L'incidence du calendrier agricole sur l'élevage des petits ruminants dans une zone densément peuplée : cas des Hauts-Plateaux de l'ouest Cameroun

Abstract

The Incidence of the Cropping Season on the Breeding of Small Ruminants in a Densily Populated Area : Case of the Western Highlands in Cameroon. Under the combined effect of high population density and the introduction of a second cropping season in the Western Highlands of Cameroon, the agricultural land, including marginal land, is cultivated ail year round. The utilization of collective pastures for the production of staple food and the impossibility for small ruminants farmers to set their animals free for at least part of the year like in the pass, call for the adoption of a new management strategy for these animals. A production system including the permanent confinement of animals seems inevitable for the survival of this activity. However, the success of this transformation process in the management of small ruminant must be accompanied by an improvement in housing, feeding as well as genetic improvement of the existing animal material.

Keywords

• Cropping season
• Small ruminants
• Intense production
• Densely populated area