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 – FERDI, Head of the Chair "Agricultural modernization policies in Africa"

Speakers

↪ Ms. Catherine Araujo Bonjean – CNRS, CERDI, Scientific Advisor to the Chair "Agricultural modernization policies in Africa"

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

↪ Mr. Bernard Bonnet – IRAM

• 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 – 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 – COFENABEVI

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

↪ Mr. Alfa Tidjani Aboubacar – ANOPER Benin

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