Table 1.

Brief background information on villages (study sites) in northern Ghana and southern-central Burkina Faso.

Country	Villages (sites)	District/Province	Ethnic group	Sample size	Main landuse types & other remarks
Ghana	Sang	Mion	Dagbani	30	Cropland: Sorghum, maize, rice, beans, Bambara beans, cassava, yams, plantain, tomatoes, okro. Husbandry: Cattle, goats, sheep & poultry. Compound farming: No farming around houses, while goats and sheep are left free. Other remarks: The Dagbani people are mostly Muslims and thus don’t rear pigs. Natural vegetation has a lot of trees and land is moist & other places are humid.
	Jegun	Savelugu-Nanton	Dagbani	30
	Cheko	Tamale Metroplis	Dagbani	30
	Nbatinga	Mion	Dagbani	30
	Kpabia	Mion	Dagbani	30
Burkina Faso	Aniabiisi	Bolga Municipal	Gurunsi	76	Cropland: Sorghum, maize, rice, beans, Bambara beans, cassava, yams, plantain, tomatoes, okro. Husbandry: Cattle, goats, sheep, poultry, Compound farming: Commonly practiced & animals tethered during farming season. Other remarks: The Gurunsi people are mostly Christians and thus rear pigs. Note: Compound farming is practiced in Aniabiisi & Nagodi but not in Wallem, Kolo & Tiebele. Natural vegetation is open and relatively dry
	Nangodi	Nabdam	Gurunsi	30
	Wallem/Kadro	Po	Gurunsi	30
	Kolo	Jaro	Gurunsi	30
	Tiebele	Po	Gurunsi	30
	Nobere	Manga	Mossi	30	Cropland: Sorghum, maize, rice, beans, Bambara beans, cassava, yams, plantain, tomatoes, okro. Husbandry: Cattle, goats, sheep, poultry. Compound farming: No farming around houses, while goats and sheep are left free. Other remarks: The Mossi people are mostly Christians & traditionalists and thus rear pigs too. Natural vegetation is open with few trees and land mostly dry.
	Jegemtenga	Ouagadougou	Mossi	30
	Rapadama	Ouagadougou	Mossi	30
	Boore	Yaku	Mossi	30
	Sirgui	Kaya	Mossi	30
	Soubeira-Natenga	Kaya	Mossi	30