Pastoralists most at risk in current food crisis

4 August 2005

TARKA, Niger – Niger’s food crisis threatens to have a devastating long-term impact on cattle breeders, according to leading international aid agency CARE International. Even as relief reaches hungry people, these cattle breeders, a crucial part of the local economy, are watching their herds starve.

Herders, with a long and proud tradition of independence in this landlocked West African nation, are losing their source of income and food, as their cattle die or as they are forced to sell them off at a fraction of their real value.

Speaking about the plight of these pastoralists, so called because they graze their cattle on pasture, Marie Monimart, CARE International programme manager in the Tarka region says: “We have heard of desperate behaviour, like pastoralists committing suicide after the death of their last animal. What is most shocking is that these pastoralists are well known for their expertise in cattle rearing but now that their animals are starving and too weak to move, you see them wandering aimlessly, in a daze, not knowing what to do or where to go.”

The loss of their animals has both practical and social implications for these nomadic tribes. On a practical level, they are deprived of their most immediate source of income and thus make a quick descent into the poverty trap. “A pastoralist without his animals is useless; apart from the hunger, he also loses his dignity,” says Monimart, adding that when herders lose their animals, they are forced to go to the city, beg for money or become shepherds.

To make matters worse, the market value of cattle continues to plummet. Desperate pastoralists sell their starving cows for £5 to £8 to middlemen.  But profiteers can sell the smoked meat from a slaughtered cow for up to £105 in nearby Nigeria.

In addition to food aid to the people of Tarka, CARE International is distributing cattle feed -- 180 tons so far -- to protect the pastoralist’s assets and source of income.
“The situation in most of Niger is already critical but this is precisely why we must focus our attention on preventing long-term damage and on preserving the assets of the most vulnerable,” says Amadou Sayo, Acting Country Director for CARE International in Niger. “The pastoralists depend on their animals for subsistence and their identity is also tied to them. Food aid must be targeted to meet the specific needs of each segment of the population.” 

CARE has been in Niger since 1974 and has focused much of its work in building the capacity of households and communities to avert and manage periodic food crisis. The villages where CARE has implemented long-term programmes have been less affected by the famine because they are better prepared to cope with this extra stress on them. Nevertheless, the scale of the current crisis has overwhelmed many farmers and pastoralists who must now sell their livestock in order to survive.

CARE is responding extensively to the current food security crisis, reaching 143,000 people with food aid in the Tarka region alone, and launching a programme aimed at reducing malnutrition among 28,000 children and 17,000 women.

As part of the Disasters Emergency Committee, CARE International UK is seeking funds for our urgent relief programmes, including food procurement, distribution, therapeutic feeding, and work to protect and rebuild ways of making a living.  Now and in the coming 18 months, CARE’s goal is to ensure that around 850,000 people have enough food in the hardest-hit districts of Tahoua, Maradi, Diffa, Zinder and Tillabéri.

About CARE International:  
CARE International is a global humanitarian organisation working with over 45 million disadvantaged people in 70 of the world's poorest countries. With 60 years experience of delivering emergency aid, CARE can respond quickly anywhere in the world, focusing on the needs of the most vulnerable. To find out more about how CARE is working in Niger and across the world visit www.careinternational.org.uk

About the DEC: The Disasters Emergency Committee is made up of the UK’s leading international development and relief charities.  Those involved in the Niger Crisis Appeal are: ActionAid, British Red Cross, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern, Islamic Relief, Oxfam, Save the Children, Tearfund and World Vision.
Donations to the DEC Niger Crisis Appeal can be made at: www.dec.org.uk, by phoning the Disasters Emergency Committee on 0870 60 60 900 or by going into any high street post office or bank.

For further information or interviews with spokepeople, please contact:
Amber Meikle, , 0207 934 9348