Tropentag, September 10 - 12, 2025, Bonn "Reconciling land system changes with planetary health"

Management of indigenous pastures and cattle herds by fulani in northern Benin

¹University of Parakou, Dep. of Sci. and Techn. of Animal Prod. and Fisheries, Benin
²University of Kassel / University of Goettingen, Animal Husbandry in the Tropics and Subtropics, Germany
³University of Parakou, Dept. of Animal Production / Integrated Production Systems Innovation Lab and Sustainable Land Management (InSPIREs-SLM), Benin

Abstract

In Benin, management of cattle grazing land is changing due to the government's sedentarisation policy, which regulates cattle mobility in the country. This study, conducted within the DecLaRe project (https://www.uni-kassel.de/forschung/declare/home), aimed to enhance understanding of the evolving grazing pressures in the municipalities of Tchaourou and Djougou in northern Benin and to integrate local herders' practices into the newly required management of herds and grazing land. From February to April 2023, eighty (80) agropastoralists across four Fulani villages were interviewed individually using a semi-structured questionnaire to identify their habitual rangeland management practices, perception of forage availability, and constraints to livestock production and feeding. The interviews revealed significant challenges in animal feeding and traditional rangeland management practices among agropastoral communities. Feeding challenges included reduced access to pasture due to the expansion of croplands at the detriment of rangelands, as mentioned by 94% of the interviewees, resulting in forage scarcity (100%) and poor forage quality (75%). Apart from relying on the traditional far-distance herd migration, most herders (97% of interviewees) take no further action to improve the condition of their animals and the remaining communal grazing lands. Rangeland management in the study area faces challenges such as unclear land tenure regimes (69%), conflicts over land use (50%), and a lack of range management technical knowledge (35%). Livestock keeping in the study area contributes to household livelihoods and food security, but respondents identified forage scarcity as a substantial limiting factor. Strategies introduced to secure cattle nutrition included cultivating forage on a portion of land (≤ 2 ha, 44% of herders), which is insufficient to sustain the large herds of 60 ± 29 animals on average. The results indicate slow and inadequate adoption of fodder production, while rangeland degradation is increasing rapidly, threatening livestock-based livelihoods. Poor access to fodder seeds and unclear land tenure systems appear to be barriers to intensified fodder production, the latter also preventing successful grazing management of the remaining rangelands.

Keywords: Communal grazing land, Feeding practices, Livestock production, Rangeland management, Traditional management

Contact Address: Eva Schlecht, University of Kassel / University of Goettingen, Animal Husbandry in the Tropics and Subtropics, Steinstraße 19, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany, e-mail: schlechtuni-kassel.de