Transhumant pastoralists in the Sahel increasingly stuck in peri-urban areas

The transhumance of herds in the Sahel is increasingly endangered by insecurity, desertification and various public policies.

(illustrative image) © Marco LONGARI/AFP

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

In the Sahel, the rainy season is coming to an end and transhumance should resume for Sahelian shepherds who seek pasture in coastal countries.

But restrictions due to insecurity and the Covid-19 pandemic prevent the mobility of pastoralists.

New fact: because of the insecurity, many find themselves stuck, with their herds, in the suburbs of the cities where they sought refuge.

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According to the network of breeders Billital Maroobé, nearly 63,000 pastoralists and 1.5 million animals

in peri-urban areas.

This is particularly the case in the Gao region in eastern Mali.

Abdulaziz Agalwali is the coordinator of the Tassa herders organization in Mali:

The high concentration means that the few pastures available in these peri-urban areas of Gao, Sango and Ménaka are running out quite quickly.

Then, it creates problems of promiscuity, which generates quite high risks of disease, as well as strong tensions between others and those who have moved with their herds.

Livestock farmers in the Sahel region of Burkina, such as those in Tahoua, Maradi and Tillabéri in Niger, are experiencing the same fate: many have to sell their animals to survive, at bargain prices.

Oumarou Dioffo is the administrator of the Association for the Revitalization of Livestock in Niger:

The ram now is worth 35,000 or 40,000, with 25,000 you have a good sheep.

Today, this imposes another way of life for transhumant herders.

There are others who go into business, which they are not used to, and for many it is failures.

The Billital Maroobé network estimates that this crisis has led to a drop in livestock prices of 10% to 20%.

“ 

The pastoral way of life is threatened

 ”

If

for transhumant herders in the Sahel, it is not the only cause: political decisions taken by coastal countries have greatly harmed pastoral mobility in recent years.

According to Dodo Boureima, the president of the Bilital Maroobé herders' network, " 

 " and herders " 

 ".

Pastoralists live in extremely difficult situations that jeopardize their way of life...

According to Dodo Boureima, the president of the Bilital Maroobé Herders Network, “bad policies threaten the pastoral way of life”

Gaelle Laleix

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