Seminar for officials of rural radio of the countries participating in the onchocerciasis control programme: Ouagadougou, 4-6 May 1977, the rationale for the action of the volta valleys development authority in the areas defined by the presidential decrees nos. 76/020 and 76/021 of 23 January 1976

Sem:Lnar for OfficiaLs of ftr.ra1 Hadios of the countries particlpating in the Onchocerclasis Control- Progra^me Ouagadougou. 4-6 l[ay L9Tl Nc/e OrigfuiaJ-: trbenoh EYrgll.sh yersion YOI A YAIIiETS DEIIE].OPMM'IT AUUiORITY The Br.tionale for tlie Atition of the Volta Valleys Development Authorlty in the areas d.efjgred. by the Presldentlal Decrees ttos. 76/020 and 7a/OZl- of 2J Jarruazy 1976 Mr S. Sorgho DEVEIO?I,{n{T PO}ICY FOIIOYTF,D BY TiM YOIIA VAT.T.EYS DE\IIIOIMET'TT AUTI{ORIIY The Authority, jn accord.ance with the mission assigned by the Presidential Decree d.rew up principles of clevelopment; adapted the method.s of application to 1oca1 pi:yslcal and humen conditions. These pri-nciples were developed and. the methods refj:red duritg the experimental stageI a development policy ls now applied. 1. Developnent of land The AW is flrst of a1l- an operatj-on for the development of nafirral resotlrces. It is an iltegrated operation of which the motor is at present a€rl- cultural clevelopment through dry famJ:rg and., later on, development through lmi-gated fazmi4g which alone enables the fertile soils of these valleys to be flil1y exploited. Nevertheless, harmonious development of the different ways of usirg land is sought through: d maintenance of the present forestry heritage which is necessary to the Voltaic econorny, (cheap 1oca1 sollrce of energy) u"d to the eeological balance (control of water rr.rr-off, soil erosion, dessication through excessive e.raporation) ; protection of the fa..:na (ahead.y heavily destroyed, jl developnent zones) by the extension of the Po resezves; the tor.:ristic potentlal thus created. to be exploited; grouping of stock breeders sca-btered over the whole area iJr zones specially set aside for r.anching, where appropriate devehpnent will facilitate the irurraeeaent of the herds; the exploitation, at the appropriate time, of the pisicultural potential of the water reserroi-rs. Follouri:rg studies in the fields of pedology, forestry, m:ixed fa::mi:rg, and on the natural fawra, a naster clevelopment scheme was prepared which divided the areas into large zones; Agrlcultural- zone rinder rain-fed faircing. Agricultr;ral zone under irigated farn::ing arorrnd. large da.ms (mCnn, TANEI/Ar KARANIGSSOT SOUROU) or planned smal.l scale development(Upper Black Volta) forest: the purpose for which classified forest areas were jltended wlIL chaqge; new zones wj-lI be created irr rvhich an attempt w111 be made to build up large exparrses of forest following jldustrial afforestation operationsi insid.e the agricultural zones forest sectors v,t111 be protected. and the farmers will be encouzaged. to undertake village plantation; - ?* ranchi-ng: these zones are deternlned folLowing studies on pastoral farming, even soil-. [hey ,are large grazi:rg areas where extensive animal husbandry wilJ- preclomjrrate on traditional famns or ranches. They inclucle the existing reserves which are encircled by border areas Efforts vri-ll be made to create new areas where herds of rvikl liJe(elephants, antilopes, buffaloes) "* survlve without the threat of expansion of existi:g villages or uncontrolled settlement. These clevelopnents will l_ead, to three large types of operation: - sectorial projects (afforestation, tourist facil-ities, ranches, work- shops for the rnanufacture of production i-npleraents) wnicfr have notyet passed the stage of fea"sibility studies; more ad'vanced agricultu::aI clevelopment projects: the i4hite arrd Red vorta rain-fed agricultural project is going to pass fron the experimental to the operatj-onal phase; the first phase of the Bor.igor.rriba ' projeet is reacly to be launched; hyclro-agricultural projects which have yet to be studied. 2. Rural devefopmqnt and qgricultrrral deyel,gpnent The AW i-s also arl operation for the establi-slr:nent of i:rdiv:id.ualfauily farnas: (") V/trich yield a regular nonetary return dj-stiJlctly higher than thatderived. from traditional farrzr:ing (economic surplus) from: a system of j:rtensive farnring . in mjxed croppi:rg -. 