Peasants, Farmers and Scientists

This book is a critical account of tropical agricultural science and agricultural development in the twentieth century, in particular in Africa. It describes successes as well as fads and failures, from the perspective of a practitioner of more than 40 years. The emphasis is on the second half of the century, but the story frequently reaches deep into the first half of the century as well.

The book's premise is that the story of tropical agricultural science and agricultural development can be told in a single volume at a more than trivial level, understandable for people of normal intelligence. It tries to uncover what real value there has been in the major areas of study (Farming Systems Research, Natural Resource Management, crop modelling, etc.) after peeling off the multiple protective layers applied by the profession. It also takes a critical look at agricultural and general development which has become inflated with hot air to the point of blowing itself apart in the early twenty first century.

A wide range of topics is covered, including interesting early science from the beginning of the last century (sugarcane breeding and shifting cultivation in Indonesia, anthropological studies in German West Africa), fascinating indigenous farming practices in Africa, the history of Farming Systems Research and its offshoots, sense and nonsense of computer modelling of crop growth, and the role of development projects and consultants. The treatment is closely linked with the author's professional career, but the emphasis is on the subject matter.

1. What is tropical agronomy? 2. A tropical agronomist's education; 2.1 Wageningen and tropical agronomy around 1960; 2.2 The story of sugarcane; 2.3.1 Tropical crop husbandry; 2.3.2 Genetics; 2.3.3 Statistics; 2.3.4 Soil fertility; 2.4 Summing up. 3. Old and new: the 1960s and '70s; 3.1 New times, old reflexes: a cotton project on the island of Lombok; 3.2 Old and new in crop science: growth analysis and modelling; 3.3 Academic exercises in Africa; 3.4 Is station research in Africa useful? 3.5 And what about teaching tropical agronomy in the Netherlands? 4. Farmers are smarter than you think; 4.1 In search of a new development vision; 4.2 Three visionaries; 4.3 IITA joins the FSR movement; 4.4 Some amazing things about West African farming; 4.5 FSR catches on at national research institutes; 4.6 IITA's tenuous relationship with FSR. 5. Forests, fallows and fields; 5.1 Fallow-based cropping; 5.2 Where are fallow-based systems heading? 6. Farmer skills, an elusive property 7. Mainly technology; 7.1 What is technology? 7.2 Agronomists' technology: alley cropping, zero tillage, live mulch and more; 7.3 Plant breeders' technology: crop varieties; 7.4 Pest and disease control; 7.5 Has agronomic research been useful for the African farmer? 8. Follies and sanity of Farming Systems Research; 8.1 The pathology of diagnosis; 8.2 On-farm experiments; 8.3 Francophone approaches; 8.4 What about technology adoption? 8.5 Client orientation; 8.6 Development expertology; 8.7 Does FSR have a future? 9. The modelling sorcerers and their apprentices; 9.1 The promise; 9.2 What is a model? 9.3 Elegance and simplicity; 9.4 Enter computing power; 9.4.1 A static model for canopy assimilation; 9.5 The fabulous cotton plant; 9.6 How the plant disappeared from the models; 9.7 Has crop modelling been useful for non-modellers? 9.8 New trends are emerging; 9.9 Does tropical agronomy need modelling? 10. Donors, Experts and Consultants;10.1 Development aid; a short and mainly African history; 10.2 Agricultural development; 10.3 Three donor-assisted programmes 11. Can African farming be improved? 11.1 The African farmer and his potential for change; 11.2 Extension: organisation, methods and education; 11.3 Can agronomic research help agriculture? 11.4 Are we missing essential elements? APPENDICES: A1. C.T. de Wit's analysis of plant competition; A1.1 Two species competing for the same space; A1.2 Crowding for space in monoculture, a yield-density function; A1.3 Crowding for partly the same space; A1.4 Competition in natural plant populations; A2. Shifting cultivation and recurrent cropping; A2.1 A cautionary note; A2.2 Shifting cultivation; A2.3 Recurrent cropping A3. Factor analysis A4. Nutrient dynamics of alley cropping; A4.1 Another cautionary note; A4.2 Nutrient flows and nutrient stocks; A4.3 The nutrient budget for a 'poor soil'; A4.4 A long term alley cropping trial; A4.5 Some tinkering involved; A4.6 Maize and cassava; A4.7 Summing up A5. More farmer technologies; A5.1 Land use systems (or how to exploit a difficult environment); A5.2 Manipulating a crop; A5.3 Crop processing A6. Papers presented at the 2005 Symposium of the International Farming systems Association A7. Quantification of cotton growth and development; A7.1 Establishment of plant structure; A7.2 Growth of stem girth and weight; A7.3 Numbers of squares and bolls A8. Organ growth and assimilate partitioning; Introduction A8.1 Models of the Wageningen School; A8.2 The CROPGRO and CERES models; A8.3 The ARS Cotton Production Model; A8.4 Summing up A9. Calculation of potential assimilation, dry matter production and yield; A9.1 Potential assimilation; A9.2 Potential biomass production; A9.3 Potential crop yield; Literature cited