Herders are destocking, but are already thinking ahead to rebuilding their animal stocks
Amoulass, in the region of Maradi (centre-east of Niger)
The stench of decomposition hangs over Amoulass. We smell it long before we arrive at the enclave of dispersed huts in a small valley surrounded by acacia trees. The herders wait with their cows and calves under the acacias. The destocking site has been full since AREN (Association pour la Redynamisation de L’Elevage au Niger) opened it on 21 June.
Herders come to sell their weakened animals that they are unable to save. They come from areas within a perimeter of 20 km, the enclaves of de Boulel Amina, Dakaré, Efferel and Boundou Riskoua. They even come from Gadabéji.
With the destocking programme, they can get a better price for their animals most weakened by the lack of food and water than they would on the market. Sometimes, animals are so emaciated that their owners cannot bring them to the livestock markets in Séno, not far from here. “So butchers go from encampment to encampment and buy the animals for a pittance: 5000 CFA (7.5€). Sometimes we even give them away,” says Elhadj Djouti, 70 years old, herder and one of the first inhabitants of the village of Amoulass.
On the AREN destocking site, Magué Barti sold two cows for 40 000 CFA each. “It is good that this has been set up, because time is running out,” he says.
“It is the maximum quota per herder,” explains Amadou Djafarou, responsible for the destocking site. “Each herder is allowed to sell two animals.” Cows are bought for between 40 000 and 50 000 CFA (61.5 € and 77 €) depending on their condition and calves for 30 000 CFA (46 €), almost ten times the current market price. At the livestock market the leather is worth more than the cow itself these days.
Hodi Amadou, a turbaned elderly man, heads the committee which decides which animals should be bought. “Some animals are too weak to walk here themselves. Owners come to tell us, and we send for them in the encampments.” While we were there, one of AREN’s trucks was dispatched with a herder on board to go and get two cows.
“According to the herder, in this region, we have never had a year that was as bad as this one. The drought has decimated our herds and now the first rains are claiming those that had survived. Some herders are completely lost,” says Hodi.
Thankfully, AREN and Oxfam were able to ease the crisis with the destocking programme and the distribution of food for the people and wheat for their animals. “Without a doubt, we would have had to sell everything. Our personal effects and all our cows, our most valuable posessions,” Torodo Koïné, a representative from the chief of the village, grateful for all the assistance received thanked AREN and Oxfam.
AREN writes out a receipt to the seller who brings it to the savings and credit cooperative representative Asusu Ciigaba who proceeds with the payment. The purchased animals are slaughtered and the meat is checked to see if it is fit for consumption. Meat that is not fit for consumption is immediately destroyed. Edible meat is cooked and distributed among the vulnerable populations. The operation thus benefits the herders, who receive a good price for their animals, and the broader population, which receives the food.
AREN has set up three destocking sites in the area; in Amoulass, Touboundédji and Bermo. As of the 29th of June, 295 cows had been slaughtered at Amoulass, the largest site. The destocking operation is meant to finish at the beginning of July.
Herders are already thinking about rebuilding their herds. As all the herders have been hit by the crisis, the traditional system of helping each other may not work, and without further support, herders will not be able to rebuild their herds to their former sizes within even three or four years. Moreover, the animals who have been hardest hit by the crisis are likely to need many months, if not years, to recover. During this time, these animals can be sterile and the females are unlikely to produce any milk. Herders will remain fragile without enough animals to ensure their survival.
“It is a war that has been waged. Everyone has been on the frontlines: us, the herders, the state and the NGOs. And the soldiers have used heavy artillery to fight the dryness,” says Dodi Alio Mangari, president of the Economic Interest Group of the area, actively participating in an animal commercialisation program with the support of Oxfam. He hopes that this solidarity will continue, when the crisis has passed, to build a sustainable future for herders.
