Investigating criteria for valuation of forage resources by local agro-pastoralists in West Africa: using quantitative ethnoecological approach

John-Baptist S N Naah

doi:10.1186/s13002-018-0261-4

John-Baptist S N Naah

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-018-0261-4

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Abstract

BackgroundThis paper provides an insightful quantitative ethnoecological analysis and affirms that agro-pastoralists have a multiplicity of criteria for valuating their natural forage resources. Rural households in West Africa are not only confronted with water resource scarcity but also have to cope with limited forage resources to feed livestock in both wet and dry seasons based on local knowledge. Local agro-pastoral social-ecological systems (SESs) in the study areas stem from the daily utilization of available forage resources by dominant domestic livestock (cattle, goats, and sheep) over the years. However, there is very little systematic knowledge documentation on forage-related valuation criteria in this part of the world. Hence, this study aimed at examining (1) forage resources used for different seasons and livestock types, (2) explicit forage-related valuation criteria and associated salience, and (3) effects of socio-demographic and climatic aridity on local valuation criteria.MethodsTo address these aims, a total of 526 individual ethnoecological interviews (encompassing Dagbani, Gurunsi, and Mossi ethnic groups) were conducted in 16 villages coupled with vegetation sampling of 144 plots in Ghana and Burkina Faso. Rigorous model selection, generalized linear mixed-effects models, cognitive salience indices, and descriptive statistics were applied.ResultsThe results revealed that majority (73%) of the agro-pastoralists regarded herbaceous forage plants to be very palatable for livestock consumption in the rainy season and for cattle while woody vegetation and crop-related forage plants were rather perceived to be more important in the dry season and for goats and sheep. The findings also indicated that climatic aridity significantly influenced the number of forage-related valuation criteria cited by agro-pastoralists for different seasonal and livestock types (p < 0.001). It was also found out that agro-pastoralists did not only judge forage plants based on their availability but also on other criteria such as palatability, stimulation of milk production, and healthy growth of livestock.ConclusionLocal agro-pastoralists’ knowledge on natural forage resources and their valuation criteria is geared towards sustainable domestic livestock production. This study is thus interesting and crucially important for fellow scientists, policy-makers, and other stakeholders in the agricultural production sector in local farming landscapes within West Africa and beyond.

Highlights

This paper provides an insightful quantitative ethnoecological analysis and affirms that agro-pastoralists have a multiplicity of criteria for valuating their natural forage resources
Based on the seasonal ranking, the findings revealed that 73% of local agro-pastoralists ranked herbaceous plants as most palatable for feeding domestic livestock in the rainy season as compared to 27% of them who ranked crops and woody vegetation as most palatable for their livestock in the same season (Fig. 4a)
A similar study done in the semi-arid region of northwestern Brazil by Nunes et al [48] reported that local agro-pastoralists cited more herbaceous forage species for the rainy season than for the dry season while vice versa was true for the citation of woody forage species by local agro-pastoralists, indicating how climatic factors modulate forage quality and quantity

Summary

Introduction

This paper provides an insightful quantitative ethnoecological analysis and affirms that agro-pastoralists have a multiplicity of criteria for valuating their natural forage resources. The world’s drylands constitute approximately 41.3% of the terrestrial landmass of our planet [1], which support more than two billion people (one third of humanity) and 90% of whom live in developing countries [2]. These global drylands have expanded in the last six decades and will continue to expand in this twenty-first century under a warming climate [3]. The high degree of inter- and intra-annual rainfall variability in this region causes highly variable forage quality and quantity and seriously limits other ecosystem provisioning services [1, 8, 9] and aggravates the living conditions of the vulnerable rural poor [10]

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