10% cash crop t TO% food crops r unsltitable soil (to be protected-and put in faifow) . l-abour jltensive (t.Z na/active) r lcot&tion wj_th f,allovr and annual croppilg; with systematic arrd generalized use of modern equipment and labour r s€lected plant naterial . plant quarantj:re ancl fertilization . cultivation with ploughing and a programne for the . inprovement ancl protection of the health of draught oxen r proyided vrith short and meclium tern a6ricultr;ral creditfacilities; a land selected. for its high yield appllcations) affected. Iittle by nechanical means, then receirjJrg ad.equate water $tpp1y to nourish (particularly, response to fertilizer variati-ons ir rairrfa1I1 prepared by cultivation :iiethods senfirring an the plants; concentrated technical extension serwices and arr accompafl.yilg network of experimental stati-ons to cleterr:jne the methods of crop roiationlthe rnraei.rre ancl the varieties best suited to the valley soils. (r) trfl:ich enjoy an The follovrlng nrust clean vuater all the road network usable -3- adequate level- of 1lving. be brought to regions vrhere they are lacklng: year round, close to dwe11lngs in all seasons storage facilities cormurrity ser';rices: schools and. dlspensaries jn so far as teachers and. nu-rses can be found.. i[i-grarts retail thejr traditional envirorurent (scatterecl huts jn the 'case of }/Iossi, bissa and kassena) o Familles are trouped in rrillages each contaiaitg about 50 faroilles. (") These arrcngements are conceived vrith a regard. for economy and sinplicityr starting from techni-ques easy to master (with the exception of bore holes) arid lead to structures lvhich cost littIe to maintajl (if possibleby the nigrc,nts theuselves). (o) Efforts are nacle to preserwe the enrrironment by the arrangement of cultivatecl strips, the establishment of uncultivated strips as boundaries ancl for ftrture expansion. The soils exposed. to water nrn-off, or llkely to deterlorate due tointensive ocploitation, ere set asid.e. The farmers are asked to plant trees around their plots to produce the firewood. they require; in this way it isfelt that the suruounclilg vegetatlon rryi1l be protecteri; care will- be taken through early br.i-rning of vegetati-on, through i-mprovement of the fodder onfalIow 1and., by the use of harwest residues and by the l-irritation of smal1 ru:ujlarits, to avoicl over-grazfutg ancl the destruction of the herbaceous vege-tation. 5. Methods of l-and. managenent the application of pri:rciples anC achlevenents of the objectitresimplies the camying out of o vrhole seri-es of exhaustive preli-n:inary studies and. close coordination of ilfrastructural worlc. Ihe naster plan for the d.evelopment of the areas divlcled the agri- cultural zone into sectors (eOrOOO ha) thenselves sub-diiricleii i:rto blocks(tZrOOO na). Che operations proceerl in the following order: basic studies, development studies, executj-on of the developnent and settlenent of the mlgrants. (") Bas-Lq studies: , rhese begi:r rnith aerial photography of the zones on a large scale(ln black and white and artifi-cj.al- colours). A very clear picture of the arec.s to be d.eveloped ls obtained rj-ch lllnformation which, when processed, will sezve nany purposes. trbon these photogzaphs a raosaic or photoplan is assembled on a scale of VzOTOOO which serry-es as the basi-c cartogrophic document. - 4:- frnro basisjs_br41:Le s are conducted s i-ru1{lql:eo_l-rs1J Soil studies: frora land srrrwey end photo-i:eterpretationl using geonorphoLogy I the soj-Is which can be developed. and. expl-oited in the AW perspective a.re deternined, specifyfug the soil characterlstlcs, acic1lty, and morphoclynanic constraints which have a bearing on thej-r f\rture utj-lization. Allocation of the soils is done through thelr classif i-cation I agricultural possibilities with light soils agricultural possibilities vrith heavy soils forest or grazirg potential 1n wet season forests pastures unsuitable (to be protected or put i:eto conservation). Untll now the results are satisfactory since the percentage of lar:.d retaj:red for developnent is greater than 2J/" sonetlmes readn@ 5O%. It con be statecl that, conpared with neighbouring reglons, i.e. departure areas, the Volta valleys represent a vafuable agri-cult1uu1 potenti-al ; there are rrrny excellent soils: verti-so1s, brorom soils, etc. Hydrogeologlcal studieq: The Volta valleys (Wfrit" and Red) un1lke the surrowrdlng areas are fairly poor il grorrnd.water. The hardened. layers protecting the acluifer have been removed. and the sheets of water drajned. by a clense hydrographical netlvork flowirrg very often next to the rock ancl shovring little al1uvia1 formation, fhe search for watcr cannot, thereforel be improvised,. As a first stage, a geological sketch of the zone is made frorn