E-ISSN 2223-0343

The pastoral livestock in the Grand Kanem: between vulnerability and resilience

Koussou Mian-oudanang, Sougnabé Pabamé and Dézoumbé Djonret

Livestock Research Institute for Development (IRED) PO box 433 N’Djamena, Chad

 
Abstract

In order describe the socio-economic characteristics and strategies of farmers to match the size of the family and that of livestock; a cross-sectional survey was conducted with 67 agro-pastoralists, 42 pastoralists and 21 breeders in the Grand Kanem. Pastoralist communities in the region are Kanembou, Gorane, Arabs and Fulani. Three livestock systems are used in the region: agro-livestock (21%), agro-pastoralism (51%) and nomadic pastoralism (28%). The average size of a herd of cattle or camels varied significantly (P<0.05) from one farming system to another. A class distribution of herds showed that more than half of pastoralists and agro-pastoralists held between 40 and 80 heads of cattle. The majority of livestock farmers (85%) had a head count of cattle between 1 and 20 animals. The ratio of herd size and that of the family showed a TLU (Tropical Livestock Unit) per person twice more than that of agro-pastoralists and six times more than that of agro-pastoralists. The evolution of herds of different species has been appreciated by breeders. For half of them, the number of cattle and sheep has been declining over the past decade while those of goats and camels are stable. Cattle were most sold by pastoralists followed by agro-pastoralists. Grain cost represented the largest source of expenditure among nomadic pastoralists and agro-pastoralists followed by sugar and tea and animal health care. However, among breeders, buying cattle feed was by far the largest source of expenditure. Overall the study showed that despite the many challenges, pastoral systems play an important role in the economy of the region and contribute to nutrition and food security of rural households. The study recommends a more secure pastoral system by the introduction of water programs, feed banks, livestock and rural health prophylaxis campaign.

Keywords: Livestock; characteristics; farmer strategies; Kanem; Chad
 
To cite this article: Mian-oudanang K, S Pabamé and D Djonret, 2015. The pastoral livestock in the grand Kanem: between vulnerability and resilience. Res. Opin. Anim. Vet. Sci., 5(1): 13-19.
 

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