Moroccan Journal of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences

Vol. 12 No. 4 (2024): (December 2024)
Animal Production and Health

Determinants of pastoral mobility and its spatio-temporal dynamics in a context of socio-economic and environmental change in Africa

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  • G. L. DJOHY,
  • J. ALLADATIN,
  • B. SOUNON BOUKO
G. L. DJOHY Département de Géographie et Aménagement du Territoire, Faculté des Lettres, Arts et Sciences Humaines, Université de Parakou, Bénin
J. ALLADATIN Département d'administration et fondements de l'éducation, Faculté des sciences de l’éducation, Université de Montréal, Canada
B. SOUNON BOUKO Laboratoire d’Analyse Régionale et d’Expertise Sociale, Cotonou, Bénin

Published 2024-11-21

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Abstract

Pastoral mobility is attracting increasing attention and raising serious concerns because of the upsurge in conflictual interactions associated with it in recent years in Africa. This literature review analyses the determinants of pastoral mobility and its spatio-temporal dynamics in a context of socio-economic and environmental change in Africa. The analysis is based on 88 documents, 43 of which are in English and 45 in French. These were mainly scientific articles (64), research papers (11) and focus group reports (13). These 88 relevant documents were selected from a non-exhaustive list of 405 documents downloaded from the Science Direct, HAL Open Science, Web of Science, World Wide Science and Google Scholar websites. The selected documents, covering the period from 2014 to 2024, cover West Africa (35), East Africa (22), North Africa (14), all of Africa (6), Central Africa (5), Sub-Saharan Africa (4), South Africa (1) and Intertropical Africa (1). They mentioned several forms of mobility, including seasonal (95%), daily (81%), itinerant (nomadism: 23%), emigration (18%), emergency or forced (15%), cross-border (11%), commercial (9%), opportunistic (8%) and semi-nomadic (5%). These forms of mobility illustrate how pastoralists adapt their practices according to environmental, economic and social conditions, demonstrating the flexibility and resilience of their way of life. With regard to the factors that determine mobility, the documents mainly report environmental (97%), socio-economic (88%), land (47%), security (41%), political and legal (41%), technical and technological (15%) and zootechnical (10%) factors. These factors interact to influence farmers' mobility choices, in response to changing environmental and socio-economic conditions. Against this backdrop, the studies suggest that mobility should be supported and enhanced by concerted action at local, national and international levels, with the aim of improving the resilience of pastoral communities and safeguarding their traditional way of life. According to the studies carried out, particular emphasis should be placed on the development of pastoral areas, the integration of traditional knowledge and local and technological innovations into pastoral policies, the strengthening of pastoral land rights, the concerted management of pastoral resources, access to reliable meteorological information, the intensification of fodder production, the diversification of sources of income, the conservation and improvement of local breeds, the strengthening of inter-community collaboration, the recognition of pastoralists' rights and the improvement of socio-political conditions. Future research and development projects should be geared towards helping pastoralists and agro-pastoralists to secure their mobility more effectively.

Keywords: Pastoral mobility, spatio-temporal dynamics, environmental and socio-economic change, Africa

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References