Adaptation strategies of sedentary cattle farms in the face of territorialization of rangelands and food shortages in northern Benin

Abstract

With the expansion of agricultural land, food shortages and the sedentarization program, cattle farming systems in northern Benin must adapt to spatial and temporal variability of resources to ensure the food security of herds and the diversification of herders’ income. This study aims to analyze the adaptation strategies used by herders in the context of sedentarization of animals and food scarcity. For this purpose, 280 sedentary cattle farms situated in three agro-ecological zones: Gogounou (northern cotton zone), Kalale (southern Borgou food zone) and Tchaourou (central cotton zone) were considered. The data collected included the determinants for selecting grazing areas, the grazing sites visited by herds and strategies for adapting to food shortages. A Factorial Correspondence Analysis, followed by a hierarchical classification, enabled the typology of coping strategies used by herders, and Chi-2 test was used to differentiate the various groups determined. Three groups of adaptation strategies have been identified: (i) farms with an adaptation strategy based on agropastoralism (EAP: 42.5 %); (ii) farms with a mixed adaptationstrategy based on short and long-distance mobility with herd division (EMim: 21.07 %) and (iii) farms with an adaptation strategy based on mobility in protected areas (EMAP: 36.42 %). The diversity of grazing areas, the location of breeders, the cattle herd, the expansion of agricultural lands, the transhumance routes and the types of livestock farms are the main determinants of the different groups of adaptation strategies studied in northern Benin (p<0.05). Forage production is expanding in all groups and is the most viable and promising strategy for ensuring animal food self-sufficiency. Providing herders with secure land title would be a great asset in promoting this adaptation strategy.