ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the effects of labor policies on agriculture and the reproduction of labor. Upper Volta had to prove its viability as a colony; more specifically, intensive use had to be made of its main resource, the labor force, the product of a dynamic population. The most recent description of Yatenga characterizes the whole region: a relatively short rainy season; irregular, often brief but violent rains producing significant erosion; rapid evaporation of soil moisture. The technological level of agricultural production was similar to other parts of West Africa: rudimentary in order to respect fragile ecological conditions, and therefore dependent on massive inputs of labor. Cotton production gives people one example of the effects of demands for one new crop. The population census constituted the cornerstone for the French colonial administration—the number of taxpayers, prestataires, military recruits, available workers, and, indirectly, the quotas for export crops—were all established using the results of such enumerations.
