PhD Defense: Alioune Ndiaye

Inégalités de revenus et stratégies d’adaptation aux chocs dans les systèmes pastoraux du Sénégal et du Tchad

Jury

Catherine Araujo-Bonjean, Researcher, CNRS-Université Clermont Auvergne
Guillaume Duteurtre, Researcher, CIRAD – SELMET
Abdrahmane Wane, Researcher, CIRAD - SELMET
Catherine Benjamin, Professor, Université Rennes 1
Mbaye Diene, Professor, Université Cheikh Anta Diop
Isabelle Baltenweck, Program Leader, ILRI
Pascale Phelinas, Research Director, IRD

Abstract

In Sahelian countries, pastoralism is the main income-generating activity for rural households. This activity takes place in a context of opportunities and risks. In terms of opportunities, projections show an increase in demand for meat and milk in developing countries due to population growth and rapid urbanisation. However, pastoral activity takes place in a context of exposure to various shocks, the most significant of which are climatic. This situation raises the issue of the vulnerability of pastoral households to growing inequalities in terms of both income and livestock assets. High levels of inequality combined with persistent poverty can reduce the resilience of pastoral households to climatic crises or other shocks. This thesis is set in such a context to better understand the dynamics within pastoral systems with regard to increasing inequality, climate variability and exposure to shocks. To this end, we distinguish two parts: the first is dedicated to the analysis of income inequalities, and the second focuses on coping strategies in the face of various shocks.

The first part focuses on the analysis of income inequalities in the pastoral environment in Senegal and the role of diversification of income sources. Chapter 1 shows the importance of income inequalities within pastoralist households, which are of the order of 0.509 in relation to overall income. When decomposed by income source, sales from cattle appear to be the most inequality generating. In contrast, self-consumption and income from sales of small ruminants tend to reduce inequality, showing their role in the economy of the most vulnerable households. Chapter 2 extends the first chapter on inequality by drawing on a broader database of PRAPS respondents. This chapter examines the impact of activity diversification on income levels and the generation of inequalities. The results show a positive effect of diversification of income sources on the welfare of pastoralist households, benefiting more the less livestock-rich households. The decomposition of inequalities by income source highlighted the potential of diversification activities to reduce inequalities in pastoralist households.

The second part of the thesis focuses on coping strategies in the face of shocks. Chapter 3 measures the economic impacts of climate change in pastoral systems in Senegal. The results of the Ricardian approach show that pastoral activity is very sensitive to climatic conditions, with a non-linear relationship between pastoral income and rainfall and temperature variables. In addition, climatic conditions influence the choice of animal species with the adoption of small ruminants to the detriment of cattle. Climate change simulations show losses in pastoral income of around 47% in the long term in a pessimistic scenario. Chapter 4 places pastoralism in the context of exposure to various shocks in Sahelian pastoral systems. The results show that most pastoral households in Chad have been affected by several shocks over the past period, with small-scale pastoralists more affected by market and climatic shocks than large-scale pastoralists, who are mainly affected by animal diseases. Differences appear in the strategies adopted according to the shocks, even if mobility, with increased and more frequent movements, remains the main strategy. Considering the categories, pastoral households resort more to mobility strategies and adoption of resilient animal species compared to agro-pastoral households relying much more on diversification of income sources.

Keywords

Pastoralism, inequality, shocks, climate change, diversification, vulnerability, Senegal, Chad, Sahel.

theses.fr/en/s181734