Grassland improvement in Africa

Of all the continents, Africa has the highest proportion of land fit for agriculture. The principal vegetative cover on this land is grass, which, when it is well managed, gives good protection against erosion. Unfortunately, much of this grassland, and especially that north of the Sahara desert, is so heavily overstocked that it produces far too little forage for livestock, and scarcely any cover remains for protection of the soil. The very low productivity of the livestock is a major factor in the poor nutrition of the people—especially of young children suffering from kwashiorkor. It is still a common practice to keep as many cattle as possible, as an indication of the owner's social status and wealth. Consequently in Africa the commonest problems include a shortage of forage and inefficient use of what is available. This condition needs to be alleviated by increasing the output from native grassland and producing more forage on arable land. Each country needs a competent organization to cope with these problems. Improved practices such as rotational grazing and culling unproductive animals may increase the yield of the livestock from two to ten times. All such practices can be gradually adopted by the pastoral people, and by those doing mixed farming, with the help of their own technically trained youth. By the use of these practices, along with family planning to hold the population near the present level, it will be possible for the people to have an adequate diet and for the soil and other natural resources to be maintained.