In Mossi country (Upper Volta) an evolution of the farm system can be observed which is both «spontaneous» and «regressive». It doesn't result from the application of development principales and concerns the adoption of an extensive crop system which has forest destruction and erosion as a direct consequence. The extension of the fields is not so much due to a population growth as to the atomistic structure of producer groups. Cultivated acreage by worker and by inhabitant has continually increased as collective administration vanishes giving way to individual production initiatives. Intensive production techniques have been abandoned, especially weeding practices which demand a high investment in terms of labour per surface unit.
