Du conflit aux synergies : les relations complexes entre pasteurs et agro-industries dans la vallée du fleuve Sénégal

Abstract

Since the 1970s, intensive and industrial agriculture has been developing in the Senegal River region, through crops such as rice, sugarcane, and horticulture. Formerly known for hosting large herds of transhumant pastoralists in the dry season, the Delta region has seen irrigated systems gradually reduce herders’ access to key resources such as water and pastures. In response to the food crisis of 2008, the Senegalese government facilitated access to agro-industries on pastoral lands that were previously difficult to irrigate, sparking a renewed tension with herders. However, it is important to note that herders located near the agro-industries also benefit from new resources thank to negotiations on compensations. To pacify their relationship, herders and agro-industries unofficially develop synergy strategies to coexist, but these are not without risk as they reinforce the dependence links between shareholders and require official coordination which is currently non-existent. The future of this circular economy is subject to many hazards (climatic, economic, social) whose impacts and management must be discussed through transparent local-level coordination.

Keywords

• Intensive farming
• Transhumant pastoralist
• Circular economy
• Senegal
• Senegal River delta