By Bakary Touraay Jn
Livestock experts from across 17 countries of the ECOWAS-UEMOA-CILSS area have gathered in the Ghanaian capital, Accra for the 6th high-level meeting on the theme, “Peaceful trans-humane and livestock mobility in the Sahel and West African coastal countries.”
At the meeting held from 7-10 October, 2017, Civil society organisations approved a joint-position statement with key recommendations on how to develop the livestock sector and pastoralism in the context of rising insecurity in the region. The fodder production outlook for 2020 is good overall.
However, there are deficit production areas, notably in western Mali, western Mauritania and northern Senegal. There are also persistent difficulties in accessing natural pasture areas due to insecurity in parts of Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger and Nigeria.
This situation could affect the livelihoods in those regions and lead to early departures of livestock and pastorals to areas of transhumance, with consequences in both transit and host areas.
On a positive note, awareness raising and dialogue between farmers and pastorals, as well as closer collaboration between local, national and regional authorities, help to prevent conflict and reduce the number of casualties related to infra-regional livestock mobility.
National transhumance committees were successfully supported in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. The introduction of taxes, as livestock entered markets, created significant financial resources for local authorities in coastal countries, enabling them to invest in socio-educational and health infrastructure.
Civil society organisations recommend: better synchronization of transhumance calendars in different countries; the acceleration of the establishment of national transhumance committees in Sahelian countries; and the assessment of the socio-economic and environmental impacts of pastoralism.
They stressed that more analysis is needed about the consequences of insecurity on the early migration of pastorals and on cattle concentration. Strengthening the capacities of farmers’ organisations in coastal countries by raising awareness of pastoral issues and developing knowledge-sharing tools, was also recommended at the meeting.
On the sidelines of the event, a media workshop was organised to train journalists on livestock, transhumance and trade issues.
