IITA developed alley cropping (also called hedgerow intercropping by ICRAF) in the mid 1970s to alleviate the problems of reduced soil fertility, reduced yields and soil erosion that were associated with population growth and reduced fallow periods. In the early 1980s this technology was adapted by ILCA to serve as a source of feed. On-farm research was conducted in two locations of South-West and South-East Nigeria. The locations differ in terms of population density, soil fertility, land tenure and typical farm layout.

The impact of human endeavours on the environment in the struggle to eke out a living through crop and animal agriculture is examined in a holistic context. Analyses focus on all the sources of pressure that modify the vegetation cover of rural Africa, including the effects of fires and burning of biomass, fuel wood extraction and deforestation and land clearing.