Mauritania - The current economic situation and prospects of Mauritania (Vol. 2 of 4) : Livestock

RESTRICTED Sf thi' l ? 14 1 S !F {A TSS Report No. AW-27a ords report is for of ficia use only by the Bank Grour and specificaB y authorized organizations or persons. It mray not be published, quoted or citedl without Bank Group authorization. lThe I inkc Group dous not accepi rcsponsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the report. INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION rrT T17 f-TTPPD LTh.T rr LrrC T\Tj-YN\Tr CTTTT A mTr'NT AND P.ROSPECTS OF MAURITANIA (in four volunmes) VO:LUME II LIVESTOCK August 5, 1971 Western Africa Department  CURRENCY EQUIVALMNI'U Currency Unit: CFA Franc (CFAF) Before August 11, 1969: US $ 1.00 = CFAF 246.85 CFAF 1,000 - US $ 45.05 After August 11, 1969: US $ 1.00 = CFAF 277.71 CFAF 1,000 US $ 3.60 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1 Metric Ton (t) 2,205 lbs 1 Kilogram (kg) 2.2 lbs 1 Kilometer (km) - 0.62 mile 1 Meter (m) 3.28 feet  COMPOSITION OF MISSION Thia report is baaed on the findings of a mission which visited Mauritania in March-April 1970. The mission comprised the following members: Heinz B. Bachmann Chief of Mission Carlos Merayo General Economist Mohamed Moghazi Agricultural Economist Dr. M. Lacrouts (consultant) Livestock Expert Dr. R. Moal (consultant) Fisheries Expert Remi van Wa(yenberghe (cons ultant-UNESCO) Education Expert This volume was prepared by Dr. M. Lacrouts (consultant).   TABLE OF CONTENTS Page No. A. PRESENT STATIJS OF STOCKRAISING IN MAURITANIA ...... 1 I. General Observations on Stockraising ......... 1 II. The National Herd .................... 1 1. Estimation of total livestock population .............................. 1 2. Animal breeds encountered .... ........... 4 3. Comnposition of the national herd - Production .............................. 5 III. Stockbreeding in Mauritania .... .............. 6 IV. Marketing Systems ............................ 7 1. Traditional marketing ..... .............. 7 2. The problems involved in meat marketing in Kaedi ................................ 8 V. Macro-Economic Data on Stock Breeding ........ 11 1. Meat production ......................... 11 2. Uses of meat production .... ............. 12 3. Domestic consumption of meat in Mauritania .......................... 14 4. Value added by the commercial meat channel ................................. 14 5. Revenue contributed by stockbreeding .... 19 VI. Stockbreeding and the Public Sector .... ...... 21 1. Budgetary resources derived from stock- bree(ling .......... ...................... 21 2. Funds available to the livestock service 22 Il. MAIN DIFFICULTIES FACING LIVESTOCK DEVELOPMENT .... 24 1. Product:ivity of the National Herd .... ........ 24 II. The Environment ............................. 28  ftDIDL, uJr %UUL'IZAN Lk UUL1LXL1ti!Uej Page No. III. Animal Diseases ..... ........................ 31 IV. Herding (social aspect of stockraising) ..... 33 C. COMPONENTS OF A DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM .............. 34 I. General ..................................... 34 II. Control of Animal Diseases .... .............. 35 1. Situation of the livestock service ..... 36 2. Control of endemic diseases .... ........ 38 3. Control of various parasitic diseases .. 38 4. Difficulties involved in such a program 39 III. Water Development of Grazing Lands .......... 40 D. THE FUTURE OF STOCKBREEDING ...................... 44  A. PRESENT STATUS OF STOCKRAISING IN MAURITANIA I. General Observations on Stockraising 1. Stockbreeding is the mainstay of most of the population of Mr'auri tania. All rural dwellers look to cattle to improve their production. Al-- though the quality of basic statistics can be faulted, they all point to the predominant position occupied by stockraising in the economy of the country. 2. The GDP estiLmates of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania give the following value,added for local production; - Minerals 14.2 billion CFA francs - Animal Production 10.6 billion CFA francs - Vegetable Production 3.2 billion CFA francs - Fisheries 1.0 billion CFA francs 3. Out of the population of 1,140,000, 820,000 are nomads who derive al- most their entire income from stockbreeding; 160,000 are rural dwellers or farmers in the River Senegal Basin, who should substantially increase their livestock in the future; and 160,000 are city dwellers of whom many still own animals. 