a ground. suflrey and aeri.al photos, Ihe hyd.rogeologlst then locates the spots near the agricultural soils where the transfozrnatlons, the a1luvials or the fractured bed, are J.ilcely to hold vrater. (t) Prj.nary developm-rrt "t ai_"= (at least one yea.r before theinstallation of the first raigrants on the block): Once the results of the two prev:ious studj-es are lcrorne, they are put together to make a preli-minary layout of the block by sections for cultivation respecting the natura1 frontiers (marshlands or crest 1-ile) sholving equivslent agricultw€rI surfe"ce areas of about 600 ha i.e. the area required for 50 farns; including one site for water exploration. Geophysical- measr.rres will show on the selected sj-tes the exactposition of the poekets of transfornations, alluvials or fractured soils. In these places, sanple reconnaj-ssance surveys are carried out by means of the dri1l best suited to the land being surveyed,. Followilg this campalgn, the water resources of the block a:re located ancl the quantity assessecl . -5- A master develol:ment plan of the block can then be drairn:. up i:1cludj-ng: the location of the wi11ages, in pri-nciple l-ess than 1 tca fron the watcr supply polnts; the demarcation of the farrri:rg l,:nds of vrhich the farthest parcels should not be more tham. 4-5 lrrt, from the villages; the pri:nary, secondary and farr': roacls which are ptotted accordilgto the hydrographical netvrork, and the location of the farn blocks; the locatj-on of the central store of the block; the schools and thehospital. (") Secondary deve-Iop+ent stud.igg (t year before the jnstallati-on ofthe nigrants jl the v:illage): These are intended. to establj-sh a master clevelopnent plan of the rnillage: topographical suzv'eys are caruied out on a large scale of the rlver banks which nake up the farni:rg 1anc1s and the si-tes of villagesin order to obterln an altitude plan of these areas, Accord.lng to the gradient amd re1ief of the 1and, the division of thefanm block and. of the viJ-lage shows: ptots 100-150n widel in strips, with a longi.tr:chnaI gradient of n% ood an outret for the nm-off water separated by boundary and. expansi.on strips 5 r:: wide; village plots of I hecte"re for the dweIli::g and the compouncl. Forthe 50-fa^n11y vi11age, the land is suzveyed. and registered jJr 4ooplots grouped jx 6-7 fielcls each of BO hectares, i,€, & total of 5OOto 60O hectares. rhe topographic tearns w111 then go to set up on the 1and, the ptotsintended for the farmers: this is the end of the studies arr.d ihe start ofthe clevelopment. 4. Implementati-on of the developqelrt The following operations should. be carried out as quickly as posslblebetle'en the month of October prececling the installation year and the fo1low- i.rrg May. On thei:r arrlvaI the settlers should fj-rld aI1 the facilities they require. Ihe close ad.herence to a plan of execution, the coordination of thedifferent operations, the dj.stribution of worlc of J-itt1e i-raportance, ar:d.the search for the least cost jlvestu:.ents, led the AW to undertake the work r.lnd.er Stabausplcesi the fulI-time use of the site naterial rmd.er eomect econornic conditions is thus assured.. Thls naterial is nrailtained arrd repaired iJr a central garage where there is a stock of spare parts, equlpment and the necessary too1s. (") 'virate:: Supply pojats two types of equlpnent are j:rstalled. according to the type of aquifer: loose grormcl - large d.laneter werls (t.eon) rejrrforced. with cement irr. rock, bore holes with plastic pipes 12 en jrr clj-ameter. LN -6- The water requirercents for !O farnilies are 10 n5 a day; they are met by 2 bore holes each dischargins;' a nrinj:fl-rri of O.B i/n, i.e. the usual flow rate of nechanice,l punps. Punpl:rg trlals are carried. out, and oovered borders constructed to provid.e water which meets the curuent standards for drinklrrg. (u) Roads The blocks are lilked to the national road net"work usable il all seasorrs by arterial pri:nary roaCs. The vlllages are served by branch road.s bu.iIt on to the arterial roads; the road.s have the following characteristtes: type B (classifleation T.P.) earrlage-way 7 m wide ancl 1m high laterlte base 5 n wicle and 2O cn thick sid.e di-bches ancl constructions for water drailage. Rural roads w:ithin the village are given a cost of laterj.te which ls spread over the levelled grormd. Agriculturol t-racks are sinply Ievel1ecl . These road.s are constructed i.:e two stages: temporary openJlg i:r the year of settlement e*rd. fjnal constmction the following year. (") V:L11age,Bfrastructure