Agricultural Progress in Zambia's Eastern Province
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/j.1099-162X.1966.tb00258.x |
| Date | 01 April 1966 |
| Published date | 01 April 1966 |
| Author | George Kay |
Agricultural Progress in
Zambia's Eastern Province
By
GEORGE
KAY.
Mr. Kay is Leverhulme Fellow in Commonwealth Studies in the Department
of
Geography, Hull University.
THROUGHOUT much of tropical Africa a dearth of technical and scientific
knowledgeand
of
capital resources confine indigenous peoples to a primitive
polyfunctional life in which much effort is expended and the returns are
neither abundant nor assured. Furthermore, during the present century vill-
agers have been drawn into a wider sphere than that
of
their tribal group and
COntact
with western civilization hascreated new needs and wants. Traditional
subsistence production is no longer adequate, and cash is frequently required
to meet necessities of modern life. In most rural areas opportunities to earn
cash are very limited and thousands of men leave their village homes each
Year
to seek work in cities and towns and in those highly localised regions
where commercial farming on a large scale has been successfully developed.
But paid employment is limited too, and there are insufficient jobs for all
those who seek work. Urban unemployment and rural underemployment are
now urgent problems in tropical Africa, and in order to raise rural standards
of living rapidly and make them comparable with those of urban workers an
agricultural revolution is required.
In many areas new methods of land use are necessary not only to alleviate
poverty
but
also to preserve the very means of production.
It
has long been
recognised that indigenous agricultural systems generally are admirably
adapted to their physical environment and make full use of available resources
within the limits of the traditions and technology of the African peoples,
but
because productivity per unit area is very low they support only a sparse
population. Overpopulation and overstocking without compensating changes
in land usage set in motion a process
of
degradation which,
if
unchecked,
Ultimately must destroy the land.
The
process begins slowly
but
gathers
Inomentum as it progresses. First the vegetation cover suffers from excessive
clearing, burning, and grazing. Soil deterioration - the loss of organic matter,
plant nutrients and soil structure - follows and consequently regeneration
of
the vegetation becomes more difficult. Increased exposure to the elements
leads to sheet erosion of topsoils. Sheet erosion is followed by gullying, and
gullies spread into ever more intricate patterns as they eat into land. Run off
is increased and local watertables are lowered; surface water supplies are
threatened. Eventually the land becomes virrually useless to man and beast
and must be returned to nature in the hope that she may heal herself.
To
avoid such catastrophies agricultural improvement is essential in seriously
Overpopulated areas, and in several parts
of
tropical Africa it has been the
need to conserve natural resources as much as the plight of rural populations
that has prompted governments to action in rural development.
A review of progress in the Eastern Province of Zambia provides an
in-
Structive example of problems that have to be faced in Africa rural areas and
97
To continue reading
Request your trial