Revue d’Elevage et de Médecine Vétérinaire des Pays Tropicaux (Mar 2004)
Draft Animal Power and Mixed Farming in the Savannahs of West and Central Africa. From a Technicist Model to a Reasoned Integration of Activities at Different Scales of Management
Abstract
In Subsaharan Africa, agronomists believed for a long time that the improvement of smallholding performance rested on agriculture and livestock integration. This farming model was based on draft animal power, forage production, breeding of dairy and meat cows, and restoration of manure. But this model has not been adopted by farmers as expected. In the Senegalese basin of groundnut production, in order to adapt to climatic hazards, farmers prefer the use of draft horses, which enables them to perform more rapidly the work on soil and crops. In North-Cameroon, the extension of cultivated areas through draft cattle power has been preferred to yield increases and manure production. This strategy is still possible in areas with low to middle density populations, whereas in highly populated areas, the evolution of farming systems is similar to those observed in the Senegalese basin of groundnut production: development of draft donkey power and cattle fattening, difficulties in combining extensive animal husbandry with agricultural activities. However, at the scale of large regions, it will still be necessary to exploit lands unsuitable for cultivation through stock breeding. The access of transhumant animals to these pasture areas has to be preserved. Complementarities between periurban animal husbandry and neighboring agricultural zones could be used to develop commodity channels for forage supply and animal feed. At the village and small farm levels, the intensification of stock breeding is essential, but it will first be necessary to improve herd management, and above all forage production and rules of pasture management. Thus, draft animal power has to be mobilized to provide transport (manure, forage), increase incomes (dairy draft cows, fattening of end-of-career draft cows) and contribute to developing more productive farming systems including forage production.
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