The Relationship Between Medium-Scale Farms and Deforestation in Sub-Saharan Africa

This concept note summarizes the current state of knowledge regarding the pace and drivers of deforestation in Sub-Saharan Africa and the emergence of medium-scale farms across the region (Section 2). Section 3 presents a conceptual framework of the plausible linkages between medium-scale farms and deforestation. Section 4 reviews what is currently known regarding how medium-scale farms contribute to deforestation. Section 4 also identifies data needed to more precisely understand the link between medium-scale farms and deforestation and options for simultaneously supporting agricultural productivity growth and the protection of forests. We review the information collected in four widely used farm-household surveys. As there are numerous gaps in what is currently known, Section 5 identifies priority issues for future research, focusing on both study design/sampling considerations and a set of research questions that merit study.