Insights into the diversity of cow milk production systems on the fringes of coastal cities in West Africa: A case study from Benin

Abstract

In sub-Saharan Africa, rapid population growth, urbanization, increasing incomes, and changing dietary preferences are the main drivers of the rising demand for livestock products, especially fresh milk and derived products. To meet this demand, there is an increasing number of dairy cattle farms in the densely populated coastal zone of Benin, where the country's largest city and commercial capital Cotonou is located. To identify and characterize the peri-urban dairy production systems in this region, 190 cattle keepers were surveyed, using the snowball sampling method, in four municipalities neighboring Cotonou. Information on their socio-economic characteristics, cattle herd sizes, and herd management practices were collected through questionnaire-based face-to-face interviews. Factor analysis of mixed data followed by hierarchical clustering on principal components, implemented in R statistical software, were applied to classify the surveyed farms into homogeneous groups. Results revealed six types of peri-urban dairy cattle farms differing mainly in their cows' breeds, herd sizes, and daily amount of milk produced. Most herds (88%) were owned by urban dwellers, mainly civil servants and traders, who entrusted the management of their cattle to hired professional herders. Irrespective of farm type, cows were of local taurine (65%) or Sahelian zebu (35%) breeds and were exclusively fed on communal natural pasture. Mineral supplementation was provided to the animals on 42% of farms, with significant variation across farm types. About 45% of the farms integrated cattle production with other agricultural activities, including coconut plantations (22%), where cow manure was used as fertilizer. The herd structure was similar across farm types, with average proportions of cows and heifers ranging from 37.6 to 47.5% and from 13.1 to 19.7%, respectively. With significant differences across farm types, the produced milk was either transformed into traditional cheese (32% of farms) or sold raw (85%). Milk and cheese sales represented 84% of the total farm income for three out of the six farm types. In the current context of rapid urbanization, communal grazing lands alone cannot provide sufficient feed to support increased milk production. In addition to improved feeding strategies, herd structure should be balanced in terms of the ratio between milk-producing and non-producing animals.

Nutritional Value of Climate-Resilient Forage Species Sustaining Peri-Urban Dairy Cow Production in the Coastal Grasslands of Benin (West Africa)

“…Most of this vegetation has been transformed into a mosaic of fallows, farmlands (crops and plantations), and human settlements [ 24 ]. This area holds sedentary dairy farms that provide Cotonou, the biggest city in Benin, with milk and milk products [ 3 , 8 ]. The cows are owned by urban dwellers who entrust them to people from the Fulani ethnic group that are culturally cattle herders [ 28 ].…”

“…The coastal area is a marginal region for crop production, but there is interest in dairying to provide the growing coastal cities with meat, milk, and milk products, and improve the livelihood of urban farmers [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Manure deriving from cattle improves sandy soil fertility, increasing the yields of food crops, commercial vegetables, and coconut trees.…”

“…Many peri-urban dairy herds exist in West African coastal areas, such as Benin, providing about one-third of the milk consumed in and around the cities [ 3 ]. A displacement of rural farms around the cities is observed [ 4 , 5 ], increasing the number and size of peri-urban cattle herds to meet the growing demand for milk and milk products.…”

“…In Benin, dairy herds around Cotonou are experiencing forage scarcity due to urbanization [ 3 , 22 ] and decreasing grasslands [ 23 ], which are changed for the residential purpose [ 24 ], in contrast with the increase of cattle herds. During the dry season, ruminants rely on grazing perennial grasses and legumes in uncultivated plots, roadsides, and marshlands [ 8 , 22 ].…”

Typology analysis and adaptive capacity of commercial gardening farmers to climate change in peri-urban areas along the coastal area of Benin (West Africa)

“…Based on information collected from the "Direction des Statistiques Agricoles, " (DSA, 2022) but also because of the presence of a high number of market gardeners in the coastal zone, the five municipality of Sèmè-Kpodji, Cotonou, Abomey-Calavi, Ouidah and Grand-Popo were selected for this study (Table 1; Figure 1). The climate is subequatorial, with two rainy seasons alternating with two dry seasons of unequal duration, with average annual rainfall ranging between 1,000 and 1,400 mm (Yassegoungbe et al, 2022). The mean temperature ranges from 31.5 to 33°C (Teka et al, 2019).…”