New article by Jon Pedersen and Tor Arve Benjaminsen
WebmasterOne Leg or Two? Food Security and Pastoralism in the Northern Sahel. In: Human ecology 36(1): 43-57
Abstract
Should pastoralists in dryland Africa diversify or specialize in their productive activities? To investigate this question, we analyze data from a consumption survey and two surveys of the nutritional status of children in addition to qualitative interviews comparing nomadic and sedentary population groups in the Gourma area in northern Mali. We show how the children of pastoralists seem to be better nourished than children of sedentary farmers and that the children of the sedentarized nomads seem to be the worst off. Based on these findings, we first argue that sedentary farming appears to be a poorer adaptation than nomadic pastoralism in arid environments such as the northern Sahel. Secondly, we argue that the diversification argument (better to stand on two legs than one) is flawed for mobile pastoralists in the northern Sahel because the logistical and organizational costs of combining different modes of livelihood are large and easily become insurmountable for a single household.
Updated: 30.01.08
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Phone: +47 64 96 52 00
Fax: +47 64 96 52 01
E-mail: noragric@umb.no
Postal address:
Noragric, Norwegian University of Life Sciences
P.O. Box 5003
NO-1432 Aas
Norway
Visiting/delivery address:
Universitetstunet 1 (Tivoli)
NO-1432 Ås