West African Sahelian Floodplain Recession Agriculture (Mali)

The floodplain of the Senegal River in the Sahelian region of West Africa supports a very productive wetland. Indigenous people have developed a system of sequential uses of the floodplain by different ethnic communities (Toucouleurs, Wolofs, Peuls) in relation to inundation and recession of flood waters, promoting forestry, crop cultivation, fisheries and livestock husbandry in synchrony with annual inundation patterns. The floodplain is an important habitat for granivorous and migratory birds. The flood cycle, moreover, enhances soil fertilisation, aeration, detoxification and aquifer recharge. Flood recession agriculture is widespread in Africa and especially important in dry zones.