With their agrarian tradition, why do Africans need gardens?
Africa indeed has a rich farming heritage which, in past times has been rooted in natural Africa farming techniques. But with the coming of the Green Revolution in the 1960s, and on the promise of vastly increased yields, farmers increasingly shifted to what we now call ‘conventional’ systems and synthetic inputs. When these yields failed to materialize over a sustained period, many found themselves dependent upon those inputs, and needed to increase their useage in an attempt to stem ever diminishing returns. Many of the techniques employed in horticulture speak particularly of the interrelationship between plants, as well as the soil and other resources. Many subsistence farmers, both men and women, work smaller plots of land, to which these techniques are ideally suited. Mono cropping has had a drastic impact upon the diversity of species available in the wild, and also affects pest management. Thirsty cash crops such as maize and sugar cane are often planted in the driest areas, di
