2025 Livestock Summit: Can West Africa’s Beef Value Chain Function Without Transhumance?

What Future for the Beef Value Chain in West Africa?

From transhumant livestock in the Sahel to consumer markets in coastal countries, the beef value chain plays a key role in structuring economic exchanges across West Africa. But insecurity, land pressures, and growing trends toward sedentarization are challenging this traditional system.

Can countries in the region do without mobile breeding systems? Should livestock be relocated closer to consumption areas, or should animals be slaughtered nearer to production zones? How can cross-border trade be secured and distance-related costs reduced?

These questions will be at the heart of a roundtable discussion bringing together economists, sociologists, animal production specialists, and representatives of professional and interprofessional organizations.

Moderator

 ↪ Mr. Jean-Marc Gravellini – Head of the FERDI Chair "Agricultural modernization policies in Africa" 

Speakers

↪ Ms. Catherine Araujo Bonjean –  CNRS researcher at CERDI-UCA, Scientific Advisor to the FERDI Chair on Agricultural Modernization Policies in Africa 

• Economic analysis of the spatial distribution of activities within the regional beef value chain.

↪ Mr. Bernard Bonnet – Program Manager at IRAM, Actors, Resources, and Territories Division 

• Discussion on the comparative advantages of Sahelian countries: availability of pastoral resources, land accessibility, forage production, and species adapted to local conditions.

↪ Mr. Bio Goura Soulé – Professor-Researcher and technical assistant for livestock farming and pastoralism for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) 

• Presentation of the vision shared by key public and private stakeholders regarding the development of livestock and mobile livestock systems across West Africa.

↪ Mr. El Hadj Sawadogo Issaka – Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Confederation of National Federations of the Livestock and Meat Sectors of West Africa (COFENABEVII) 

• COFENABEVI’s actions to improve the governance of regional trade in Sahelian cattle destined for coastal cities.

↪ Mr. Alfa Tidjani Aboubacar –  President of the National Association of Professional Organizations of Ruminant Breeders (ANOPER) of Benin 

• Example of the Gogounou livestock market: how to reduce exchange costs through better governance of livestock markets.