346
G. A. Manful and Y. Opoku-Ankomah
Dawadawa (Parkia biglobosa) and Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) (Poudyal 2009). There
is heavy dependence on the inherent fertility of the soil due to low fertilizer application, both in terms of quantity per hectare and frequency of application. In addition,
pressure on agricultural lands has reduced fallow periods and therefore decreased
the quality of soil fertility.
5.2 Climate Impacts on Livestock-Rearing and Adaptation
Strategies
The livestock sector remains a major contributor to both rural livelihoods and the
national economies of all six Volta Basin countries, particularly in the savannah
ecological zones and semi-arid regions, where the predominant livestock is cattle,
sheep, goats, pigs, fowls and guinea fowls (UNFCCC 2011, 2015a, b, c, 2017, 2018).
It is estimated that at least 100 million poor people in West Africa rely on livestock as
part of their livelihood. In the Sahelian zone, livestock production accounts for about
30% of revenue from the agriculture sector. For both crop farmers and pastoralists,
livestock serves as a productive asset to generate income, and contribute to increasing
food security in the basin. Repeated droughts in the Sahel has led to the adoption of
agro-pastoralism—a combination of crop farming and livestock rearing on the same
farm—by pastoralists who were once solely dependent on livestock. Similarly, crop
farmers have diversified into rearing livestock due to repeated crop failure associated
with droughts (Thornton et al. 2014).
For both crop farmers and pastoralists, livestock rearing generates income,
contributing a key element of food security in the basin, because this diversification
is an effective adaptation strategy to increased prevalence of droughts and warming
temperatures (Thornton et al. 2014; Turner et al. 2014; Rosenstock et al. 2016).
Livestock contributes significantly to satisfying household needs, and constitutes
the second-largest export commodity for countries such as Mali and Burkina Faso
(FAO and ECOWAS 2017). Livestock rearing stabilizes the socioeconomic capability
of households by providing reliable income in times when prices of crops are low due
to a bumper harvest. The predominant livestock reared by farmers is cattle, sheep,
goats, pigs and fowl. In Burkina Faso, animal husbandry, like crop production, is an
important element of the farming system in all the regions of the country. In 2011,
the animal population in the West African region was estimated at 283 million head,
comprising 63,128,047 cattle, 7,492,551 sheep, 130,446,369 goats, 11,225,235 pigs
and 2,895,861 camels (FAO and ECOWAS 2017).
Strategies to enhance livestock-based livelihoods include the implementation of
management practices suited to drought and warming temperatures; introduction
and support of animal species and breeds able to adapt to drought and warming
temperatures and associated synergies and trade-offs, and policy and institutional
mechanisms to enhance adaptation of livestock production systems (Zougmoré et al.
2016).
G. A. Manful and Y. Opoku-Ankomah
Dawadawa (Parkia biglobosa) and Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) (Poudyal 2009). There
is heavy dependence on the inherent fertility of the soil due to low fertilizer application, both in terms of quantity per hectare and frequency of application. In addition,
pressure on agricultural lands has reduced fallow periods and therefore decreased
the quality of soil fertility.
5.2 Climate Impacts on Livestock-Rearing and Adaptation
Strategies
The livestock sector remains a major contributor to both rural livelihoods and the
national economies of all six Volta Basin countries, particularly in the savannah
ecological zones and semi-arid regions, where the predominant livestock is cattle,
sheep, goats, pigs, fowls and guinea fowls (UNFCCC 2011, 2015a, b, c, 2017, 2018).
It is estimated that at least 100 million poor people in West Africa rely on livestock as
part of their livelihood. In the Sahelian zone, livestock production accounts for about
30% of revenue from the agriculture sector. For both crop farmers and pastoralists,
livestock serves as a productive asset to generate income, and contribute to increasing
food security in the basin. Repeated droughts in the Sahel has led to the adoption of
agro-pastoralism—a combination of crop farming and livestock rearing on the same
farm—by pastoralists who were once solely dependent on livestock. Similarly, crop
farmers have diversified into rearing livestock due to repeated crop failure associated
with droughts (Thornton et al. 2014).
For both crop farmers and pastoralists, livestock rearing generates income,
contributing a key element of food security in the basin, because this diversification
is an effective adaptation strategy to increased prevalence of droughts and warming
temperatures (Thornton et al. 2014; Turner et al. 2014; Rosenstock et al. 2016).
Livestock contributes significantly to satisfying household needs, and constitutes
the second-largest export commodity for countries such as Mali and Burkina Faso
(FAO and ECOWAS 2017). Livestock rearing stabilizes the socioeconomic capability
of households by providing reliable income in times when prices of crops are low due
to a bumper harvest. The predominant livestock reared by farmers is cattle, sheep,
goats, pigs and fowl. In Burkina Faso, animal husbandry, like crop production, is an
important element of the farming system in all the regions of the country. In 2011,
the animal population in the West African region was estimated at 283 million head,
comprising 63,128,047 cattle, 7,492,551 sheep, 130,446,369 goats, 11,225,235 pigs
and 2,895,861 camels (FAO and ECOWAS 2017).
Strategies to enhance livestock-based livelihoods include the implementation of
management practices suited to drought and warming temperatures; introduction
and support of animal species and breeds able to adapt to drought and warming
temperatures and associated synergies and trade-offs, and policy and institutional
mechanisms to enhance adaptation of livestock production systems (Zougmoré et al.
2016).