Elgp-tr a shed. tOO m2 per block, transit warehouse forproduction ryaterial a shed 36 n', vi-11a6e warehouse for 2) fanilies housjlg block personnel (r.rnit chiefs, mlrses and teachers) 4 roonr clwellj:rgs soql+I BftFH*tf,HHEaa{;89$$ef3t8iEna*$HfiH:#$Bf,n€flffifl1 one school per 2!O fan:i1ies. (a) trh.:m developmqn_t Follovri:rg the establlshnent of the plots the fazrrers clear the roots fron thei-r compound.s and two plots the first [ee.Te then fron one plot each of the subsequent yearso In retrrrrr for this hr.uran jnvestment the farmer reeelves supplies from the Yiorld. Food Prograrnite during the year of settle- nent. fi:e cleared lands will be ploughed by hear4l nechanlcal neans, i;rparticular by tractors of over 15O ov hoelng and. hearry spraytrg of poor soils worldng by Rome plow and light spraying on good. soils. a a a a a t a a a a a a t a oa a a aa -7- On read.I.ng this document it rnill be noted. that aII elTorts viere eoncentrateC on the furitial or basic operations jn order to ereate good furstallation conditions and a satisfactory start to the agricultural operations. f,hls methodologyl after roany experj-:eents and except for a few d.eta11sr 1s now finaU-zed. At this poilt everythi:rg must be set j-n i',rotlon to ensure that the operation is a cor"rplete success j:r the fieId.. \Te uust already begin to thi:ek of the future of the village coraninlties; their ornrn dynamism wiJ-l soon lead. to the completion of our developnent policy in terns of und.ez* takings leading to the organization of production and i-nprovement of community facilj-ties. flee role of the AW wilJ- then be rnore that of sti.mrlatingr modulating a,ncl supporting rather tha^zr dlrect or systematic action. -B- INSTAILA.TION SCIfiLIE A]ID ED(IU,,SIOII SENVICES tr.OR AW SETTIERS SUMI\IARY I. CO}TDIT]ONS T:J'trD PROCDSS OF fIIS1},ITJATIO}i OF T}TE SETTI,ERS 1'1' Submission of applj-cations and tri-terla for selection 1.1-.1 Collection of appl-ications l.L.z rnvestigation cf candidates and selection criteria L.2 Development contract 1.7 l,,{igration 1.4 Installation fI. CHARACTERISTICS OF [Iil tr.AP,flS 2.1 Structure of the faygs 2.2 Ox-dralrn cultive.tion _ stock breedi4g 2,3 land nanagement ancl soil conservation 2,4 FarInjrrg techniclues and fertilization 2,5 loans to the farmers 2.6 Plan of procluction arid jncome III" CIIANACTERISTICS OT TIM Y]IIAGES 3.! Descrlption of the infrastructure 3.2 Description of the farm services II -9- r. cOrDr[ro]'Is AI'ID ;ROCL'ss or r]tsTArrliTro]I or T]iE sElrrERS the devel0pment of the aseas of the volta valleys freed. fromonchocerciasis requires- the *igration curd instarlati-on of fa.milies recruiteclpreferably i:r over-popuratea aia over-util-:.zea (r:.om the point of vieir ofthe ,ancl) provlnces or upper voiti'i,;;;ilili""rl. ,"r"r-3li5i.Hii::i*;:t"= into a development contract -,ritir tire volta vai.ley The orgeurization ofthe dlfferent development A receptlon and yrorki:rsta11ation. the raigration ..urd the assig:.urent of fa.rnil-ies tozones is the responsibilj.[y of the AW. organization scrvice is set up for the period of 1.1 Subr,rissi qefecti04 of _v_olunteer 1.LJ Qgl.legtlon o{ api:lications coll_ection of applicati.ons by the OIID agents transmissj_on of appllcatioas to the L,{lgration Office of the AIfVpreparation of a card" l'rith na:aes, ad.d.resses and. compositionof the volurteer fa"mily 1'12 Ievjew.l{._ Each voli'mteer is visiterl cl-uring the three raonths forlor.*ing hisapplication by a.n jnvestigator fron tf,e ,ti*".Ja"" office of the AW. Ihe jnvestigator stu<jies the composition of the family the agricultural equiiruent the resou::ces and prcduce of the far:rlIy the reasons for the migratlon. r,,rfi.ryt?3.lXlll+r3; :Hjr;iH::, hi_nser-f that the yolr.u:teer fanily at l-east 3 actlve persons per fa;rai1y the 'ai, activlty of the ce,.ndidates shour_d be a6riculture;this excr-uces thl ir"t.ir"tion of p";;;;'whose non_cgriculturalactivi*y is incompatibre with.their pu,,rl"rt prcsence at thedevelopment zone (trader, civil ;;;;;). Ftral,y, the i,,vest'gator must infozm the far:i,y, as fu1'y aspossible, of its rights ,*E i_t" cluties vis_d._vis the AW. 'ffis, . .'-t-"i --'.;}.