Africa regional project 625-0926 · 1977–1983 · Tippetts-Abbett-McCarthy-Stratton (TAMS)

Acacia albida, a leguminous tree, has substantially increased the well-being of small farmers in the Sahelian desert region of West Africa by increasing soil fertility and crop yields and by providing pods for animal food. Although the available literature does not allow a completely accurate analysis of its actual and potential capabilities, it is reported that use of A. albida for foliage cover in intercropped systems on infertile soils has nearly doubled yields of millet and peanuts. Such use also reportedly increases the soil's organic matter and nitrogen content, soil microbiological activity, and water holding capacity beneath the trees. It has also been suggested, though not proven, that A. albida has increased the capacity of the land to support people from about 10-20 to 25-40 persons per square kilometer. By making unnecessary the continual process of letting mineral-depleted land lie fallow and clearing new land, A. albida is also credited with making possible permanent agricultural settlements. These are the major findings of the state-of-the-art review of the A. albida literature presented in this document. The text begins with the extensive literature review itself an

Source: DEC abstract, PN-AAH-147 (1978). The source's own text.