Contenu du sommaire : Togo - Bénin.

The Consequences of Hydraulic Development in the Mono Valley, Togo-Benin. Will One Be Able to Manage the Future Effects 9 Located on the Togo-Benin border, the Mono River drains a slope-basin of about 30 0G0 km2 and flows into the Atlantic ocean by means of a vast lagoon system. The first dam built, that of Nangbeto, was constructed in 1987, modifying in a drastic manner the natural hydrosedimentary system in the valley and at the mouth of the river. A second dam, that of Adjarala, is going to be undertaken. The different impact studies that we have conducted by means of mathematical and physical models, show that the consequences of the combined functioning of these two dams will be, on the one hand, a change in the flow-capacity of the river followed by a morphodynamic reajustment : changes in the route taken by the river, erosion of banks, deepening of the river bed ; on the other hand, the replacement of a zero water level for more than six month by a permanent flow of between 40 and 120 m3/s, which will lead to dulcifying the waters of the lagoon system. One can legitimately wonder about the ecological, economic and social consequences of these overwhelming changes. In addition, the progessive modification of the system presently existing at the river mouth will combine with the effects of a progression to the East, far more rapid than the physical models have predicted, of the coastal erosion started by the protection works on the Togo coastline. In time, it is the stability of the entire system of off-shore bars in that part of the Gulf of Guinée that could be endagered.

The Migration of the Ehoues of Benin Into the Plain of Mono in Togo ; The Case of Eastern Haho. Eastern Haho in the Plain of Mono in Togo has, since the XlXth century, been the objective of a massive migration of Ehoue peoples from the Benin plateau ofAplahoue and its frontiers. This inexorable migration of the tribes has had the effect of altering the population mix in the region ; today, the Ehoues enjoy a numerical supremacy over the indigenous Ajas, and, further, there has been a remarkable development of the Central Mono and East Haho areas. However, various problems have arisen which seem due mainly to an influx of the migrating groups in a non-controlled and spontaneous manner.

Foodcrops market evolution in Togo. The production and the commercialisation of foodcrops in Togo is of paramount socio-economic importance. If Togo 's overall demographic growth rate is 2,8 percent, this rate raises to 4,4 percent in the urban areas and shrinks to 1,9 percent in rural areas. The urban populations demand for foodcrops grows faster than the total amount of household labor in rural areas. An analysis of the foodcrops production 's evolution in the 1980s reveals that the tendency is satisfactory for some products (e.g. millet, sorghum, yam) but alarming for others (e.g. corn, beans, groundnuts and most of all the rice production is for from matching with the consumption). The official importations have to do with wheat and rice and maize and reflect a change in feeding habits in the case of wheat and a production foodcrops market makes it possible to put into perspective the main factors accounting for both the formation and the movement of prices. The very high share going into local consumption (50 to 60 percent in the case of corn, 80 to 90 percent in the case of millet, sorghum and beans) produces a weak production variation due to the climatic conditions, and has caused the supply on the urban market to notably decrease. In the absence of every means to regulate the supply between the deficit years and the excess years, prices are very sensitive to the quantities supplied to the consumers. Agriculture in Togo is very much grounded in routine and mainly caters for the producers' subsistence. On the one hand it does not adapt itself quickly enough by ajusting the productions of every foodcrops in relation to the demand and the available socks, and on the other hand it does not adapts itself quickly enough by putting the soils to the best use possible. On top of this one must mention the very weak productivity due to the non-intervention of modern factors of production and a loose technical training. The non-existence of a banking system designed for farmers working in the foodcrops sector makes the perpetuate.

A Contribution to the Study of the Palm Grove of the Kabye-Losso-Lamba Region, Northern Togo. The economic area of the oil producing palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq ) in Togo is limited on the North by the Defale Mountain Range, or by 1 200 mm ofisohyet. The oil palm is a beautiful crop in the Kabye-Losso-Lamba sector, a region chararterized by a wet tropical climate during two seasons of the year and by a dense population settlement. This palm grove, situated in the extreme northern part of its usual area of distribution, is one of its distinctive features. Although at the very limit of its climate, it is of natural origin. This natural growth of the Elaeis guineensis has been drastically modified by man, which means that it is sub-spontaneous. Although natural, it exists today because man has used selectioning to maintain it during crop clearing undertaken for its many uses.

Fishing in a Lagoon Setting in Southeastern Benin : the Example of the Eploitation of «Acadjas» (Endangered ) on Lake Nokoue and the Sô Shoal. The lagoon setting of southeastern Benin is one of the most interesting of the entire African continent, not only because of its geographic environment but also on account of the ingeniousjïshery system called «acadjas». It has existed in this aera since the beginning of the XXth century. A vulnerable ecosystem, the lagoon complex studied stresses the countless problems encountered by the Tojfina fishermen towars the ends of this century. Various observations conducted in the region enable us to say that the decisions already made and the remedies to be taken require an examination of the way the area is being managed by the indigenous Tojfina population of the southern Benin. Fortunately, many solutions are possible.