4. Stock farming clearly holds a privileged place in this country, and its production must be increased if the level of living of most of the inhabitants is to be :Lmproved. II. The National Herd 1. Estimation of total livestock population 5. In all African countries it is extremely difficult to ascertain the number of stock animals and the actual turnover in numbers since live- stock iis subject to a head tax. 6. The following table summarizes the estimates made by the live- stock service derived from visits made by the members of the service for the purpose of vaccination.  Table No. 1: ESTIMATED TTVIFVTnCK NUMBERS (TN THIOUSANDS OF HEAD) 1964 1966 1967 1968 1969 Steers 2,000 2,000 2,275 2,500 2,000 Sheep - Goats 4,600 5,900 6,550 6,700 7,000 Camels 500 700 710 720 720 Horses - donkeys 250 270 280 300 300 This table calls for the following comments: a. The figure of two and a half million steers, in 1968, is given in the general technical report on the conduct of the joint rinderpest control campaign. The persons in charge of that campaign base this figure on 2,343,000 vac- cinations administered in 1968, the probable coverage being 80%. b. The decline in the cattle population in 1969 (in the order of 20%) is the consequence of the very low rainfall in 1968. The outcome in the 1969 dry season was a hecatomb due first to famine (lack of pasture), then to consequential diseases (botulism, for example) and finally to abortions (physiological exhaustion) and increased mortality in young animals, because their mothers were dry. There were also losses of sheep and goats due to the drought (approximately 15% of the total population according to the estimates of the livestock service). 7. Nevertheless a reduction in the total population to 5,700,000 head in 1969 cannot be taken as a working hypothesis: 1. First because for the last ten years the estimates have been low, undoubtedly well below actual numbers. As earlv as 1960 the total number of sheep and goats was estimated at 7 million head. 2. Secondly, because fluctuations in the total number of all r,im-inanta arp rnmmnn and orrur every year; espe- cially in the wet season, as a result of parasitic di- sease. Rut the reprodurtion rate of theifl animals is very high, and they develop very early so that the herds mak, the losses in rone anao- nff nrni,,tl-Inn .g U  - 3 - 3. nUAit.e poinL is that, although the dry season caused loeses due to malnutrition, the usual mortality due to parasitic diseases was avoided because of lack of water. In conclusion we shall take, as the Nouakchott livestoc1{ se.rvice does, the figure of 7 million head of small ruminants in 1969. On balance, other animal species (camels, horses, donkeys) suffered less in the diffi- cult 1969 period. 4. The distribution of animals in the country was deter- mined in 1967. By chance the total estimates made on that occasion coincide very closely with those we have used. It is the(refore to be assumed that they rather accurately reflect the present situation. Table No. 2: DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS BY REGION Unit: number of head CATTLE GOATS SHEEP CAMELS 1st Region NEMA 450,000 2,000,000 120,000 2nd Region AIOUN 280,000 1,400,000 70,000 3rd Region KIFFA 320,000 900,000 50,000 4th Region SELIBABY 130,000 150,000 5th Region KAEDI 200,000 360,000 50,000 6th Region BOGHE 370,000 700,000 20,000 7th Region TIDJIFJA 110,000 550,000 70,000 8th Region ROSSO 220,000 650,000 9th Region NORD 20.000 350,000 250,000 TOTAL 2,100,000 7,060,000 720,000 R.Th 1streio has the most cattle and3 small rumi'nanLts and the 9th region has the most camels. It should be mentioned that the River Senegal area (Sellibaby, Boghe, -aedi, Ros-o) has 44% Of the total cattle population and only 26% of the sheep and goats.  - 4 - a Stati-sti-cal Ata are ve, incomplete when if- comes to livuestock numbers. The same holds true of the structure of the herds and the utilization of livestock products. In the followin- chapters we shall be obliged to proceed by successive hypotheses which obvlouUOly allows us to reach. ony rather dubious results. It is therefore essential to take steps to obtain good quality data ei-ther by sampling, by systematic censuses on the occasion of health examinations, or by inspections on cattle routes. This shouLdU bUe dUone notL. only to obtaln rel-lable stIat-ist-ical 4nAformatlon but also to ascertain the economic facts with respect to livestock, its compositlon, the e-voLutiLon oL its structure, the iw A.LIo r t ance of stock farming and its commercial implications. 2. Animal Breeds encountered 10. CATTLE: In Mauritania there are two distinct breeds: The Zebu Maure, of medium stature, with a brown or pie- bald coat, and short horned. Its conformation is good and when in good condition it Dutcners well. The li-ve weight of male, mature slaughter animals is from 330 to 380 kilograms. Tne natio07aI LI her largely coULstbsL UL this breed. Troquereau - estimates that about 85% of the Maure breed, which today would mean about 1,700,000 head. The Zebu Peul is larger, heavier, and often rather loose- limbed. It usually has a light coat and large horns. Slaughter animals are larger than the foregoing, the males weighing from 400 to 420 kilograms. According to the percentage given by Troquereau, there would be about 300Q000 head in the country. SHEEP! These are fleece animals and are divided into: Peul sheep which are large, smooth-haired animals with a bicolored coat, long-legged; stoutly built with a hooked snout, and good walkers; they butcher well. Car- cass weigght is about 13 to 15 kilograms. b" Moorish sheep has a long-haired black coat. It is smaller than the foregoing, well-shaped, remarkably adap- ted to the Sahel. It is a good meat animal; its carcass is slightly lighter than that of the Peul sheep. GOATS: Goat breeding is very well developed in Mauritania. The only breed found is the Sahel goat which is large, long- legged and rather heavy (25 to 35 kilograms when mature). It has a small, well-shaped head and its coat is of seve- ral colors (black, white, reddish-brown, and grey); the hair is fine and smooth. The female has well developed teats and is an excellent milk animal. 1/ Les Ressources animales de la R. I. M. (FAC. 1959).  3 .-osit4ton of the r.ational herd - Productinn 11.. We a d - 4 . fin.d iD the -eports of the livstock serviae .amny I ** Ye .Jid .n,t L.A* i.an th *. - - examples of the structure of herds ascertained on the spot and unfortunatel.y certLi n structures given. cannot possib ly3 be true. s.-. the oth har.d a stuc!y by the Yugoslav firm "Energoproject" reports the composition of a herd un- uoubtedlyU supplieu by the persons iD SCaLe ofi Ibe LNFL L.&&_ JhV-ch enables us to propose a theoretical scheme of an acceptable herd. The proposeu couUipos'LL'Lon is as follows: 1-a-es - o-ver i years oL age . * . . Females - over 4 years o'L age 38.... MIales - from. I L J years .............. Heifers froml I to Jyears 20.6%. Calves ...... ... *. ........15% 12. Among tne caives there are as many males as females or 7.5% of the total number, and the number of young females not yet bred amounts to 28.1M. Cows account for 38.5% of the total catt'le population. Tusw in. suc. a structure the females "coming on" to replace breeding animals will represent 28.1/38.5 = 72.9% of adult cows. Such a percentage undoubtedly allows the herd to increase in number. The number of males appears to be proportionasLly rather large; however, most of tnem are young buli caives, which is in line with observations made in neighboring countries where stockbreeding is carried on under similar conditions. 13. In our study of Mali we assumed rather a similar composition, as is shown in the following comparative table: MALI MAURITANIA Adult Females 38% 38.5% Heifers 32% 28.1% Adult Males 7% 8.1% Young Males 23% 25.5% 14. Thus we finally come back to the same exploitation rate as the one we applied in Mali, namely 12%, broken down as follows: i 17 We are simply applying the results of an analysis of the cattle populatlion in Mali where stockbreeding conditions are similar. Annex 6 contains studies on theoretical herd structures. Structure No. 1 is rather simLlar, without being comparable, to that assumed here. This example shows how the percentages of different types of animals marketed is ascertained.  -6- OverLage cows A 4. J0 of the tJot .J LCLtXt~.,1JI0-' . - ----- Fpt -jJ t io.~~ Sterile cows r.8 . of UI o fthe total population A-U-l I_-