Woody fodder uses and pastoral practices in the rural community of Tessekere, Ferlo, Northern Senegal

Abstract

The rural community of Téssékéré is 97% Peul with extensive livestock farming as its main activity. Transhumance is practiced in this area over small or long distances depending on the availability of fodder. Surveys conducted among local herders have made it possible to identify their pastoral practices and to collect their perception of the current state of the vegetation and its evolution, and the factors responsible for this state. Trees are used in this community for food (94.3%), feed (94.3%), pharmacopeia (82.8%), and domestic uses such as firewood (28.6%) and timber (37.14%). In order to access the different parts of the trees, farmers often practice cutting or pruning. The most used species are Balanites aegyptiaca (14.3% to 88.6%), Calotropis procera (14.3% to 28.6%), Sclerocarya birrea (8.6% to 25.7%), Adansonia digitata (8.6% to 20%) depending on the area and the needs. The majority of herders (51.4%), now aware of the impact of these practices on the woody stands, have given up cutting and instead lower branches to feed their livestock.