An intergenerational transmission of sustainability? Ancestral habitus and food production in a traditional agro-ecosystem of the Upper Guinea Forest, West Africa

Abstract

The need for sustainable alternatives to industrial farming has led to a revival of interest in traditional agro-ecosystems. Whilst it is well recognised that traditional agro-ecosystems are both social and physical-technical-few case studies have examined interactions between both these dimensions in a single system. For a system to be considered sustainable it needs to be shown to have retained key characteristics over several generations. Case studies therefore demand a location where intergenerational transmission of agro-ecological knowledge and practice is ongoing. This paper examines the intergenerational transmission of social and physical-technical dimensions of a traditional agroecosystem of the Loma people in NW Liberia. We engage an innovative interdisciplinary combination of methodologies in analyzing interactions between: (i) energy efficiencies (yield to labour) in 3 different Loma food production systems, using longitudinal quantitative surveys, and, (ii) the social institutions that mediate food production practice, using qualitative methods. Our energy efficiency calculations show that AfDE cultivation is more than twice as efficient at producing calories as either shifting cultivation or forest and river extractivism, yet GPS mapping demonstrates that AfDE cultivation is highly spatially restricted despite clear opportunities for expansion and optimisation. This raises an important question: why have the Loma not expanded AfDE cultivation? We propose that despite being fully aware of the opportunities AfDEs present, a Loma 'ancestral habitus' and substantive economic rationality restrict areal expansion and optimisation of AfDE cultivation, curtailing growth and structuring a social-ecological system in dynamic equilibrium. Our findings underline that sustainability is not simply a physio-technical issue; social and belief issues appear to be far more important in framing behaviour in traditional agro-ecosystems.

Vulnerability of Pastoralism: A Case Study from the High Mountainsof Nepal

“…Such strategies also play an important role for reducing the impact of food and nutrition insecurities [31,32]. Transhumance pastoral systems offer considerable value for sustainability through their ecological knowledge, indigenous practices, beliefs, and culture, which enhances the capacity and resilience of traditional agro-pastoral systems [33][34][35]. The integration of such knowledge, when combined with scientific approaches and technologies, may also result in the effective management of livestock and rangeland resources [36,37].…”

The deep human prehistory of global tropical forests and its relevance for modern conservation

“…Also of interest have been tropical rainforest anthrosols such as the fertile terra preta soils of the pre-Columbian Amazon. Research into these pre-Columbian soilscape legacies has both encouraged the search for pantropical analogues [107][108] and inspired attempts to recreate similarly fertile soils 109 .…”

Cultural valuation and biodiversity conservation in the Upper Guinea forest, West Africa

“…This system, however, is under threat from a generational shift in cultural valuation. Youth across NW Liberia participated in the recent (1990)(1991)(1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005) war, which accelerated already existing processes of change wherein youth begin to challenge various aspects of the Loma worldview, including the sacredness of SA, i.e., that they should not be cleared for annual crop production (Fraser et al 2015). This is demonstrated in our survey that found that when SA were slashed, it was often by youth in violation of their elders' wishes.…”

“…SA are located at the sites of ruined towns belonging to Mande macro-language speaking groups who have occupied the region for more than 500 years (Brooks 1989). Owing to considerable cultural continuity in the region, despite historic and recent wars, current populations are normally descendants of the historical occupants of these towns, and are conferred tenurial rights by ritualized relationships with their ancestors (Fraser et al 2015). We focus on one group in particular, the Loma.…”