Herders' perceptions, practice, and problems of night grazing in the Sahel: Case studies from Niger

A survey was conducted from February to June of 1997 among livestock herders in two villages of Niger, Kodey and Toukounous, on their perceptions, practice, and problems of night grazing. Cattle and sheep were the species that were taken out for night grazing by the herders. Small herd size and labo...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Ayantunde, Augustine A., Williams, Timothy O., Udo, H.M.J., Fernández Rivera, S., Hiernaux, Pierre H.Y., Keulen, H. van
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2000
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/28672
_version_ 1855540391006175232
author Ayantunde, Augustine A.
Williams, Timothy O.
Udo, H.M.J.
Fernández Rivera, S.
Hiernaux, Pierre H.Y.
Keulen, H. van
author_browse Ayantunde, Augustine A.
Fernández Rivera, S.
Hiernaux, Pierre H.Y.
Keulen, H. van
Udo, H.M.J.
Williams, Timothy O.
author_facet Ayantunde, Augustine A.
Williams, Timothy O.
Udo, H.M.J.
Fernández Rivera, S.
Hiernaux, Pierre H.Y.
Keulen, H. van
author_sort Ayantunde, Augustine A.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description A survey was conducted from February to June of 1997 among livestock herders in two villages of Niger, Kodey and Toukounous, on their perceptions, practice, and problems of night grazing. Cattle and sheep were the species that were taken out for night grazing by the herders. Small herd size and labour constraints were mentioned as the principal reasons for not practicing night grazing. Major benefits of night grazing included good body condition, herd growth, increased milk production, prevention of diseases, and reduction in herd mortality. Insecurity, difficulty in staying awake at night, labour constraints, and damage to crops by animals were given as problems of night grazing. According to the herders, grazing time (duration) during the day and night was shorter in the wet season than in the dry season. In the wet season animals were herded (followed and closely supervised by herders), whereas in the dry season, animals were mostly left to range freely in both villages. In general, children herded the animals during the day, while adults were responsible for night-time herding. Herders' perceptions on night grazing as regards animal production parameters such as weight development, water consumption, fecal output and feeding behaviour are consistent with available experimental results. Therefore, future technical research needs to recognize the constraints faced by herders and determine how to overcome them to improve technical and economic efficiency.
format Journal Article
id CGSpace28672
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2000
publishDateRange 2000
publishDateSort 2000
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace286722025-12-02T10:59:51Z Herders' perceptions, practice, and problems of night grazing in the Sahel: Case studies from Niger Ayantunde, Augustine A. Williams, Timothy O. Udo, H.M.J. Fernández Rivera, S. Hiernaux, Pierre H.Y. Keulen, H. van herds livestock management grazing systems animal performance milk production growth rate mortality feeding habits agricultural development sheep cattle A survey was conducted from February to June of 1997 among livestock herders in two villages of Niger, Kodey and Toukounous, on their perceptions, practice, and problems of night grazing. Cattle and sheep were the species that were taken out for night grazing by the herders. Small herd size and labour constraints were mentioned as the principal reasons for not practicing night grazing. Major benefits of night grazing included good body condition, herd growth, increased milk production, prevention of diseases, and reduction in herd mortality. Insecurity, difficulty in staying awake at night, labour constraints, and damage to crops by animals were given as problems of night grazing. According to the herders, grazing time (duration) during the day and night was shorter in the wet season than in the dry season. In the wet season animals were herded (followed and closely supervised by herders), whereas in the dry season, animals were mostly left to range freely in both villages. In general, children herded the animals during the day, while adults were responsible for night-time herding. Herders' perceptions on night grazing as regards animal production parameters such as weight development, water consumption, fecal output and feeding behaviour are consistent with available experimental results. Therefore, future technical research needs to recognize the constraints faced by herders and determine how to overcome them to improve technical and economic efficiency. 2000 2013-05-06T07:01:08Z 2013-05-06T07:01:08Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/28672 en Limited Access Human Ecology;28(1): 109-130
spellingShingle herds
livestock management
grazing systems
animal performance
milk production
growth rate
mortality
feeding habits
agricultural development
sheep
cattle
Ayantunde, Augustine A.
Williams, Timothy O.
Udo, H.M.J.
Fernández Rivera, S.
Hiernaux, Pierre H.Y.
Keulen, H. van
Herders' perceptions, practice, and problems of night grazing in the Sahel: Case studies from Niger
title Herders' perceptions, practice, and problems of night grazing in the Sahel: Case studies from Niger
title_full Herders' perceptions, practice, and problems of night grazing in the Sahel: Case studies from Niger
title_fullStr Herders' perceptions, practice, and problems of night grazing in the Sahel: Case studies from Niger
title_full_unstemmed Herders' perceptions, practice, and problems of night grazing in the Sahel: Case studies from Niger
title_short Herders' perceptions, practice, and problems of night grazing in the Sahel: Case studies from Niger
title_sort herders perceptions practice and problems of night grazing in the sahel case studies from niger
topic herds
livestock management
grazing systems
animal performance
milk production
growth rate
mortality
feeding habits
agricultural development
sheep
cattle
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/28672
work_keys_str_mv AT ayantundeaugustinea herdersperceptionspracticeandproblemsofnightgrazinginthesahelcasestudiesfromniger
AT williamstimothyo herdersperceptionspracticeandproblemsofnightgrazinginthesahelcasestudiesfromniger
AT udohmj herdersperceptionspracticeandproblemsofnightgrazinginthesahelcasestudiesfromniger
AT fernandezriveras herdersperceptionspracticeandproblemsofnightgrazinginthesahelcasestudiesfromniger
AT hiernauxpierrehy herdersperceptionspracticeandproblemsofnightgrazinginthesahelcasestudiesfromniger
AT keulenhvan herdersperceptionspracticeandproblemsofnightgrazinginthesahelcasestudiesfromniger