West Africa

My first experience in West Africa was in 1986 when I lived and worked for one year in Tai, Ivory Coast. I came to understand the livelihoods of the poor as I was living and working with them on their farm. Combining this with on-farm trials, soil- and vegetation sampling and a farm management survey gave me an in-depth understanding of migrant communities in the (last remaining) primary rainforest. I came to love West Africa. Later on I evaluated projects in Benin and Burkina Faso. Professional visits to Mali, Senegal, Guine Bissau  and Gambia completed the picture.