The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on livestock in Africa

The local headquarters of the Association for the Promotion of Livestock in the Sahel and in the Savannah (APESS), in Garoua, Cameroon. RFI / Sayouba Traoré

By: Sayouba Traoré

For West Africa alone, animal husbandry is a source of income for 80 million people. The contribution of livestock to agricultural GDP is around 5% in coastal countries, against 40% on average for Sahelian countries. Pastoral systems provide 50% of meat production and 70% of milk production. In fact, today we have the combination of insecurity and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in the Sahel and Savannah countries.

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Livestock farming is an ancient activity in Africa. It remains largely traditional. However, this type of breeding provides various incomes, and plays a large part in the fight against poverty in these areas. The typical structure of this traditional breeding is what specialists call family pastoral farming.

For the most part, this traditional breeding is said to be transhumant. We keep a small nucleus in the village for milk and meat, and the farmer leads his herd through the savannah, in search of water points and pasture. On the whole, we are dependent on the seasons. When the agricultural season begins, we leave the savannah agricultural areas to migrate to the arid areas of the Sahel. At the end of the harvest, the herd takes the opposite path, following the drying up of water points and the scarcity of pastures.

This transhumance obviously ignores state borders. And now the governments decide to close the borders, and quarantine the cities, which are the main poles of supply of inputs and the points of sale of the production.

Guest:
Doctor Ibrahima Aliou , secretary general of the Association for the promotion of livestock farming in the Sahel and in the savannah (APESS).

Production: Sayouba Traoré
Production: Ewa Piedel

At the end of the rainy season, the herd must be led in transhumance. RFI / Sayouba Traoré

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  • Africa
  • Agriculture and Fisheries
  • Coronavirus

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