Pastoralists Agriculturalists in Africa

1. Pastoralists & Agriculturalists in Africa

4. Pastoralists Specialized adaptation to environments that cannot support a human population through agriculture (hilly terrain, dry climate, or unsuitable soil) but produces grass (which humans cannot eat). Six most popular species around the world: sheep, goats, cattle, horses, donkeys, and camels Main source of food is meat and milk; grains and manufactured items are traded

5. Pastoralism Key to pastoralist economy is herd growth Animals are the form of wealth Risky because of drought, disease, theft Pastoralists need to know the carrying capacity of the land as well as how many animals needed to support a family Maasai donating cows to the US after 9/11

6. Pastoralists Pastoralist societies tend to be based on patrilineal kinship. Why do you think this is?

7. Horticulturalists Production of domesticated plants using handheld tools Rain as the source of moisture Major crops: yams, corns, beans, grains such as millet and sorghum, and root crops Cultivated fields not used permanently, year after year, but remain fallow

8. Horticulturalists Lower yield per acre than intensive agriculture but less human labor also Average plot size are less than an acre; 2.5 acres can support 5-8 people a year. Population densities are low, but villages may be large (100-1,000 people)

9. Slash-and-Burn Farming A field is cleared by felling the trees and burning the brush The burned vegetation is left on the land, preventing drying out of the soil Ash serves as fertilizer Very little weeding required because of the ash cover Fields used for a few years and then allowed to lie fallow (up to 20 years) so that the forest cover can be rebuilt and soil fertility restored

10. Horticulture and the Environment So long as the land is allowed to remain fallow until it rejuvenates, the system is sustainable. However, access to land by ranchers, miners, tourists, and farmers; horticulturalists� desire to increase production for cash; and population growth can mean that the land becomes degraded.

11. Agriculturalists & Gender Men�s and women�s work roles often clearly defined A common pattern is for women to grow staple crops and men to grow the prestige crops The differences in work roles have implications for the status of men and women.

12. Agriculturalists & Gender With an increase in crops grown for sale (cash crops like cotton, cocoa, etc) rather than crops grown for household use (staples or food crops), men tend to dominate in farming The introduction of the market economy has thus tended to benefit men, not women.

13. Agriculturalists Associated with the rise of: sedentary villages cities and the state occupational diversity social stratification Downtown Yaounde, Cameroon

14. Agriculturalists Surplus food production goes to non-food-producing occupational specialists, such as those in religious or ruling elites Importance of credit and debt (money-lenders)

15. Characteristics of Agriculturalists Importance of household in production: children work harder in farming communities than in any other mode of production Use of a supplementary labor supply outside of household Need of farmers to depend on part-time non-farming work to supplement income Surplus extracted from the state in the form of rents, taxes, and free labor

16. The State and Agriculture The state is heavily involved in agriculture: Sets price at which farm products are sold Subsidizes farmers and farm inputs (fertilizer, pesticides) Markets farm products overseas and imports other products that affect local farm products

17. The State and Agriculture Sets land ownership policy and rules regarding land tenancy Affects labor markets by controlling migration from outside the country, which creates large pools of migrant labor Also allows surplus rural labor to migrate and benefits from remittances sent home