Abstract
Despite important advances following the challenge to equilibrium-based models in range ecology, pastoralism is still largely seen as a coping strategy that allows herders to get along with an ‘inadequate’ resource base. This stance can be traced to a long-established approach in the disciplines that inform pastoral development planning (natural resource management, range ecology, animal science) to rely on analytical tools based on standard statistics and average values. However, pastoralism is better understood as a sui generis production system, that deliberately exploits the transient concentrations of nutrients that represent the most reliable feature of dryland environments; a system geared at maximising the production of economic value while stabilising its performance in environments where ‘uncertainty’ is harnessed for production. As average values and standard statistics fail to capture non-uniform distribution (relied upon for production in dryland pastoralism), they should not uniquely or uncritically inform pastoral development planning.
Abstract
Malgré les importants progrès réalisés suite à la remise en question des modèles d′équilibre appliqués à l′écologie pastorale, le pastoralisme reste largement considéré comme une stratégie d′ajustement permettant tout juste aux éleveurs de survivre à partir de ressources ‘insuffisantes’. Cette position trouve son origine dans une approche adoptée depuis longtemps par les disciplines qui façonnent la planification du développement pastoral (gestion des ressources naturelles, écologie pastorale, zootechnie) qui consiste à s′appuyer sur des outils analytiques basés sur des statistiques standardisées et des valeurs moyennes. Pourtant, le pastoralisme se comprend mieux comme un système de production sui generis, qui exploite délibérément les concentrations fluctuantes de substances nutritives, ce dernier point constituant la principale caractéristique des terres arides; comme un système conçu pour maximiser la valeur de la production tout en stabilisant ses performances dans des environnements où ‘l’incertitude’ est exploitée pour la production. Les valeurs moyennes et statistiques standardisées ne permettent pas de prendre en compte la répartition non-uniforme (sur laquelle repose la production pastorale dans les milieux arides) et par conséquent ne doivent pas constituer les seules sources de la planification du développement pastoral.
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Notes
Implosive consonants characteristic of the Fulfulde language are conventionally given as uppercase letters. For the sake of readability, we have not applied this rule to the spelling of the frequently used name ‘Wodaabe’, which should be read as ‘WoDaaBe’.
There is a great variety of agro-pastoral systems where peak animal performance achieved though extreme mobility is traded in for the opportunity of growing field crops. In relatively good years, the generally smaller productivity of the herd (for example, Amanor, 1995) is balanced by the fact that no or few animals have to be sold for buying food. Prolonged droughts or increased environmental unpredictability would rapidly and dramatically turn the trade off in favour of more specialised pastoralists.
Although we back up this generalisation with regard to the models that appear to inform policymaking and mainstream pastoral development thinking, we acknowledge the important exception of a substantial strand of research on rangeland heterogeneity using the stratification of multiscale diversity in fodder resources and the effort to develop models based on livestock feeding behaviour (Boudet, 1979, 1984; Breman and de Ridder, 1991; Hiernaux et al, 1994; Tongway et al, 2001; Ayantunde et al, 2009; Hiernaux et al, 2009). We are grateful to Pierre Hiernaux for drawing our attention to this work.
For example, most of the papers presented at the conference ‘Pastoralism and Climate Change Adaptation in Africa’, 25–28 May 2010, Egerton University, Kenya (http://www.ccaa.iccamnet.org/index.html).
On the survival and adaptation of risk-aversion heuristics even within pro-mobility perspectives in pastoral development, see Roe et al (1998).
See Sullivan and Rohde (2002) for an excellent analysis of this issue and Vetter (2005) for a review of the debate.
The understanding of pastoralism through ecological lenses is so deeply entrenched in the history of pastoral development, that it proves very difficult for operators not to drift back into old habits even when acknowledging the relevance of the paradigm shift introduced by the ‘new range ecology’ (see Hogg, 1997). This is even more important today, as concerns for climate change are granting new authority to ecological heuristics of pastoralism (old and new orthodoxy).
Provenza and Cincotta (1993, p. 78) pointed out that: ‘Functional models (e.g. optimal foraging theory) […] do not […] explain empirical observations such as why: 1. individuals within species select different kinds and amounts of forages […]; 2. wild and domesticated herbivores over-ingest plants that contain toxins […]; 3. herbivores do not necessarily select foods of the richest nutritional quality (e.g. most energy-rich foods) when given a choice’.
For example Banner (2008). Dozens of studies and applications of this kind have been carried out by the research and outreach program of the School of Range Management at the Utah State University (http://www.behave.net/projects/index.html).
Current work in tropical animal nutrition openly acknowledges the inadequacy of ‘traditional and simplistic view of production, in which control of the grazing process is made by means of fixed stocking rates, herbage allowances, grazing intervals and grazing methods’ (Da Silva and Carvalho, 2005, p. 11).
To avoid misunderstanding, we wish to underline the fact that pastoral mobility is not entirely explained by the ecological aspects of raising animals in arid environments. Research on the Wodaabe substantiates (Stenning, 1959; Bonfiglioli, 1988; Schareika, 2003b) the abundant literature on the social and political motivation of nomadic movement (for example Gulliver, 1975; Burnham, 1979). Our descriptions of nomadic movement, however, are no ideal types. They are based on detailed observation of Wodaabe real-world behaviour. We would also like to remark that social and ecological considerations in nomadic decision making do not simply correspond to different choices of movement. Within a general choice of movement that aims to avoid, say, requests for taxpaying, there will be room for further choices that target at optimising animal nutrition.
