The Seed Grant Program for West Africa

Building a foundation for long-term investment

Sarah Lupis, Livestock-Climate Change CRSP PB-07-2011
Adapting Livestock Systems to Climate Change Collaborative Research Support Program

SEPTEMBER 2011

Program Brief

Livestock production and agriculture are critical to the economy of West Africa and the livelihoods of those that live there. Dryland regions of West Africa are especially vulnerable to climate changeinduced drought, flooding, and other weather extremes. In the region, the poverty rate has declined only slightly from 60% in 1990 to 54% in 2004. In 2015, there are likely to be more poor people than in 1990. Poor people have fewer resources to adapt to climate change and are generally considered especially vulnerable to these impacts. In West Africa, the Livestock-Climate The Seed Grant Program for Africa Change CRSP intends to focus primarily supports for three, one-year projects in on livestock systems in Mali and Senegal. Mali, Senegal and Niger. Mali and Senegal Mali and Senegal are focus countries are part of USAIDs Feed the Future under the Feed the Future initiative. initiative. Another project addresses climate change adaptation in Niger, but will be discontinued after 2011. The LCC CRSP Seed Grant Program funded several one-year projects designed to lay the foundation for a longer-term research program. The 2010 Seed Grant cohort includes: Six U.S. university partners (lead and cooperating institutions); Two international universities; and A total of 11 U.S. and international aid, development, and research organizations, and government agencies.

Adapting Livestock Systems to Climate Change Collaborative Research Support Program Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1644 PH: 970.297.5060 FX: 970.297.4321 Email: csucrsp@colostate.edu www.LCCCRSP.org

Current Seed Grant Program projects include: La Gestion des Systmes Fluviaux pour lAvenir/Management of River Systems for the Future (GSFA/RIVERS) John McPeak, Syracuse University Riverine systems in arid and semi-arid lands serve as key resources that support livestock and crop production. For herders, rivers flowing through drylands are critical for producing dry season grazing reserves and essential sources of permanent water. For cultivators, the waters allow cultivation both though recessional cultivation of floodplains and irrigated cultivation using river water. Due to increased population pressure and changing rainfall patterns in the Senegal and Niger River basins, the agricultural economy based on these riverine systems has already come under the kinds of stresses that climate models predict may become more widespread in the future. This makes study of these systems a priority, as understanding what they have already experienced will be critical in understanding likely outcomes in other similar environments. While the conversion of large areas of land to rice production is likely to be inevitable and, if done correctly, desirable, the costs imposed on livestock production systems and the conflict induced by conversion need to be managed.

Livestock and agriculture are increasingly in conflict in Mali and Senegal. The GSFA/RIVERS project is addressing this issue in the Niger and Senegal River basins (above) where livestock herders and rice cultivators are competing for limited space and resources. The TRANS project uses spatial modeling and herder interviews to identify flash-points where conflict is likely to occur along transhumance routes in Mali.

To that end, the GSFA/RIVERS project is investigating three linked questions: what has been the impact of climate change on the vegetation of riverine systems to date, what are the benefits and costs to livestock production of different methods of increasing food security though irrigated rice production, and what are the key points on transhumance corridors as identified by herders? The team is comparing vegetation maps from the 1980s with current conditions to provide a picture of vegetative change on the floodplain and in so doing, identify persistent effects of previous droughts on vegetation and document the land that has been converted to cultivation. In addition, through this process, they are identifying sites across the floodplain where bourgou (Echinochloa stagnina) seeding is most needed and has greatest likelihood of success. The team is also conducting a cost-benefit analysis of crops, livestock production, and fishing to better inform policy makers and planners about the true costs and tradeoffs involved among these systems. Finally, transhumance corridors and key water points will be mapped to identify priority areas for protection to ensure regional mobility patterns. Overall, these activities will provide a foundation for designing management options, including mechanisms that allow adaption to climate change. Transhumance, natural resources, and conflict in the Sahel: a pilot project (TRANS) Niall Hanan, South Dakota State University Pastoral and agricultural systems, and pastoral and agricultural livelihoods, are tightly coupled and interdependent in West Africa. However, conflict is on the rise between pastoralists and agriculturalists, particularly in regions where agricultural land is scarce and encroaching on traditional transhumance corridors. This 1-year pilot study is developing key methodologies for mapping the location, status and current utilization of transhumance corridors, and how they relate to changing agricultural land use. Extensive field surveys in Mali (along primary transhumance axes in the Nioro-Nara-DimaBaoul-Kita and Inland Delta regions of the administrative Regions of Koulikoro, Segou and Mopti) are being used as the basis for methodological development. Remote sensing is being used to scale to other regions of Mali and the wider Sahel. Working with an interdisciplinary team of Malian and U.S. researchers, educators and nongovernmental organizations (NGO) Hanans team is analyzing current and future constraints on pastoral livelihoods and agricultural-pastoral conflict avoidance where transhumance corridors and availability of agricultural land, together with access to water and grazing lands, constitute key resources, and key resource-based flash-points. Results from the pilot and the longer term study will provide invaluable information for natural resource managers and policy and decision makers at local, regional, and national levels. In addition, the results of this study will directly benefit the region via opportunities for preemptive intervention to reduce and avoid conflict between pastoral and agro-pastoral communities.

The RPRA project will use key informant interviews, focus groups, household interviews, and child growth and health measures to determine the effectiveness of different climate change adaptations.

Risk, perception, resilience and adaptation to climate change in Niger and Tanzania (RPRA) Sandra Russo, University of Florida Arid and semi-arid regions of the world are projected to be among those most affected by global climate change. The RPRA project investigates how populations of varying degrees of pastoralism in Niger are interpreting and responding to perceived risks of climate change, and how those reactions are affecting their vulnerability/resilience. Based on interviews with pastoral communities in Niger, the RPRA team will determine culturally appropriate livelihood strategies and adaptations for coping with impacts including land degradation, reduced access to food and water, and poor health and sanitation. International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Laboratoire dEtudes et de Recherche sur les Dynamiques Sociales et le Dveloppement Local in Niger are collaborating in this effort. Work in Niger will not be continued in order to maintain programmatic alignment with the Feed the Future initiative.

The Adapting Livestock Systems to Climate Change Collaborative Research Support Program is dedicated to catalyzing and coordinating research that improves the livelihoods of livestock producers affected by climate change by reducing vulnerability and increasing adaptive capacity.
This publication was made possible through support provided to the ALS-CC CRSP by the Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture, and Trade, U.S. Agency for International Development, under the terms of Grant No. EEM-A-00-10-00001. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Agency for International Development or the U.S. government.