Resumen de Traditional agricultural land use and some changing trends in Maridi district, southern Sudan
This article looks at the differences in land use management in Maridi District, southern Sudan, and asserts that these reflect not only varying socioecological and environmental circumstances, but also factors such as population pressure, sociocultural and traditional beliefs and values, economic and resource factors, opportunities and accessibility and historical trends. The article concludes that policy makers and socioeconomic development planners of the rural areas of southern Sudan should identify constraints to increases in food production. This is only possible through appropriate knowledge about the different enterprise patterns and crops grown, including information on socioecological factors, environmental resource use and farmers' perceptions and production techniques. It should be possible to offer alternative methods of analysis essential for effective rural and agricultural land use development planning in similar socioecological and environmental situations in the southern Sudan and other areas of tropical Africa.
