Agroforestry and Shifting Cultivation in Liberia: Livelihood Impacts, Carbon Tradoffs, and Socio-political Obstacles

Agrofrestry;Food Security;Liberia;Income Diversification;Shifting Cultivation;Natural Resources and Environment

Fouladbash, LisaHarden, Rebecca ;

University of Michigan

关键词: Agrofrestry;    Food Security;    Liberia;    Income Diversification;    Shifting Cultivation;    Natural Resources and Environment;   

Others  :  https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/100128/Lisa%20Fouladabash%20thesis%20Fall%2013.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

瑞士|英语

来源: The Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship

【 摘 要 】

In Liberia emphases have been placed on reducing deforestation and increasing foodsecurity through improved agricultural practices. One proposed strategy is the transition ofsmallholder farmers from shifting cultivation to tree cropping and agroforestry systems. Astructured survey instrument was administered to 80 households in Bong and Lofa counties,Liberia to assess the cultural and socio-political feasibility of increasing tree cropping andagroforestry among smallholder farmers. The survey investigated current household use,perceptions and impediments towards tree cropping and agroforestry, and impacts of thesepractices on income diversification and food security. Income was the driving motivation forhouseholds to engage in tree cropping, and insecure land tenure was the most significant impediment. Household demographics also had an effect, as tree-cropping households werepredominantly male-headed, with an average of 2 more youth members than non-treecropping households (0-20 years). Agroforestry was practiced by one-third of the sample,and had positive effects on income diversification and food security. Agroforestry did notreplace shifting cultivation as a livelihood practice. Chapter 1 reveals the importance ofaddressing socio-political factors, including cultural perceptions, land tenure, gender, andhousehold demographics, when designing agroforestry programs.In attempts to reduce deforestation, the Government of Liberia has proposed settingaside 30% of forests into protected areas where shifting cultivation would be prohibited. Chapter 2 describes use of a coupled human-natural systems model, created using STELLAdynamic systems modeling software (ISEE Systems, inc.), to quantify and compare carbonstorage and food production tradeoffs that would occur under the designation of differentproportions of the landscape into Protected Areas. Model results showed that designation ofiiiland into Protected Areas would increase landscape carbon storage, but significantly decrease rice production, with livelihood implications.Chapter 3 concludes with an analysis of the political ecology and historical contextunderlying agricultural underdevelopment and rural poverty in Liberia, beyond the dominantdiscourse of the ;;post-conflict” state. I argue that the current state of rural poverty wasshaped by the interacting forces of colonization, foreign investment, and neoliberalism inLiberia. These forces have enabled foreign financial exploitation, the shift to an export basedeconomy, and a resulting dependence on global markets, which have become among themost significant contributors to underdevelopment and rural poverty in Liberia. I argue that acontinued reliance on market-based mechanisms will exacerbate rural poverty, through thecontinued commodification of Liberia’s land, natural resources, and her people.