@article {652, title = {Soil and water conservation as a starting point for rural forestry: The OXFAM Project in Ouahigouya, Burkina Faso}, journal = {Rural Africana}, volume = {23-24}, year = {1985}, month = {Fall {\textquoteright}85-Win {\textquoteright}86}, pages = {79-85}, abstract = {This paper is a case study of the agroforestry program also known as the Microcatchment Project, funded by OXFAM in the Yatenga region of Burkina Faso. The area has a history of overuse of land resources leading to a decrease in the arable surface and severe degradation of the environment. Past efforts to improve the farmers{\textquoteright} situation have met largely with failure, while traditional methods of adapting were innovative but insufficient. The project, by relying on the farmers{\textquoteright} participation to develop techniques of water conservation, has shown that land degradation can be reversed and food production increased by the farmers themselves.}, keywords = {Burkina Faso, food production, microcatchment, OXFAM, water conservation}, author = {Peter Wright and Edouard G. Bonkoungou} }