Sustainable farming practices: Ghanaian farmers' perception of erosion and their use of conservation measures

Soil erosion in Africa has been in the limelight over the last two decades with researchers and policy-makers calling for sustainable farming practices. This is often based on the assumption that farmers have a poor perception and little knowledge about soil erosion and conservation measures and completely ignores the realities of the African environment and the socioeconomic constraints farmers are faced with. This paper investigates the way farmers in northern Ghana perceive soil erosion and their rationality when it comes to their choice of conservation measures, and the question is asked whether the existing farming practices can be considered sustainable. Based on this study it appears that farmers have a clear perception of the problem and adopt a wide range of conservation measures, depending on the availability of stones and grasses, possible side effects associated with using these measures, as well as the time spent on establishing and maintaining them. This study shows that when trying to find solutions to soil erosion problems, both the physical and socioeconomic realities of the environment have to be considered.