@article{ref1,
title="Farming the battlefield: the meanings of war, cattle and soil in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo",
journal="Disasters",
year="2012",
author="Cox, T. Paul",
volume="36",
number="2",
pages="233-248",
abstract="Prior to 1996 and the Congolese wars, exploitative land policies pushed farmers in the eastern highlands of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) into a vulnerable position, with cattle manure sustaining intensive cultivation. This exposed households to a complete breakdown in mixed farming as cattle became targets of war. This study of villages in South Kivu offers an inside understanding of continuity and change in farming practices in a region where there are no easy solutions, and it assesses how the province lost its present and where farmers look when they glance to the future. For farmers, who hold a broad view of soil fertility, the casualties of war were not only people and cattle but also the land itself, which has enduring scars. Perceiving a rupture in tradition, South Kivu farmers are searching desperately for new livelihoods that are built on education instead of livestock, setting aside old ethnic signifiers to seek a future beyond protracted conflict.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0361-3666",
doi="10.1111/j.1467-7717.2011.01257.x",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7717.2011.01257.x"
}