Comment se construit l'invisibilité des populations pastorales au Sahel: L'expérience de la crise alimentaire de 2005 au Niger

Abstract

In the Sahel, the information systems built and improved since the 1980s have not allowed development policies and emergency actions to take into account some specific traits of the pastoral populations. This inadequacy goes back to historical background and partly addresses the limitations of the information systems, the lack of means or the weak coordination within and between national and regional politics. The administration struggles to cope with the common management of natural resources and the mobility of herds. Empirically grounded on a fieldwork following the 2005 food crisis in Niger and on 15 years of field enquiries in the Sahel, this article intends to demonstrate how pastoral populations have become "invisible". On the one hand, the underpinning schemes in the information systems do not help the policies managing the specific traits at the core of the reproduction of the pastoral systems. On the other hand, the pastoral population's avoidance strategy, which has historically allowed them to escape from pressure exerted by the administration, currently hinders their ability to influence fundamental debates within their countries. The singular case of pastoralism should raise awareness of multidisciplinary research and politics concerned with the sustainable management of space, resources and living within a world confronted with deep economic and climate changes.