Scarcity and surfeit : the ecology of Africa's conflicts

120 Scan-ity and Surfeit

Land use: Blighted History, Central Control and

Natural (Mis)fortunes

General Characteristics

Land in Burundi, a; in many agricultural countries, is of great cultural attach-

ment and economic value to the people. It is even more intensely so in the

case of Burundi, given the country's unsustainable population density and

consignment of agriculture as the critical national 'bread winner'.

Economic activities in Burundi revolve around agricultural activities. Over

85% of the country's population are engaged in the agricultural sector. Food

crops, mainly for subsistence, represent 87% of the total crop production.

Cash crops take the rest; coffee (8%), tea and sugarcane (1.7%), and others

(3.3%). The following table breaks down the respective land area occupation

in Burundi.

1 Forests I 128 375 / 4.6 1

Table 1: Land usea3

/ Cash ciops 1 104000 1 3.7 I

%of land area

8.6

land use

Natural vegetation (including swamps and

non-cultivated forests)

• Pastures

Area(ha1

240 716

1 Total 1 2783400 1 I

775 506

Cultivated swamps

Lakes

Towns

From Table 1, land in Burundi is primarily put to agricultural production. It

is also clear that the majority of the population lives in rural areas, as urban

areas are restricted to a mere 0.9% of the total land area. Beginning in 1933,

the colonial government began the establishment of forest reserves. This con-

tinued in the succeeding years resulting in sizeable areas being marked as

protected zones today, including the infamous Kibira forest.84.

27.8

Food crops loutside of swamps)^43 3

81 403

ppp

263 400

25 000

1210000

2.8

9.9

0.9