In spite of good rains in 1985, much of Africa is still dependent on food aid and millions of people remain displaced from their homes. The reasons for this situation are not climatically related. Although drought exacerbates the situation, the main causes of insufficient food production are related to land degradation-disertification-and high population growth rates. Human growth rates in Africa show no signs of abating in the near future, thus to ameliorate the overall situation, disertification must be halted. To halt disertification policy makers and planners need to devote more resources to programmes and projects that are environmentally related. To facilitate this goal, a new way of analysing the economics of land degradation and rehabilitation needs to be devised and implemented.
Journal articles from the Grassland Society of Southern Africa (GSSA) African Journal of Range and Forage Science as well as related articles and reports from throughout the southern African region.