Emerging Development Pathways of Urban Livestock Production in Rapidly Growing West Africa Cities

Abstract

Abstract:In this study, we try to capture the degree of specialization or integration, and of intensification or extensification, of (peri-) urban livestock production, along with the factors that influence such decisions and their impact on natural resource uses. A total of 181 and 187 structured questionnaires were completed in livestock-keeping households in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) and Tamale (Ghana). Categorical principal component and two-step cluster analysis were used to identify homogenous groups of livestock-keeping households. Cross tabulation and logistic regression analysis revealed factors that influence livestock husbandry, showing their impacts on resource use by livestock keepers in the two cities. A diversity of livestock species was kept, mostly integrated with crop farming. Yet, some households specialized in either sheep, pig or commercial milk production, and partly intensified their production. The decision to specialize and/or intensify livestock production is site-specific and influenced by the education level of the household head and security of land ownership. Higher inputs in livestock systems do not necessarily lead to higher outputs, and specialization inevitably leads to higher manure wastages. Therefore, links of livestock producers to crop farmers and markets for livestock manure must be strengthened to enable recycling of resources and limit negative externalities of specialized livestock production. Strategies need to be identified to improve livestock productivity by enhancing outputs as input use increases.

Evolution of Rural Livelihood Strategies in a Remote Sino-Mongolian Border Area: A Cross-Country Analysis

“…Based on the data collected using the same questionnaire on both sides of the border, a separation of four distinct but homogeneous clusters across the two countries was possible (Appendix A, Figure A1). This is in agreement with outcomes of cross-country studies from Africa [45,54] and shows that the rural livelihood strategies are not very different in the remote regions of these two countries despite their divergent economic and infrastructural development, as well as political setting [55]. This conclusion is furthermore supported by the fact that the relative representation of HHs in clusters Vm, VLs and Vtm was analogous in both countries.…”

Genetic and nongenetic factors affecting on-farm performance of peri-urban dairy cattle in west Africa

“…However, although the local dairy sector is well established in east Africa, with Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, and South Sudan representing 47% of the total milk production in SSA (FAOSTAT, 2016), the import dependency for dairy products averages 90% in west and central Africa (Goodison, 2015) because the milk production potential is not fully exploited. However, an intensification of the local dairy sector can be witnessed in some West African countries, such as Mali (Amadou et al, 2012), Burkina Faso (Amadou et al, 2012;Roessler et al, 2016), and Nigeria (Saleh et al, 2016). The intensification and modernization of the dairy sector in SSA is commonly associated with a combination of genetically improved cattle genotypes that are used to upgrade local cows, as well as concentrate feeding and to grazing to increase milk production (Gnanda et al, 2016;Saleh et al, 2016).…”

“…The intensification and modernization of the dairy sector in SSA is commonly associated with a combination of genetically improved cattle genotypes that are used to upgrade local cows, as well as concentrate feeding and to grazing to increase milk production (Gnanda et al, 2016;Saleh et al, 2016). However, it has been shown that crossbreeding with imported breeds and higher inputs in livestock systems, particularly into feeding, do not necessarily lead to higher production output (Roessler et al, 2016). This can be explained by low milk yields of crossbred cows on dairy farms in SSA that do not respond to higher production input.…”

Nutrient flows and balances in intensively managed vegetable production of two West African cities

“…One major difference between the two sites was the combined use of organic and mineral fertilizer in Ouagadougou. Farmers rely largely on the use of manure because of its easy availability (Roessler et al, 2016). Kiba et al (2012) estimated that farmers applied on average 35 t ha -1 of manure in Wayalguin, Burkina Faso, more than twice of what was applied in the current study.…”

“…One major difference between the two sites was the combined use of organic and mineral fertilizer in Ouagadougou. Farmers rely largely on the use of manure because of its easy availability ( Roessler et al., ). Kiba et al.…”