Use and management of biodiversity by smallholder farmers in semi-arid West Africa

Georges F. Félix, Ibrahima Diedhiou, Marie Le Garff, Cristian Timmermann, Cathy Clermont-Dauphin, Laurent Cournac, Jeroen C.J. Groot, Pablo Tittonell
2018 Global Food Security  
Strategies that strengthen and use biodiversity are crucial for sustained food production and livelihoods in semiarid West Africa. The objective of this paper was to examine the role of biodiversity in sustaining diverse forms of multifunctional farming practices while at the same time providing ecological services to subsistence-oriented farming families in the region of study through mechanisms as (a) crop species diversification, (b) management of spatial heterogeneity, and (c)
more » ... n of nutrition-sensitive landscapes. Our analysis shows that crop associations between cereals and legumes or between perennials and annuals, have overall positive effects on soil characteristics and often improve crop yields. Soil heterogeneity is produced by woody perennials and termites. Local management provides opportunities to collect a diversity of nutrition-rich species year-round and sustain household nutrition.
doi:10.1016/j.gfs.2018.08.005 fatcat:3fsvenfv3zhkxmo6kfe2jdwvvu