Forest Zone - Land Use and Demographics

Land Use and Demographics

In the eastern part of the forest zone, because of the influence of Mount Cameroon, soils are often fertile and there are large areas of subsistence farming. Major crops include millet, yams and rice, whilst plantation agriculture is extensive on the best soils, producing chiefly cocoa. Further west, due to the ancient geology of the region, soils are much less fertile and farming becomes chiefly confined to the raising of perennial crops, with cocoa remaining pre-eminent. Forestry, however, has devastated much of the natural rainforest in countries such as Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia, and farmers without land have been pushed onto land with soil very marginal for agriculture by population growth, which, despite frequent warfare, continues to be among the highest in the world.

The eastern part of the forest zone is one of the most heavily populated parts of Africa, largely owing to its abundant and highly reliable rainfall and the fertile alluvial soils. Whilst this region contains numerous large cities, the most important being Lagos, Ibadan and Port Harcourt, both of which have grown into mega-cities since the 1970s, the majority of its population remains rural and dependent upon subsistence farming. Major ethnic groups include the Igbo and Yoruba. The western part is less populated but is similar demographically to the east, with numerous African tribes predominating. The major cities here are Abidjan and Conakry.