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Indigenous horticulture


Indigenous horticulture is practised in various ways across all inhabited continents. Indigenous refers to the native peoples of a given area and horticulture is the practice of small-scale inter cropping.

In North Africa we look at the farming practices of the Egg on, a Nigerian hill farming community. The Egg on live in the Mada hills between Lafia and Akwanga. The hills lay between two rivers that Mada and Arikya. The altitude helps retain moisture on the hills due to early morning mists and fogs. The altitude also makes for earlier and longer crop cultivation. They practice bush fallow agriculture as well as mixed farming land management styles. They focus on growing yams, cassava, maize, beans, and African rice; much of what is produced is exported as a cash crop and is their primary source of cash income. The Egg on use a terraced agricultural system to maximize space on the hills. The goats that they raise are kept mostly for fertilizer used in farming. They are only killed on special occasions such as weddings. The Eggon use the diversity in their environment to maximize their production.

In West Africa the Kissidougou live on the savannah dotted by dense areas of “forest islands” that was created by the Kissidougou. The Kissidougou practice intercropping within the forested areas. However, they also operate farms maintained on slopes or plateaus that are located between the forest islands. They prepare the savannah lands for forestation through farming and burning of the grasses to fertilize the soils. The Kissidougou graze their cattle on the savannah to help to maintain flammable grasses around the farms and the villages. The Kissidougou create diversity in their environment by farming and transforming savannah into lush, dense forest.


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Wikipedia

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