Peste des petits ruminants

Small ruminants in the South

Small ruminants are an integral part of the lives of the most disadvantaged populations in numerous countries in the South.

They often are the sole resource available to farmers in areas unsuitable for other types of farming, and to impoverished rural migrants living in urban and peri-urban areas. Small ruminants are less demanding and cheaper to buy and maintain than cattle, and can survive on the sparse pastures of arid and semi-arid regions, sometimes supplemented with harvest by-products and food residues (vegetable peels, bran, meal scraps...).

Goats are called “the poor man's cow”.

  • By providing milk and meat for immediate home consumption, they provide families food security and meet their animal protein needs, particularly those of vulnerable individuals such as children, the elderly, and pregnant women.

  • They also produce wool and hides.

  • Their manure contributes greatly to organic soil enrichment.

The majority of small ruminants are kept in rural villages and are raised in extensive production systems based on traditional agro-pastoral practices which rely on shepherds and herds moving to find water, pasture land, and salt cure areas. In Sahelian countries, they represent 30 to 40% of ruminant production.

Fundamental

The movement of animals through nomadism and transhumance is today a risk factor in the spread of animal diseases.

PreviousPreviousNextNext
HomepageHomepagePrintPrint CIRAD CMAEE-FVI - 2016 Attribution – Non commercial - No Derivative WorkCreated with Scenari (new window)