cited in my post - the very same sources I myself threw some skepticism on.

Finally, I am sure you do not intend to come across as such, you are coming across as rather combative on this subject. Perhaps it is simply a mis-understanding, like you interpreting my responses as being defensive. I’m happy to have a passionate or dispassionate debate or argument on a variety of topics in this general area, if it is in good faith.

 

[CalBear]

Well I was trying to at the beginning but you already said that you were well read on the subject then you claimed I was not speaking to your incorrect statements but rather some loftier and higher matter.

So what is it? Are you at the point of recognizing maybe you aren't as informed on African agriculture like you originally thought And you were needlessly defensive over nothing?

Play the ball.

 

[Revachah]

Play the ball.

I will but when I said to Google Serer traditional agriculture I was rebuffed.

Most studies and papers on the very topic of Zäi holes acknowledges it to be a *traditional* practice that only fell into disuse due to shifts away from subsistence agriculture to commercial agriculture.

The basis of this thread is predicated on the belief that zäi holes are new, when in fact it's only been in a renaissance.

That's what I was explaining and each time I was rebuffed further.

 

[CalBear]

I will but when I said to Google Serer traditional agriculture I was rebuffed.

Most studies and papers on the very topic of Zäi holes acknowledges it to be a *traditional* practice that only fell into disuse due to shifts away from subsistence agriculture to commercial agriculture.

The basis of this thread is predicated on the belief that zäi holes are new, when in fact it's only been in a renaissance.

That's what I was explaining and each time I was rebuffed further.

The key is to state facts or reference items without over personalizing things.

 

[DominusNovus]

I will but when I said to Google Serer traditional agriculture I was rebuffed.

Most studies and papers on the very topic of Zäi holes acknowledges it to be a *traditional* practice that only fell into disuse due to shifts away from subsistence agriculture to commercial agriculture.

The basis of this thread is predicated on the belief that zäi holes are new, when in fact it's only been in a renaissance.

That's what I was explaining and each time I was rebuffed further.

I would like to clarify that I never said the technique itself was new, and I stated that my understanding was that it was traditional, going back an arbitrarily long time into the past. I said the various refinements to it promoted in the sources I link were new - and even that claim I found somewhat dubious.

 

[Revachah]

The key is to state facts or reference items without over personalizing things.

The accusation that I'm making grandeous gestures rather than critiques is personal. The paper I quoted spoke about traditional agro-forestry in a Serer community.

When someone openly states that Sahelians did not in fact use fertilizer from manure or other forms of organic matter when literally all literature of African agricultural systems speaks on it then it becomes clear someone did not read on the matter

The ways in which people make posts about Africa on this forum still shows a level of laxity that I would never see with say any kingdom in Europe, the Norse in North America, the Confederacy or Nazis.

People go on multiple pages fighting about one minute detail an OP is overlooking.

 

[DominusNovus]

The accusation that I'm making grandeous gestures rather than critiques is personal. The paper I quoted spoke about traditional agro-forestry in a Serer community.

When someone openly states that Sahelians did not in fact use fertilizer from manure or other forms of organic matter when literally all literature of African agricultural systems speaks on it then it becomes clear someone did not read on the matter

The ways in which people make posts about Africa on this forum still shows a level of laxity that I would never see with say any kingdom in Europe, the Norse in North America, the Confederacy or Nazis.

People go on multiple pages fighting about one minute detail an OP is overlooking.

Can you provide a citation to counter the citations that I used? I've got videos of farmers from the Sahel claiming that until recently, manure was not used in zai pits. The most famous is a man named Yacouba Sawadogo, who had a documentary made about him, and has been recognized internationally for his efforts, being dubbed 'the man who stopped the desert.' Here's a very quick video of him (you can find the full documentary on youtube, as well).

As you can see, according to Sawadogo, manure was not used in zai pits until he started innovating. Again, I specifically said that the idea that this is all accurate, and that earlier farmers weren't using any of his techniques - or the ones implemented by the other farmers in the other video I cite in my opening post - does strike me as unlikely. Perhaps when I said 'it boggles my mind that this is an innovation' it comes across as me saying 'it boggles my mind that these people aren't smart enough to use an obvious fertilizer.' That is not what I was conveying with that statement, what I was trying to convey is 'it boggles my mind that this is an innovation, so I'm skeptical of this claim.'