{r$.. - - 11 lhe list of m:igrants by jnstallation zone is drarm up accorci::.g to thefoI1or,vir4g basic pri_nciples : (r) the rrrl5ration takes place fron the norflr to the south to ensurethat everybod;, benefi-ts from the reinfall i (z) the nigrants are jnstaIlecl, as far as possible, over !o l{Ir frontheir forreer home to avoic their beirg torn betl,,een theirforrrer uilhge and their new fazu, vrhlch r,"rour-d affect thelrdevoti_on to thei.r fanl lirorli. The list of ndgrc"rets by zone of settlement havi-qg been establlshed,the fam11les eonceraed' are advlsed ii nonth irr advance, by the rnvestlgatorsof the Mlgratlon Officer of the q;proxiu"rte clate of their cleparture Eued theirdestlnation. They are requestecl-1o preporu ror cie,l.,.rture. Tt"o or three days before clepartr-rre, they cre visited by ryr inresti5atorto make sure that they are getting rencly arrci to organize their transportby lorry to the settlenent ione. Apart from thelr personal effectsl the fanily can take a smarl nunberof goats end sheep (2 "a1l:,irr.*), mrttiri,g and at least three weeks food supply.The Aw can lend saclcs for the'transport of food grains. The nove can be narle: either il one sta6e, uith the whole f.:rri1y; jrr tr,ro sta6es, the u.en rer.vj:rg frrst rrncl the renajlder of thefamily following one or tt'r'o weeks later. However, raniries 11ving farfrom the zones are required to llove all together; the large srri-mals, cattle, oxen, and goats nust be ,:ovecL on foot Conkeys and large hercls of sheepby their oymer. l.+ _ on thelr amirral a"t the clevelopment zone, the fa.miries take over theirproperty' Flovreverl they nr,y shelter in the transit hangar for one or tt/odays. ?he first few d'ays are spent by the fa-nily in constructlr:g tenporary rre.tshelters on thelr property. ITsct the nen ere groupecl il work teeurs on varlous tasks, manufact,reof bulkLlng blocks, clearing of parcels of lancr, r:rakjrrg tracrrs. rt should be notecl that the crea,riag of the prots md the removal ofroots are camled out inclivi-clua.11y. rhese fairly tryirrg meurual operatj-onseyidence the real desire of the farr:rer to settle. rr' cii''3/'cfrRrstlcs orr TiD lir'i-Ells r-f,/iTlrtrD- .-r.rHrit uHI-l -rf,\tlr,o?itr{,It or ,iHr\LiL!;YS OI trlfl i,TiIfi.l ,LD lrJ,,tr VOIT,. itIVliRS Djfferent noclels of far,ss hil.ve been cievised. to provice fagilies of3 to 4 or 5 active persons (ioen and lromen fronr 15 to bo years "i-*"1-rl"itr. "greater i:reome thcm thcir prev-ious situation on fertile laad but ivithouti-rri-gation. - l/ fhis can be achieved thror.rgh: the size of the area allotted to each faraily; the combination of agriculture and airl:nal breeding on the saro.e fa:m, and the practice of ham'essed cultive"ti_on; cbvelopment techniques vrhich teaC to consezwati-on of the solI cnd. the me:ci:naI use of rait water; fanui:rg techniques and nod.ern fertilizers; a creclit systen for the famrers; production plarrs which guarantee an i-mportant monetary return. 2,1 .Stzuctntrg gf f"mfq Each falltly is allottecl e^n aree of J-and of about 12 hectares conprising: (") I ef-ot pf 1_ heetare :l,evoted. t_o the dvlelLiloq qnj} garden The development of that plot and its cultivation are left to thelnltiative of each farnily. (t) Sjx flelds of 1.5o hectares of good agricultural fand rvhich a.re cultivated according to a rota"tion plan comprisi4g 4 obligatory cropsr twofields bei:rg left fallow i-n the southezn zone and, in the northern zone. The crops rotate on each plot accorcliag to a 4-ygarly rotation plan: 1st year eotton 2nd. ye:rr sorghlu:r Jrcl year varj-ous (grormdrtrts, peas t mnize or rice) 4th. yea-r rlillet After these four yee.rs of sultivatioir, the plot ls left to 1ie fr"llolvfor use as pasture for 2 or 3 years. The area of these plots cultivatecl clepends on the mmber of activepersons jl the fanily: t hectare for fanilles comprlsing 3 active persons; 1.25 hectares fcr famj-lies of 4 actiye persons; l-.50 hectares for faroili-es of ! actj-ve persons. Fanllies of J actiye persons vrill therefore have a" total of 4 hectares of agri.cultural ]-and to cultivate over I yearsi 4 peisonsl 5 hectaresi 5 persons,6 hectares. fhe unr,vorked portion of the plots proricles a resezve of farn lancl . . (") A p?rceI for reafforestati-on of 25 n=u"l installed over 5 years(5 ares a year). 1(or. .,=" = loscl. metres) L7 In short, for an ayerage farr-r of ! active persons (typ" III) the 12 hectares are divi-clecl as follows i:r the northern zonei 4 fields of 1.50 hectaues uncler cultj-rmtion J field.s of 1.50 hectares fa1lov,r t hectare - Cvrellirrg 0.50 hectare reafforesti-Ltion 6.00 ha 4.50 ha 1.00 ha 0.50 ha rOTAI 12.00 ha 2.2 Ox-d.ravv:l cultirm.tion - arli.msl _bregdilrg To develop the Iarrd. und,er good. cond.itions the fams are eclu.ipped for cultivation by teans of oxen. 'Ihe soil worlced, i:: clepth hotds the y,raterbetter arrd zur:.