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.
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