Analysis of the agricultural system of the region of Ahépé, south Togo. The agricultural system of the region of Ahépé, 80 km north of Lomé, Togo, was studied. Eighteen historical surveys and 44 farm surveys were carried out. We distinguished four main stages in the evolution of the farming system in the region. 1. Pioneer farming based on burning, with fallow land lasting more than 20 years. 2. When access to land starts to decrease, and oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) starts being the main

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... of revenue, the system becomes fallow-land with oil palm based. Such a system necessitates an available surface at least three times larger than the cultivated area. 3. Due to lack of available land, the third system is based on pruning and burning of oil palm fallow lands with alternative cultivation and fallow land every three years. 4. Finally, after cultivated land becomes really short, rural depopulation, sale of labour force, and work intensification per unit of surface and of capital areobserved. In the actual farming system, we distinguished 5 different categories of farms. The ""survival threshold"" (the minimal amount of resources needed), estimated for a family with two adults and three children, is F CFA 79,000 per working adult and per year, of which F CFA 47,000 in cash (to buy everything that cannot be produced on farm). The first category is a food-producing system on short time fallow-land with palm trees. With farms smaller than 1 ha, food crops are dominant (80% of the agricultural revenue) and the total agricultural revenue per working adult is less than F CFA 200,000 per year. The second category is a food-producing system on short time fallow-land with palm trees and cash crops. The annual agricultural revenue per working adult varies from F CFA 200,000 to 1,600,000. In the third category, cash crops are dominant (mainly cotton) but the farms are in difficult financial conditions. The surfaces in this system vary between 1.1 and 1.5 ha. Due to problems in the management of the cultivation of cotton, [...]