West African Tsetse Fly Farming Mystery

West African Tsetse Fly Farming Mystery
Nkawkaw, Ghana West Africa
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Andy of HoboTraveler.com

My mind is continually miffed by the question,
- Why doesn’t West Africa use oxen to plow? -

There appears to be or was the Tsetse Fly that was deadly to livestock. As best I can discern, this Tsetse Fly caused problems for Horses, Cows, Oxen, and other larger animals.

Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin all seem to have very few animals, while Niger to the north just below the Sahara Desert does have more Animals. The size of farm plots of one crop is larger appears much larger in Niger, than in Ghana. The gas or diesel tractor is rare in Ghana, however there seems to be more bulldozer and backhoes than tractors.

I believe the farming of West Africa is still being done primitively compared to the rest of the planet. Countries rich in land and natural resources, however not clearly capable of using them efficiently.

West African Tsetse Fly Farming Mystery