The IEPC is property of the Mauritania Government. If you want to consult this study, please contact the Secretariat secretariat-guide@alive-online.org.
You find here some extracts of the IEPC to illustrate the Method used.
The Method focuses first on the identification and the typology of farming and livestock systems. This step is detailed after. The Method analyses the organization of the farm and its members, and not, like in classic sectorial analysis, on animal and their technical performances. The comprehension of the functioning of these systems, of their assets and constraints, allow then to make a poverty diagnosis for each one and to formulate concrete development proposal.
« The farming system is the combination of productions and production factors (land capital, work and farming capital) in the farm. » « A livestock system is a set of elements in dynamic interaction, organised by men to give value to resources thanks to domestic animals, to obtain various productions (milk, meat, hides and skin, draught power, manure) or to answer to other objectives.» Translation of an extract from: Les projets de développement agricole. Manuel d’expertise », Editions Karthala et CTA, Marc Dufumier, 1996, 354 pp.
Typology of farming systems The typology established is based on 5 main factors (animal mobility, household mobility, level of intensification of livestock systems and link with agriculture, animal property, principal livestock breeding) and 2 characterisation factors (agricultural activity and zone).
Poverty and vulnerability The quantitative and qualitative analysis of representatives models of the different farming and livestock systems allows to evaluate households poverty and vulnerability in each type. In this analysis, poverty in the livestock sector has been evaluated in terms of "vulnerability". Indeed this concept allows to add to the actual situation the notion of future risks.
Four types of vulnerability have been considered as key factors: (i) the financial vulnerability of these production systems (the financial vulnerability is estimated by the average revenue produce by the household, home consumption included), (ii) their vulnerability in terms of sustainable access to, and use of, grazing resources and water, and in relation to droughts, (iii) the vulnerability of households in terms of their access to basic social services, (iv) vulnerability of livestock socio-economic groups (vulnerability of livestock professions).
Potential for improvement The identification of major constraints in each farming systems and technical improvements that could be provided have allowed to estimate the potential for improvement.
