Optimal Land Allocation of Maize, Cassava and Teak for Small Landholders in Southern Togo, West Africa

Acknowledgements First, I must thank Blair Orr for his time, dedication, perseverance and hard work which make Michigan Tech's Forestry Master International Program possible. His support as an advisor gave me the strength and confidence to achieve what I feared at times impossible, writing this thesis. I also would like to thank the members of my committee, understanding and support during my Peace Corps Service and throughout the thesis writing process. I also need to thank my editors: Melanie Kenny, who answered my sisterly help call of syntax and grammar distress, and Panchita Paulette for being an amazing editor and actually reading every word in this paper (and you're not even related!). I'd like to thank my parents and my sisters, whose support and love sustained me during my time in Togo as well as during the transition home and back to school. I'd like to thank my officemates of 145 for helping me keep my sense of humor in times of stress. There are so many people I had the good fortune of meeting through Peace Corps, who all helped make this thesis possible. I'd like to thank my Assistant Country Director, Karen Ramsey, whose direction, organization and flexibility helped bridge my work as a volunteer and a graduate student. I'd also like to thank my friends and fellow Peace Corps volunteers, Elizabeth Renckens, Gabriel Nehrbass and Eric Snell for sharing their photos, which allowed me to visually communicate the realities of life in Togo. Then, of course there are the people of Agodokpé who truly made this thesis study possible. I thank them for their participation, support and enthusiasm. Above all, I thank ADZA Benoit for his friendship, help as a Peace Corp counterpart, translator and confidant. ADZA, Tu es mon frère vraiment et je te souviens toujours, Dieu va te bénisse. Akpe-looo! vi Abstract Smallholders in Togo depend on subsistence agriculture to meet their family's needs. Southern Togo has a high population density in urban and rural areas. Available agricultural land is becoming limited because of increasing population pressure. Maize and cassava are main staple food crops and are planted on the majority of smallholders' land. Despite limited land and the need to allocate land to maize and cassava for consumption, Togolese farmers are interested in planting teak plantations on their land as a way to generate income. The purpose of this study was to examine optimal …