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Tropical African development
Book rev~ws
477
Tropical African Development. Edited by M. B. Gleave. Longrnan Scientific and Technical, Harlow, 1992. 366 pp. Price: US$34.95 (paperback). ISBN 0 582 30147 5. This book, aimed primarily at an undergraduate audience, contains 12 chapters by nine British geographers, all of whom have had a long experience of Africa. It is a geographically-oriented overview of environmental, economic, and demographic conditions in tropical Africa. Themes dealt with in separate chapters include the colonial experience, energy, trade, agriculture, population mobility and urbanization. These provide a lot of descriptive information, as up-to-date as is possible considering the subject, and the book is replete with figures and tables (some 70 of the latter). The style of writing is fairly consistent and very readable, as one might expect from such a distinguished group of authors. The book is well edited and remarkably free of typographical errors. Three chapters relate specifically to agriculture. In 'Environmental Constraints on Development' R. P. Moss deals largely with the biophysical factors influencing crop and livestock production and says something of the agronomy of some of the major crops. In effect the discussion is divorced from any consideration of what 'development' might be, so that the wider significance of environmental constraints (or opportunities) for socio-cultural systems that are being radically transformed is unfortunately ignored. J. A. Binns' chapter on Traditional Agriculture, Pastoralism and Fishing' prioritizes rural people's skills, knowledge and objectives as a starting point for efforts to change agriculture to combat the growing food deficit. Broad classes of production systems and some of the characteristic features of African peasant farming systems are described. Binns emphasizes the importance of social and political-economic factors over environmental constraints in determining stability and productivity of these systems. McMaster's chapter deals specifically with agricultural development efforts in case studies of Senegal, Tanzania, Sudan, Kenya and Malawi. He examines critically some of the diverse contexts within which development projects have been instituted, highlighting the clumsiness of many such schemes. The central concern of the book, tying together different personal perspectives, is development. In Gleave's introductory chapter the reader is introduced to the 'development process', an idea used by many of the contributors, often to refer to economic growth. Essentially, development is seen as a series of stages through which some unspecified unit of analysis can pass. By using the term 'development process' it appears to be implicitly assumed that nations, regions, societies or Africa as a whole will develop economically. The fact that so little of Africa is doing so
478
Book reviews
provides much cause for reflection, presumably because the development process model fails to account for the way in which African history is unfolding. Many of the contributors express their concerns about what they see as a depressingly bleak future for tropical Africa, and B. W. Hodder's concluding chapter is particularly frank, yet none of these contributors cares to challenge the validity of the Western concept of development when applied to Africa. W. T. W. Morgan, in a chapter on tropical African colonial experience, puts forward a more positive assessment of the colonial experience than we are used to seeing. His concluding statement runs thus: 'In the long run . . . the benefits accrue to the colonised who remain with the land carrying the inheritance of so much effort and investment. It remains theirs to use.' One might ask whose labour and taxes created that inheritance, and who decides, ultimately, what value it is accorded in world markets? In general this book does nothing to dispel the longstanding image of Africa as something waiting to be developed by the West, in its own image. Too little consideration is given to the world views and priorities of Africans in shaping their future, thankfully with one or two exceptions. As David McMaster concludes in his chapter: 'The importance of trusting the countryside and of its people participating in development: this is the nub'. How long to sing this song? Simon E. Carter
Soil Conservation and Sustainable Land Use. An Economic Approach. Jan de Graaff. KIT Press, Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, 1993. 191 pp. Price Dfl 45 (paperback). ISBN 90 6832 042 4. This book certainly addresses topics of the moment. As the writer of the preface says, good reference books on the economics of land conservation are rare. While the general literature on sustainability is burgeoning, some of it seems to add to the general confusion of what development is and how it should be accomplished, rather than to clarify these issues. What does this book have to offer? It opens with a discussion of the causes and extent of land degradation and soil erosion on a global basis. The various actors in sustainable land use (whatever this may be, exactly) are then identified and categorised. Chapter 3 looks at soil and water conservation strategies and policies in humid steep zones and dry zones, together with the cost of conservation measures for farmers. This is followed by a discussion of the watershed approach to development, set within a hierarchy of levels for planning