Herders are well aware of the energy costs of mobility. When the animals are weak, at the end of the dry season, and the returns expected from improved nutrition through mobility are carefully balanced against these costs. Even so, whenever possible, the herders invest in feed (bought with money from the sale of livestock) in order to give their animals the strength to move to better-quality pasture. That mobility is part of a broader strategy of reliable production, is also evident from the fact that herders discuss at length the danger of getting ‘locked’ into areas of dry season pastures that, if initially attractive, might remain isolated and therefore hinder or even prevent further movement.
This concept of ‘intelligent harvesting’ refers to effective targeting of nutrients and carries no implication of a naturally benign influence of grazing. On the other hand, in systems geared towards exploiting small and short-lived concentrations of nutrients, the productivity of the animals increases with feeding selectivity and decreases with indiscriminate biomass intake. It follows that, at its maximum level of productivity, specialised dryland pastoralism can be expected to be inherently sustainable.
Stress associated with management practices, and even with particular stockpersons, can severely abate feeding motivation and learning ability, slow down growth, interfere with reproduction, reduce the yield and quality of milk and increase the animals’ susceptibility to disease (Seabrook, 1972; Knierim and Waran, 1993; Hemsworth et al, 1996; de Passillé and Rushen, 1999; Breuer et al, 2000; Lensink et al, 2000; Pajor et al, 2000; for a recent overview, see Waiblinger et al, 2006). There is also evidence that stress can spread along social structures. In the presence of stressed conspecifics, for example, both the heifers’ feeding behaviour and their capacity for learning have been found to be inhibited (Boissy et al, 1998; Bouissou et al, 2001).
The social organisation of cattle in feral conditions is based on clusters of small matriarchal families interconnected by preferential relationships between their members. Social interaction is ordered by dominant-subordinate relationships and by preferential relationships. As dominance relationships among adult females are very stable and long-lasting, aggressive behaviour is rare (Reinhardt and Reinhardt, 1981; Lazo, 1994; on African buffalo, cf. Prins, 1996, and Sinclair, 1977).
Studies of calf–dam separation for artificial weaning with calves of 8–9 months showed that ‘such abrupt weaning seems to increase temporarily the social motivation since the weaned animal strengthens bonds with peers’ (Boissy et al, 2001, p. 90).
As a way of reducing productivity losses from stress, authors writing about animal production in western settings recommend handling practices designed to imitate ‘species-specific’ behavioural patterns (Grandin, 1987; Seabrook and Bartle, 1992; Seabrook, 1994). The affinity of this approach with aspects of cattle management among the Wodaabe is evident. Waiblinger et al remark that the reliance on ‘species-specific’ patterns is what ‘may provide the basis for the success of Fulani herdsman in the control of cattle’ (2006, p. 191).
The propensity to selective attachment (geeti) is one of the most appreciated features in reproduction bulls. The geeti attitude is further strengthened artificially by separating the calves from their dams for a few hours per day (the afternoon) well before weaning and socialising them into the human household through interaction with children (who water, groom and de-tick them). Boivin et al (1992) note that calves’ compensating drive to socialise, following calf–dam separation in weaning can be exploited for habituating them to interact with humans.
This difference directly reflects the lower degree of specialisation (as cattle keepers) of the keepers of the Azawak breed, thereby confirming our description of ‘intelligent harvesting’ as the production strategy peculiar to specialised dryland pastoralism.
A French veterinarian, writing about the browsing habits of Bororo herds in Cameroon, noticed that ‘foraging is so selective that at the end of the season the animals are in the grass up to their bellies’ (Brouwers, 1963, quoted in Boutrais, 1995, p. 281).
This does not stop them from purchasing Azawak cows when necessary, developing new Bororo lineages from them by systematically cross-breeding the females with top-quality Bororo bulls.
In conditions of relative prosperity, herders have been known to indulge the passion for refined milk degustation, to the point of exclusively drinking the milk of particular lineages (cf. Bocquené, 1986, p. 40).
Cattle who have fed on certain plants are said by their herders to produce a milk with characteristic bad smells (for example, pottalhi/Crotalaria podocarpa) or unpleasant tastes (for example, gajalol/Panicum turgidum). In contrast, after foraging on nyaanyataare (Peristrophe bicalyculata) or ndiriiri (Sporobolus festivus), milk is known to take on a characteristic good taste. Grazing on tuppere (Tribulus terrestris), particularly after its early stage of development, makes milk watery and low in fat, while grazing on nguDe-nguDeeri (Dactyloctenium aegyptiacum), saraho (Aristida gracilis) or (Gynandropsis gynandra) makes it thick and rich (Bonfiglioli, 1981).
The Gabbra/Boran in Kenya train camels by providing them with cuttings when they are still very young: ‘Animals will feed on what you taught them. Camel calves [for example], before they are being released with the larger herd, they are being fed at home. So when they are released to the field, they will go for the place that you taught them while they were in the enclosure. If you feed them on the other grass, they will look for that once they are released. If you feed them on leaves, they will look for leaves’ (contribution of Molu Kulu Galgalo, Kenya, The University of the Bush, 23–27 March 2009, organised by DFID Democracy Growth and Peace for Pastoralists project, supported by the Oromia Pastoralists Association, Oromia State, Ethiopia).
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Krätli, S., Schareika, N. Living Off Uncertainty: The Intelligent Animal Production of Dryland Pastoralists. Eur J Dev Res 22, 605–622 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1057/ejdr.2010.41
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/ejdr.2010.41