EDIT:
Ok, I did some searching of the citation you provided, for some key terms. It backs up what I was claiming, and even references Sawadogo specifically as an innovator in Zai planting techniques, on page 73:

The Zai technique, one of the best-known traditional practices to reclaim degraded lands and rehabilitate agroforestry systems in the Sudano-Sahelian semiarid zone, has continued to win praise in the field of conservation agriculture (Reij, Scoones, & Toulmin, 1996). The documentary film “The man who stopped the desert” (Dodd et al., 2010) clearly describes how a smallholder peasant (Yacouba) in Burkina Faso was able to improve the traditional farming technique of Zai, and reverse the advance of the desert in this part of the Sahel. The Zai technique consists of planting seeds or transplanting trees in dug holes in the fields to collect rainwater and increase infiltration. Yacouba made the pits bigger and added manure and plant detritus, which provided decomposed nutrients to the plants. According to Reij, Scoones and Toulmin (1996), this traditional technique, which is now widely applied in Burkina Faso, has reduced soil erosion, increased soil moisture, structure and chemical content, and thus increased crop yields. Zai pits have also proven more effective in low rainfall areas compared to abundant tropical rainfall (Reij, Scoones & Toulmin, 1996). In the film, Reij also argues that this simple method has reversed desertification in a short period of time in contrast to what international organizations, NGOs, and agricultural experts around the world have achieved over many decades.

So there is another piece of evidence that my premise (which, one more time, I will be absolutely unsurprised to learn is not accurate, if you can provide any evidence) is accurate. Not only that, but your citation actually references the reason why manure is not used as much for fertilizer as I would have imagined, traditionally, and it is exactly the reason I guessed, on page 112:

In order for women to address the pressing demand for firewood, some of them (4 of 10) resort to new methods to replace firewood. They use millet stalks, and ndef (cattle dung) as a substitute for firewood, which diminishes the manure available as fertilizer on already denuded farmlands.

 

[Revachah]

Can you provide a citation to counter the citations that I used? I've got videos of farmers from the Sahel claiming that until recently, manure was not used in zai pits. The most famous is a man named Yacouba Sawadogo, who had a documentary made about him, and has been recognized internationally for his efforts, being dubbed 'the man who stopped the desert.' Here's a very quick video of him (you can find the full documentary on youtube, as well).

As you can see, according to Sawadogo, manure was not used in zai pits until he started innovating. Again, I specifically said that the idea that this is all accurate, and that earlier farmers weren't using any of his techniques - or the ones implemented by the other farmers in the other video I cite in my opening post - does strike me as unlikely. Perhaps when I said 'it boggles my mind that this is an innovation' it comes across as me saying 'it boggles my mind that these people aren't smart enough to use an obvious fertilizer.' That is not what I was conveying with that statement, what I was trying to convey is 'it boggles my mind that this is an innovation, so I'm skeptical of this claim.'

EDIT:
Ok, I did some searching of the citation you provided, for some key terms. It backs up what I was claiming, and even references Sawadogo specifically as an innovator in Zai planting techniques, on page 73:

So there is another piece of evidence that my premise (which, one more time, I will be absolutely unsurprised to learn is not accurate, if you can provide any evidence) is accurate. Not only that, but your citation actually references the reason why manure is not used as much for fertilizer as I would have imagined, traditionally, and it is exactly the reason I guessed, on page 112:

Mr. Sawadogo is famous for the wide scale implementation of zäi, resurrecting a degraded remnant of a fading agricultural practice in his particular community .

I've followed the development and dispersal of Zäi holes since 2006 when I received information from the ECHO organization based in Florida “Amaranth to Zäi Holes” when I was implementing similar techniques for low income communities with limited resources.

The degraded practice he picked up in his community is not a reflection of it's original design or implementation.

Rather what he did was resurrect it's original design lost after decades of disuse in all but the most rural of areas but especially in his community.

In Zai Practice: A West African Traditional Rehabilitation System for Semiarid Degraded Lands, a Case Study in Burkina Faso October 1999

they mention several regions outside of Burkina Faso that practice the same techniques Mr. Sawadogo resurrected elsewhere from Dogon country to Keita Valley Niger

early as the first storms of April(Figure2b), the farmer puts down one or two handfuls of dry dung (about1-3Mg ha-’ of air-dried organic matter) or a mixture of roughly decomposed animal feces, litter, compost, small branches,-ashes, and all kinds of farm residue.

The supposed fertilization was something he picked up again but was continued elsewhere.


Termite soil was always recognized as fertilizer throughout sub-Saharan semi-arid Africa.

