On 26 April, ECOWAS and the government of Nigeria held a high-level meeting on pastoralism and cross-border transhumance in Abuja. The conference brought together ministers of security and agriculture/animal resources from ECOWAS countries, Cameroon, Chad, Mauritania and the Central African Republic. Their goal was to find lasting solutions to the escalating conflicts between herders and farmers in the ECOWAS zone and in other regions. Read on

Transhumance is a mobile livestock farming method that is based on regular, seasonal movements. The movements are mostly predictable; each year, herders follow the rhythm of the seasons and pass over the same trails and pasturelands that they already know. On the other hand, nomadism is characterised by the continual and unpredictable movements of all members of a family or a group. Most agro-pastoralists in the Sahel today practice semi-transhumance. Read on

This issue of the Grain de Sel magazine published by Inter-réseaux, is part of a series of reflections on pastoralism in West Africa, which started in 2015. It underlines the linkages between pastoralism in the Sahel and coastal countries, which have often been neglected in development strategies. Read on

The fourth high-level meeting on “Peaceful transhumance and livestock mobility in the Sahel and West African coastal countries” was held by ECOWAS from 27-29 September 2017 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Livestock ministers from across the region endorsed the funding modalities to establish the Regional Investment Programme for Livestock Development in Coastal Countries (PRIDEC), targeting the livestock sector of five coastal countries (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo). PRIDEC is designed to complement the Regional Support Project for Pastoralism in the Sahel (PRAPS). Read on