477
Tropical African Development. Edited by M. B. Gleave. Longrnan Scientific and Technical, Harlow, 1992. 366 pp. Price: US$34.95 (paperback). ISBN 0 582 30147 5. This book, aimed primarily at an undergraduate audience, contains 12 chapters by nine British geographers, all of whom have had a long experience of Africa. It is a geographically-oriented overview of environmental, economic, and demographic conditions in tropical Africa. Themes dealt with in separate chapters include the colonial experience, energy, trade, agriculture, population mobility and urbanization. These provide a lot of descriptive information, as up-to-date as is possible considering the subject, and the book is replete with figures and tables (some 70 of the latter). The style of writing is fairly consistent and very readable, as one might expect from such a distinguished group of authors. The book is well edited and remarkably free of typographical errors. Three chapters relate specifically to agriculture. In 'Environmental Constraints on Development' R. P. Moss deals largely with the biophysical factors influencing crop and livestock production and says something of the agronomy of some of the major crops. In effect the discussion is divorced from any consideration of what 'development' might be, so that the wider significance of environmental constraints (or opportunities) for socio-cultural systems that are being radically transformed is unfortunately ignored. J. A. Binns' chapter on Traditional Agriculture, Pastoralism and Fishing' prioritizes rural people's skills, knowledge and objectives as a starting point for efforts to change agriculture to combat the growing food deficit. Broad classes of production systems and some of the characteristic features of African peasant farming systems are described. Binns emphasizes the importance of social and political-economic factors over environmental constraints in determining stability and productivity of these systems. McMaster's chapter deals specifically with agricultural development efforts in case studies of Senegal, Tanzania, Sudan, Kenya and Malawi. He examines critically some of the diverse contexts within which development projects have been instituted, highlighting the clumsiness of many such schemes. The central concern of the book, tying together different personal perspectives, is development. In Gleave's introductory chapter the reader is introduced to the 'development process', an idea used by many of the contributors, often to refer to economic growth. Essentially, development is seen as a series of stages through which some unspecified unit of analysis can pass. By using the term 'development process' it appears to be implicitly assumed that nations, regions, societies or Africa as a whole will develop economically. The fact that so little of Africa is doing so
478
Book reviews
provides much cause for reflection, presumably because the development process model fails to account for the way in which African history is unfolding. Many of the contributors express their concerns about what they see as a depressingly bleak future for tropical Africa, and B. W. Hodder's concluding chapter is particularly frank, yet none of these contributors cares to challenge the validity of the Western concept of development when applied to Africa. W. T. W. Morgan, in a chapter on tropical African colonial experience, puts forward a more positive assessment of the colonial experience than we are used to seeing. His concluding statement runs thus: 'In the long run . . . the benefits accrue to the colonised who remain with the land carrying the inheritance of so much effort and investment. It remains theirs to use.' One might ask whose labour and taxes created that inheritance, and who decides, ultimately, what value it is accorded in world markets? In general this book does nothing to dispel the longstanding image of Africa as something waiting to be developed by the West, in its own image. Too little consideration is given to the world views and priorities of Africans in shaping their future, thankfully with one or two exceptions. As David McMaster concludes in his chapter: 'The importance of trusting the countryside and of its people participating in development: this is the nub'. How long to sing this song? Simon E. Carter
Soil Conservation and Sustainable Land Use. An Economic Approach. Jan de Graaff. KIT Press, Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, 1993. 191 pp. Price Dfl 45 (paperback). ISBN 90 6832 042 4. This book certainly addresses topics of the moment. As the writer of the preface says, good reference books on the economics of land conservation are rare. While the general literature on sustainability is burgeoning, some of it seems to add to the general confusion of what development is and how it should be accomplished, rather than to clarify these issues. What does this book have to offer? It opens with a discussion of the causes and extent of land degradation and soil erosion on a global basis. The various actors in sustainable land use (whatever this may be, exactly) are then identified and categorised. Chapter 3 looks at soil and water conservation strategies and policies in humid steep zones and dry zones, together with the cost of conservation measures for farmers. This is followed by a discussion of the watershed approach to development, set within a hierarchy of levels for planning