Abstract
With an area estimated to 3.053 million km2, the Sahel has a quickly growing population. According to CILSS, there will be 100 million people in the region by 2020 and 200 million by 2050, almost four times the current population. The region, frequently struck by drought and food insecurity, is one of the areas most severely affected by global climate change in the coming years. With up to 80% of its people living on less than $2 a day, poverty is more widespread in the Sahel than in most other parts of Africa. Sheep farming is very important for the Sahel countries. It does not require a high input at its beginning, so even women and children are involved in small ruminant raising. They provide food and play important socioeconomic factors. However, productivity of livestock including the one of sheep is low. Nutrition is the most important constraint in sheep farming especially during the dry season when both availability and quality of forages are low. The most complex and limiting production factors in sheep farming for the Sahel countries are those concerning nutrition and feed supplies. The objective of this review chapter was to describe the major nutritional constraints to sheep farming systems in the Sahel countries and explore ways of overcoming the most important constraints for efficient and sustainable sheep feeding. Issues addressed in this review include causes of undernutrition and environmental implications, adaptation by sheep to it, and manipulative strategies to cope with feed scarcity in smallholder sheep farming systems.
Highlights
Sheep farming is very important for the Sahel countries
The objective of this chapter is to review the major nutritional aspects of sheep farming in the Sahel countries of Africa. It includes a deep review of the sheep farming systems, exploring ways of overcoming the most important constraints for efficient and sustainable sheep feeding based on my own experience, and the available literature
For the net energy value, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) of France is recommending the use of forage unit for lactation (UFL) for maintenance, lactation, and animals of medium growth rate and forage unit for meat production (UFV) for fattening lambs and cattle having an average daily gain greater than 750 g/day
Summary
Sheep farming is very important for the Sahel countries. It is a popular activity in which even women and children who are the lowest income owner are involved. It includes a deep review of the sheep farming systems, exploring ways of overcoming the most important constraints for efficient and sustainable sheep feeding based on my own experience, and the available literature. The Sahel from its original Arabic name means “flat land.” It includes a band of Africa indicating a floristic and climatic transition between the Sahara in the North and the Sudan savannah in the South in which rainfalls are important. Rainfalls from 200 mm in the North to 600 mm to the South are the limits of the Sahel zone in Africa [3] This area is characterized with a monomodal distribution of rainfalls that occurs randomly in 90 to 120 days and a long dry season of 8 to 9 months [4].
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