Agrarian Structure and Social Organization in a Risk-Prone Environment: A Comparison of the Birifor, Dagara, and the Lobi People of Burkina Faso

Clement Ahiadeke; Clement Ahiadek

doi:10.1007/bf02208232

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Agrarian Structure and Social Organization in a Risk-Prone Environment: A Comparison of the Birifor, Dagara, and the Lobi People of Burkina Faso

Clement Ahiadeke

Population and Environment 17(4): 323-342

1996

ISSN/ISBN: 0199-0039

DOI: 10.1007/bf02208232

Document Number: 296814

Differences in spatial organization among the Lobi, Birifor, and Dagara communities in Burkina Faso can be argued to account for differential risk for onchocerciasis in these populations. A logistic regression analysis suggests that the pattern of land use and a number of related factors contribute to the risk of differential microfilarial load. It appears that the unique agrarian structures of the Birifor and Dagara communities represent a successful social adaptation to the threat of the blackfly disease, and that adoption of the forms of spatial organization found in the Birifor and Dagara communities by regional governments could aid in controlling the blackfly more permanently.