ABSTRACT
Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................................... 386
References ................................................................................................................................... 386
Crisis narratives about soil management on small family farms in Africa have influenced
policy formation for many decades. From the 1930s until the 1970s, wind or water erosion
from newly exposed agricultural land or from grazing land attracted much attention.
The links with human activities were visible in soil wash, gully formation, and flood
waters heavily loaded with sediment, especially in areas recently cleared of natural
vegetation. The erosion narrative motivated some colonial and postcolonial departments
of agriculture to introduce stringent soil and water conservation policies.