Iroko [28] mentions how in Benin the decision to settle is influenced by the presence of termite mounds: “Under the reign of Adandozan (1997–1818) of Abomey, and old migrant called Dandji, left Ato-Agokpou in Togo and settled definitely on a site where abundance of termite mounds was for him a foreteller of prosperity”. This was confirmed by informants (Mali: Mande Madinka, Mande-Malinke). Informants told that plants always grow better near a termite mound (Benin: Goun, Nagot; CAR: Ghare; Chad: Ngambaye; Mali: Sarikole; Tanzania: Zanaki; Togo: Ewe) and that the soil can be used as a fertilizer (Cameroon: Bamileke, Bolous; Senegal: Diola; Tanzania: Chaga, Iraqw; Zambia: Tonga; Zimbabwe: Shona). Termites are also used for soil rehabilitation, e.g. the “zai” system in Burkina Faso [47] in which termites are crucial in water retention by incorporating organic matter into the soil [48].

Indeed the traditional Serer and in fact nearly all sahelian agrarian systems that maintain traditional agro-forestry and silvopasture regimes had fallow periods of several years of built up manure that encourages termite mounds.

The issue has been until the last decades outside agronomists did not recognize the passive processes farmers utilized to exploit termite amended soils for their plots and pits.

 

[Revachah]

With increased populations due to cash cropping systems cattle and cattle fallows have been drastically cut if not completely removed from many denuded and impoverished areas.

However in dogon country particularly deeper in the escarpments where cash cropping never firmly took hold and populations remained relatively low manure fertilization of zai pits to encourage termite production have continued.

Mr. Sawadogo has every right to be the “face” of zäi, he in many ways popularized it and implemented it enough for international scientists to recognize the value of low input systems to combat desertification.

But it's also important to recognize he did not do what international media stated for the whole region, it's a simplified story that had good intentions but it creates narratives like your post that causes more misinformation.

 

[DominusNovus]

Mr. Sawadogo is famous for the wide scale implementation of zäi, resurrecting a degraded remnant of a fading agricultural practice in his particular community .

I've followed the development and dispersal of Zäi holes since 2006 when I received information from the ECHO organization based in Florida “Amaranth to Zäi Holes” when I was implementing similar techniques for low income communities with limited resources.

The degraded practice he picked up in his community is not a reflection of it's original design or implementation.

Rather what he did was resurrect it's original design lost after decades of disuse in all but the most rural of areas but especially in his community.

In Zai Practice: A West African Traditional Rehabilitation System for Semiarid Degraded Lands, a Case Study in Burkina Faso October 1999

they mention several regions outside of Burkina Faso that practice the same techniques Mr. Sawadogo resurrected elsewhere from Dogon country to Keita Valley Niger



The supposed fertilization was something he picked up again but was continued elsewhere.


Termite soil was always recognized as fertilizer throughout sub-Saharan semi-arid Africa.


Indeed the traditional Serer and in fact nearly all sahelian agrarian systems that maintain traditional agro-forestry and silvopasture regimes had fallow periods of several years of built up manure that encourages termite mounds.

The issue has been until the last decades outside agronomists did not recognize the passive processes farmers utilized to exploit termite amended soils for their plots and pits.

With increased populations due to cash cropping systems cattle and cattle fallows have been drastically cut if not completely removed from many denuded and impoverished areas.

However in dogon country particularly deeper in the escarpments where cash cropping never firmly took hold and populations remained relatively low manure fertilization of zai pits to encourage termite production have continued.

Mr. Sawadogo has every right to be the “face” of zäi, he in many ways popularized it and implemented it enough for international scientists to recognize the value of low input systems to combat desertification.

But it's also important to recognize he did not do what international media stated for the whole region, it's a simplified story that had good intentions but it creates narratives like your post that causes more misinformation.

I appreciate that you do seem to be quite knowledgable on this topic, and I also appreciate that you provided some more citations. I don't appreciate being told I'm spreading mis-information, given my own skepticism, expressed in my initial post:

Before I get ahead of myself, I will add the caveat that I've watched a few documentaries and read a bit on this, and it seems too good to be true, so if there's any counter evidence, I'll put my utterly unsurprised face on.

I went into this discussion totally willing to accept that Sawadogo's story was basically a dramatization of something not nearly so cut and dry.

I would like to ask for additional sources, if you have any. Looking at the sources you've provided in your most recent posts, they are both describing contemporary practices - discussing how manure and termites are used at the moment in conjunction with zai pits. I'm not seeing anything specific about whether they were used historically in conjunction with zai pits. You've stated that Sawadogo was just reviving old techniques, but your sources don't confirm that (I'm not saying that they contradict it, either). I am very willing to believe that this is the case, I just would like some sources that actually state that. Every source discussing him or his contemporaries (the first video I provided discussed others) suggests that they're innovating with the traditional techniques.

Since this seems to be an area of expertise for you, is there any chance you would happen to have any good sources on population estimates for the region in older eras? Say, around antiquity or even the medieval era? All I've got is a scattering of wikipedia or wikipedia-derived sources.