-off ls. avoliie<i, furcreast:6 the soilf s, eairacitJr.to re-br:j.r: ,,,,nter.Ihis m.akes up for a sr::al1 rairr-faIl. I{olvever; the inj.tial urork of-ploughi4g the soi1, after cl-earance, is clone by tractor. Frora the second. year, each fanily r,ui11 have to mli:tain a pair ofplough oxen. fhese will be k'ept in byres md the manu-re yril-l be used to lmprove the soil composition. Moreoverp each farm can rear a smaI1 nr.urber of oxen, sheep or goats to graze the pastr;re or fal1olv areas. The Developnent Authority provid.es veterJrrary assistants to look after the health of the stock. Rearilg methods l-riIl be transfor:r.ec1, thanks to fodder rese:rres and ratioiral use of graz::ltg areas, The stock shoul-d be uncLer orgarnizerl super- vision so that the grczing area is utilizecl j:r the best raarr:aer and anj:raIs are prevented from wanderirg jnto the crops. 2.3 Development € the_lancl arr4_prote_c_tlo_n p_f tlre sg11 Tl:e territory of each vilIa.ge is plaru:ed ll such a !'/Ely as to faci-litate agricrrlturaL lvork and above all protect the soil against eroslon. The plots are arrani,ed iJr .blocks of cultj-vation according to the contour lirtese sepa:'ated by anti-erosion belts v,rhich must be reafforested not only to achieve greater effectj.veness, tri.rt also to serwe as a lvind.-break, These devel-opments vri1I be collectively maintai-ned by the settled faniIles. The argr.ments j:r favor.rr of groupirlg plcts in blocks on the village leve1 are: the need. to undertake the work of ploug'hirrg the grourd. mechanically(Arff + Rlpper arrd or Rome Plow); the need to set up a crop rotation system curd. rotation easy to hanclle on the village leve1 for the greatest protection of the sol[; greater efficlency of the phytosanitary treatment through mass application. ffleere possible rice cultivation will be undertaken in the 1ow1and.s. It is esti:nrr.ted. that about tO/, of the faffns should, each e:cploit 25 ares of developed lolv-Iying grouncl. 2.4 I'bruir]g technlques and ferti_Ilzers lmportarrce of extension serrrices The fazmers are furitiatea irr nodern farrr:ir:g techniques by a m.mber ofextensi-on workers (r ror each 2J farrilies the fLst y"*rs), u,," sovri,,g,spreadirrg of fertilizer, chenicar spraying of crops, fleld work a31d weedirrgwith bullock ploughing. Use of production aicls: systenatic use of mineral fertilizers as well as farrt mairure wiLllead' to an' irnprovenent ancl najntena&ce of soil fertility guaranteellg hj_ghyie1d.s. - tr'or each crope the best doses of fertilizer are studied, in threeagronorrj-caI experimentation s;entres locatec j:r the d.evelopment area of theVolta-va11eys, which corresponcl to three clifferent cli-na.tj-c zones. fhisexperimsntation rtill enable fa,rmers to be pror.ided. vrith the best advice onthe varleties arrcl the nan,res most suited to each zor\eo A continuous irrspection cf the crops will prevent the destnrctionof crops by diseases or parasites thanlcs to appiopriate treatrnent. 2.5 loq4E to farmers Supplies, equipment, storage rn addition to teehnicar assistance by ectension workers, the .Awguarantees to farners the loar.s necessary for i-nplementation or trr" farnjngpractices imposed " 0n their azrival-, each far.rily reeeives, free of charge, a set of toolscompri-siag: an axe, a spacle, a picke a scythe and a rope. Sefore the ftrst harvest ea.ch fanri\r reeelves2 during the first 10months, a supply of food.. thls alloeation is providecl as papaent for thevarious tasks ca*ied. out by the active nenbers of the tamiry. trror producti-on requirenrents (seeds, fertilj:zer. chernjcals) tiie fafiaersbenefit frorn a country loan (C"T.) reireLursable after the.hazvest. For the equipment utilized in harnessecl fazm:ing (M,T.) tte provisionof stock:ucl tools i-s subject to creclit fe.cilities 6ver 7-y"r*u. Ihe sameapplles to the purchase of a eart. Each v111ege has a warehouse for storirr.,g supplies arraiLable to the farr,rersas arid rvhen required. 2"6 ?roCuctlon pI,qn - qevenue In drav'ring up the 1:Ian of production for each type of farm a certaj,nr.:raber of constraintswere taken into account: working the land by harnessecL farrri::g from the seconcl year; work time anailable taki-r:g into accor.