Prospects for the development of cattle production on mixed farms in the pastoral zone of Niger : a summary

This paper, addressing this issue, is based on results of a survey conducted in 1976/77 among 45 households in the Asawak region of Niger. The sample covered three populations: Haussa farmers and traders; Taureg traders and wage laborers; and semi-nomadic Taureg. Focusing on the latter group, a linear programming model of grain and livestock production is formulated. The analysis suggests that with the constraints imposed by consumption requirements and labor availability, semi-nomadic Tuareg are currently producing at optimal or near optimal levels, as determined by value-maximizing behavior. Sensitivity analyses indicate that marginal changes in technologies and prices will have only a minor impact on the desirability of cattle production and are unlikely to reduce the area planted to grain. Structural reforms in grain markets and property law are required to induce a shift into cattle production by any of the populations covered by the survey. (Author abstract, modified.)