Agriculture is the basic driver of West Africa's economy, on which the majority of people depend for their livelihood (Gyasi and Uitto, 1997). Most farms are small, typically 1 to 5 hectares. Rice is the most rapidly growing staple food in West Africa and constitutes a major part of the population's diet.
The war resulted in the largest compulsory population exchange in history up to that time (2 million people) and helped define the concept of ethnic conflict.