The agricultural and forest products of British West Africa

by Gerald C. Dudgeon

COPRA.—Some special attention has been given to the extension of the copra industry on the coast, and it will be observed that the average annual exports have nearly doubled during the last eight years. The coconut (Cocos nucifera) is found on the greater part of the coastline, and the dried contents of the nut constitute the product known as copra. (Cf. Oil Seeds and Feeding Cakes, Imp. Inst. Monograph, 1915.) No use is apparently made of the fibrous covering of the nuts, which is exported from other parts of the world under the name of coir. Locally the nuts are cut down in an unripe condition, and the “milk” from the interior is used as a drink.

DYES AND PIGMENTS.—Camwood is the trade name applied to the wood of a tree known as Baphia nitida, Afzelius, belonging to the Natural Order Leguminosæ. It has been suggested that the bright red colouring-matter is produced by decomposition on exposure to air, the material shipped from different places in West Africa being apparently in this condition, but investigations in other parts of West Africa show that the fresh wood is frequently used in making the colouring-matter. A very small quantity is exported from the Gold Coast, but the natives make some use of it for staining different materials.

Indigo.—This is prepared from two or three species of Indigofera, which are found growing near villages, but the process of preparation in the Gold Coast does not appear to have been recorded, though probably similar to that employed in the other West African countries.

The resin from the copal tree, mentioned above, is crushed, together with the bark of a tree called “Krobo,” in Akim especially, and the balls formed from this mixture are rubbed down, with the addition of a little water, into a fine sort of lather, when a greenish-grey-coloured thin paste is procured. With this designs are traced upon the body and arms as an adornment for women, the resin imparting to the mixture a pleasant odour.

FIELD CROPS.—The soil throughout a large part of the forest country is very fertile, and no difficulty is experienced in producing sufficient crops for local needs from a small area of ground. The usual method is to cut down a piece of forest, leaving those trees which are too large to be removed or burnt, or which may yield one of the wild fruits which is appreciated. The stumps and roots are not removed when only maize (Zea mays) is intended to be grown, but are, to some extent, when yams (Dioscorea sp.), or groundnuts (Arachis hypogea), are to be cultivated. The cut “bush” is permitted to dry in the sun for several weeks, when it is burned, and the ashes are sometimes scattered over the land. For plantations of maize, the soil is only turned up at the spots where the seed is to be put in, and very little cultivation is given for the remainder of the year, although weeding and earthing up are resorted to in a few places. For the cultivation of yams or groundnuts, the larger roots are dug out, and the whole field is dug with small hoes, the soil being scraped together into small mounds, on the top of which the yams or groundnuts are planted. In the case of the former, stakes are also put in, upon which the yams are trained to grow. In addition to this it is usual, in most places, to plant maize upon the sides of the mounds, and okra (Hibiscus esculentus) and peppers (Capsicum sp.) in various parts of the field. Guinea corn (Sorghum vulgare) is rarely seen within the forest limits. Between the mounds, at wide intervals, plantains (Musa sapientum) are generally grown, and occupy the ground after all the other crops have been removed. In the country near the coast, as well as in the Volta district, cassava (Manihot utilissima) is a common terminal crop, although it is not frequently grown in Ashanti. The length of time during which the land usually continues to yield a grain or root crop, of the kinds above mentioned, seems limited to about three years. Koko yams (Colocasia antiquorum) are planted in damp places near the villages or beside streams, and, in the Volta district, sweet potatoes (Ipomœa batatas) are cultivated to a small extent. Small gourds (Cucurbitaceæ) are cultivated in the villages, but are not common, and pineapples, paw-paws, guavas, oranges, custard apples, sour-sops, and limes may be found growing in the places near the older European settlements.

Plantains and yams seem to form the chief food of the people in the interior, but maize is largely used by those near the coast, who are better cultivators. Plantains are prepared by roasting or by chopping up and boiling. In some parts, especially in the Krepi country, the fruits are split and cut in pieces, after which they are dried in the sun. They become hard and white in the process, and can be kept for some time. Yams of several kinds are cut up after peeling, and boiled with peppers or made up with palm oil, when they form a favourite dish. They are sometimes pounded in a wooden mortar and made into balls. Maize is ground on flat or grooved stones by means of a stone hand-roller, after which the flour is made into dough and baked, a little palm wine having been added to make it rise. Cassava is treated in the same manner as yams, but the former requires long soaking before cooking. Palm oil or groundnut oil is generally used for cooking, and the pulp of the palm fruit, after the oil has been removed, is eaten. A fermented drink is made from maize, which is said to taste like weak beer, but the chief intoxicant made locally is the fermented juice of the oil and the fibre palms.

With the exception of cotton, which has been separately referred to, groundnuts appear to have been the only field crop of importance that has been exported. In 1908 a substantial figure was reached, but has since declined.

PART II.—THE NORTHERN TERRITORIES

Tribes.—The country which is included under the Northern Territories is inhabited by a number of tribes, now chiefly located in the northern half; the central portion being liable to inundation at certain times, and therefore almost unoccupied, and the southern being, perhaps, considered unsafe owing to the proximity to the warlike Ashantis. The more important tribes are the Mamprussis, under the king of Gambaga; the Gonjas, under the king of Kombe; the Walas, under the king of Wa; and two sections of the Dagombas, under the chiefs of Savelugu and Karaga (formerly under the king of Yendi, in German territory). The Lobis, Dagartis, Grunshis, Kussassis, and several others were dispersed by Samory and Barbetu in 1896 and 1898, and have now only nominal chiefs. (See Colonial Reports—Annual, No. 566, “Northern Territories of the Gold Coast,” 1907, p. 8.) The Moshis, whose country extended into the northern limits of the Northern Territories, were employed at one time as native levies, but since they were disbanded they have interfered with the tribes on the Gambaga-Kumassi road, in the Sapari Hills, and made trading by that route unsafe. (See Colonial Reports, loc. cit., p. 10.) Steps have been taken to expel them from the country, and it is hoped that the people living in the hills, who are said to be good agriculturists, will now come into closer contact with civilisation. The Dagombas are apparently the most industrious tribe in the country, and they seem to be numerous.

Although there does not appear to be any actual record of the invasion of the eastern part of the country by the Mohammedan rulers of the Western Sudan, they are said to have overrun the pagan countries between themselves and the region of dense forest on several occasions. In 1483 the kingdom of Mossi (Moshi) was conquered by Sonni Ali, King of Songhay, who was a native of the Eastern Sudan, and had come from Egypt. Two years later he extended his conquest through the mountain territory to the south and far into the pagan belt. Sonni Ali was followed by Askia, who again overran Mossi, in order to abolish paganism and establish the Mohammedan faith. This occurred in about the year 1500, and doubtless the people learnt to adopt the improved methods of agriculture which the conquerors had introduced into the Western Sudan from Egypt and the east. Many of the tribes have relapsed completely into paganism, but amongst others there is a mixture of Mohammedanism and paganism, which is evidence of the impression made. More recently, Samodu Almami of Ouassoulou, generally known as Samory, was driven from his kingdom in the Western Sudan by the French, and overran the Northern Territories with his Sofa troops; subduing Wa, Bole, and the whole of the western part of the country. It is, however, unlikely that agriculture was further improved by his invasion, as large tracts of country were devastated to feed his troops.