Mapping Seasonal Livestock Trade Movements in West Africa

Keywords: livestock, livestock trade, West Africa, seasonality, Sahel
Abstract Type: Poster Abstract

Abstract

Livestock trade is an important economic activity in West Africa, a region where approximately half of the population owns livestock. For both production and trade, livestock travel long distances and cross multiple borders. The spatial and temporal patterns of these movements have been examined previously in the literature. Seasonal patterns of small ruminant sales around Tabaski have been observed, whereas cattle patterns were based on the wet or dry season. In Mauritania more cattle sales were observed in the dry season, while in Cameroon more sales were reported during the wet season. However, seasonal patterns of livestock movements have not been explored quantitatively for cross-border livestock trade movements. The goal of this poster is to contribute to filling this gap, by exploring the seasonal patterns of small ruminant and cattle trade movements at the regional level and for each destination country (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria and Togo). We are particularly interested in understanding if cattle sales are higher during the wet or dry season and if there is a relationship between small ruminant and cattle sales. The study leverages a panel dataset of 9 years of livestock trade movements through 13 markets from the Permanent Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS). CILSS tracks the movement and direction of livestock trade for selected corridors and this dataset contains a total of 62,866 recorded movements between 2009 and 2017. This exploratory work will inform future formal network analyses of cattle trade movements across the region.