Browsing by Author "Waters-Bayer, A."

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Crop-livestock interactions for sustainable agriculture
    Bayer, W.; Waters-Bayer, A. (London: The Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods Programme, IIED, 1989)
    An important component of the "agricultural revolution" of 18th-century Europe was the introduction of forages into crop rotations. These increased animal production and, in turn, crop yields were raised through improvements in soil fertility due to higher manure output, and through the effects of the forage ley. In the tropics, this type of mixed farming is seldom found: most smallholders do not grow forage crops, and may not even keep any large animals. In many areas, cropping and livestock-keeping are practiced by specialist ethnic groups. In view of this, European-oriented observers often tend to conclude that crops and livestock are not interlinked in tropical farming systems.
  • Farmer Innovation in Africa: A Source of Inspiration for Agricultural Development
    Reij, C.; Waters-Bayer, A. (Sterling, VA: Earthscan Publications Ltd., 2001)
    This book describes innovations in African agriculture that were pioneer not by researchers or scientists, but the farmers themselves. These innovations are often overlooked, and this book was written to bring the light these innovations that have resulted from shared knowledge between community members.
  • Is "Holisitc Resource Management" the answer for African Rangelands?
    Bayer, W.; Niamir, M.; Waters-Bayer, A. (1987)
    In Pastoral Network Newsletter No. 23, mention was made of a workshop on Holistic Resource Management (HRM) held 15-17 December 1986 in Uppsala, Sweden. The workshop was organized on behalf of SIDA by the consulting firm Terra Nova and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Participants were mainly from Swedish universities and development agencies, but also included a few individuals form Denmark, Norway, USA and Germany. The sole lecturer was Mr. Allan Savory, the founder and director of the Centre for Holistic Resource Management in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. As the applicability of his resource management approach to the Sahelian zone in Africa was announced as a central question of the three-day workshop, a report about it may be of interest to a wider audience within the Pastoral Network. HRM has three major features: 1. a thought model; 2. an assumption that four missing keys to understanding rangelands and environmental degradation have been found; and 3. a method of grazing management called the Savory Grazing Method (SGM). Our purpose in this brief paper (9 pg) is to examine these features critically, from the standpoint of their general applicability in Africa.