*rt the co*positlon offami1j-es and period.s of workl srrpplles of cereals grown on thc farn; foclder armilable for c'lraught aajmals and. anlnals raised for meatproduction. lil L5 takirl8 these constrajnts jrito consj-cleration, the i,rrod.uction plans alIovi for a balance between food ancl cash crops. The developneirt is progressive (:=:stattation of farn over 3 years). At l-east hal:f of the far"ut is clearecl the first year, the reroajnder oyer the follolvj-r:g two years, The famrs reach thejr optimlm econonic potential from the Jrd year.At that ti-me the net monetary returrrs through farnJ:lg w111 be about 2O,0OO - 5Or0O0 F for vegetable protluction after reirabursenent of credit and, assr.ming the consurnption of cereals produced on the farrn (agaj:rst SrOOO to 6rOOO F in traditj-onal farraing) . From the first year it is 1O,0OO to }O.OOO F accorcling to the number of active persons. To these figures rrust be added the retrrrns from ani-mal- breedirg. III. CHAITACTERISTICS OF fiTE VIII,AGIES Description of the jstrastrueture The settlecl farms are grouped. jn rrilla6es of 2i - 75 farrllies each. Each village has or should ha.ve: 2 or 7 shaftecl vrells (or bore-hotes) fittecl with a marrual pr.mp(one welJ. is allowe<L for each 20-25 families) a school for the education of all the children of the migrants; medical eurd veterjnary serrices with, in particular, distribution of d.zr.6s necessarXr for the prevention of onchocerciasis; accoinmodation for extension l-/orkers and. a store for supplles; aecess roads and tracks to vi11ages. Sone of these structures (schoo1, hospital) serve a block groupir.g several- viI1ages. Others (narkei, places of worship) j:r v-icvl of. their specificity, are onI;. projeoterll tr'or the developnent of the j:rfrastructure (Uuifd:r:g sites) nigrants wilJ- sonetjmes be calIecl upon and peid as labourers. 3.2 Deseliption qf serrrices on the land Villages are grouped, i:r blocls of about 400 farailies, e.g. B villages of 50 or 16 villages of 2J fmriJ-ies. trrot.ir to five blocks make up a sector. The basic persorurel sezvices are riad,e up of the follovrirg: Sector Chief Unit Chief I\,krnager - Unit storekeeper &ctensj-on worlcer (extension trn,ork, fi:nctional literacy) Ani:ratrice (fer,ra1e) (rnotivation and functi-onaI literacy). 16 Other field personnel ir. viev,' of the social- i:ifrastructure r,-.-rt.--:::i.above, are, or will be: 1 nurse 1 yeterinary assistant 1 teacher Ihe AW settler benefits fron the best technlcal, econornical andsocial conditions suitable for his development and thereby that of theVoltaic rural worId.. -17 H(?ERINM\TTAI PI{ASI} CF I]I{E DEVE],OP},M{T }ROJECT 0r' m{E YOITA v^r,TirlYs Introduction The experi-mental phase of the project i-s encli:rg: three a6ricultural canpaigns have taken pl:ce and. the penulti.:mf,s gnmFaigrr irr this trial phaseis well underr,vay. looking back over the actirrities carrled out by the Authority d.r.ri3g thefirst 3 years of the lar.rnchirig of the project it is posslble: first of all to conpare the forecasts a^nd jnitial icleas withthe aehievenents and j-nvestraents; to see whether the results obtai-ned justify the j:evestrrentsgranted so farl to carcul-ate the fi:rancial outlay bozne by each source of fi:ranci:rg when i-t contributes to the insiallation of a migrant on the AYV areasl finaIIy, drawi:tg on the experlence gained, to perfect theprocedures and, i.rr the ught of the real-ities, to conslcler with optl-r:i-sn or pessircism the aru:uaI settlernent goal_s. Achi-evenents rt was planned to install l-0oo fErmiries durllg the first I years ofthe experjmental phase " At the end of these 5 years, 450 famj-lles had been insta11ecl1 which represents 45/, of the j-nitlaI goal. lhis result is, of course, nodest However, it should. be noted that d.ata, dicl not take sufficient account on the one hand the conplexity of natural, psychologj-cal and socj_aI of an operation and influence theto volw:teer for nigration; ; compared wJ.th the estimate. the esti-mate, based nostly on technical of: the non-technical factors: factors vrhi-ch affect the start rather seriorsdecislon of a fardly on the other hand, the nnny activ:ities to be undertaken sj.::tr:ltaneouslyto enabl-e the settlement of the first r:rigrants. Takirrg into accoi.rnt the cliffj-culties whieh ca:r conjuncture, the estimates seem to have been rather experiroental phase, To achieve the settlement of these {!O nigrants, the Authorlty carri-ecl out a nuarber of projects cllvided between the 4 maln categories of activity which forn the basis of its settler:ent policy: stud5-es, production, infra- structure ancl equiprnent. arlse from such a optirrlstlc for an lhe following stuclies have been carriecl cut over th:l'.si - -.e&r.i. (") ,Eggi" do",r*g"!.: Preparation of a basj-c docrment covering 22.OOO lor' us.:ng aeriat photography on a seale of lr/2OrOOO. (u) Developnjn-E studies 1. Stuid.i-es ?edology EgqqeeoIosX. Tgp,o&raphy Agrongmi-cal experl4qq!s -13 : 98O70OO ha of land i,'ras covered by soiJ. surveys at :r/too, ooo 257rO'OO ha i:r cletaj-Ied stucly (l/2OrOOO) of which: 244rOOO ha in njxed. farning 15rO0O jn inclustrial afforestation : 2JOr000 ha covered in general anci detail-ed $rrvey 2rL4O netres in depth stuclies : 111140 ha su:rreyecl : establishnent of 4 support statlons of + 50 ha seed. farn e,:rcl a market gardenl-ng experi:rentrl station (" ) Segtorial' Stucligs lourisn : A nearly conpletecl study on the clevelopnent of tourisn Dams JOOTOOO ha : Tvro darn sites were d.eterr:ired - one on the Y/hite Volta - at Bagr6 - and the other on the Black Volta at Karankasso. Accorcli-r:g to the progress of the stuclies at Bagr6, it is esti-nated, that construction of the c-Lam vrill start in L979. Afforestati-on : Study of L3.OOO ha completed The operational phase of this project will con::nence jl l-977 L[i:red. farn-lng stuclies : Over 2501000 ha of which l!0r000 rvere ,napped. 2. Infrastructure Construction of: 125 lgln. of roads 4t lae of prinary roacls 2 78r0OO n- surface covered by d.ifferent constrrrctions: accormoclation for extension services, stores, schools, ilispensaries, etc. 53 farm wel1s totalling 15OO m.I bored. _19 7. Equlpment One of the eondi-tions for the su.ccess of the project of adoquate workjng materj-al for a1I sectors. The Authority therefore purchasecl large agricultural, transport and. office equipment. 4. ?rocluetion Accordi::g to the first approach the cost of = 2.8 r,rillion CFA and. the second_ approcrch gives athe rtuuri:rg phase of the project. is the avaJ.Iablli-ty public works, As a result of the openi-r1g-up of 6 bl_ocks itcluiling the creation oflJ vj.llages: 2rlOO ha tnrere put under cul-tivation of vshich lr4OO ha of cereals 7OO ha of cotton 200 ha of rrarious crops yield.s exceerled t/na 241 pairs of c1rar.:ght stock were uobilized Cost qf Projects r.rndgrtaken fhe overall cost (investrnents + rr.:nnjrrg costs) of all these unclertalcitgsls CFA L.SOO nillion over the last four years. The end product of the AW activities being the settlec1, inrlependent farmer, one is naturally ter:rpteC to relate the jnvestnents to the ruu;rber of nigrants actually sett1ecl. T1eis cost/benefit relationship which determiles the cost of settling a r::ig'rer.nt can be dete:=r:jled. usitg truyo c1j-fferent approaches: the fjrst, a very sinrple approach, consists of diuicling all the costs by the nur.rber of fa"lrilies settled; the seeond nore conplex approach, consj-sts of iclentifyi4g anc'l evah.ntirrg all the physical need.s requirecl for the settlement of 50 farni lies, which reraains a durable social and. eonolflc unit. These physical needs j:rclude studies, j-irfrastrr.rcture, farm d.evelopment, a:rd establishraent costs to rrhich r.ust be acld.ed the aru:ual ruru:i:rg costs of the extension services and the general costs of the llearlquarters. a nigrant is l=fQQ mill_lon 450figure of 7O0,OO0 CFA jlr lhe use of these tvro different nethods to eyaluate the cost of a migrant shows a clifference of over 2 r:illion CFA. Ihe justifieation is very eClslc In fact, the first methocl, rvhich isgIobaI, i:rtegrates the costs related to: 10 rlctivities of which the results lvere not userl i.:e the i:rstallation of the settlecl families. ?his is the case of numerous sectorial stud.ies already ca.rried out: .20 ind.ustrial afforestetlon studles tourism developrrent studies rrixeC farni4g stuclies clan studies (raS're ). 2a Activities of vrhich only a part of the results relate to the settlenent of the 450 faniilies; pedological- and. hyd,rogeological studies ancl preparation of basic docrurents through aeria.l photography - the nrajority of the results of which vriil be usecl for future settlements. _o7- Hear4r jlvestments granted j:r the clonai-n of basic equipnent whlch wj-Il- continue to serve for futrrre settlernents; garage equipmente public works nraterial (constmction naterial, roaiL units), h"avy agrlcultural equi-pment, (t,rffAoz6rs, tractors, etc.), bori:rg equipnent, transport material and office equ.ipment. A rough evaluation cf the cost of these stuclies and. of the residual value of the real estate fixes the investraents not related to the settlement of these fanilies at T5O niIIlon. Ihis amounts to 11500 - 0.750 = 55O n:illlon. Ihe cost of a migrai:t ceur thus be ealculateci at 550 = L.2 rrlIllon. 4N Ihis fieure sti11 appears high2 bnt it is perfectly justified for am experir,rental phase which is concerned. less with achieving nd-rljraal costs than with refining the settlement proced.ures snd aequiri:rg dj-fferent infornration vrhich v,riIl enetble costs to be reducecl at a later stage duri::g the operational phase of the project.