Emerging Development Pathways of Urban Livestock Production in Rapidly Growing West Africa Cities

Regina Roessler, Serge E. Mpouam, Tichaona Muchemwa and Eva Schlecht
Additional contact information
Regina Roessler: Group Animal Husbandry in the Tropics and Subtropics, University of Kassel and Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, Steinstr. 19, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany
Serge E. Mpouam: Group Animal Husbandry in the Tropics and Subtropics, University of Kassel and Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, Steinstr. 19, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany
Tichaona Muchemwa: Group Animal Husbandry in the Tropics and Subtropics, University of Kassel and Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, Steinstr. 19, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany
Eva Schlecht: Group Animal Husbandry in the Tropics and Subtropics, University of Kassel and Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, Steinstr. 19, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 11, 1-25

Abstract: In this study, we try to capture the degree of specialization or integration, and of intensification or extensification, of (peri-) urban livestock production, along with the factors that influence such decisions and their impact on natural resource uses. A total of 181 and 187 structured questionnaires were completed in livestock-keeping households in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) and Tamale (Ghana). Categorical principal component and two-step cluster analysis were used to identify homogenous groups of livestock-keeping households. Cross tabulation and logistic regression analysis revealed factors that influence livestock husbandry, showing their impacts on resource use by livestock keepers in the two cities. A diversity of livestock species was kept, mostly integrated with crop farming. Yet, some households specialized in either sheep, pig or commercial milk production, and partly intensified their production. The decision to specialize and/or intensify livestock production is site-specific and influenced by the education level of the household head and security of land ownership. Higher inputs in livestock systems do not necessarily lead to higher outputs, and specialization inevitably leads to higher manure wastages. Therefore, links of livestock producers to crop farmers and markets for livestock manure must be strengthened to enable recycling of resources and limit negative externalities of specialized livestock production. Strategies need to be identified to improve livestock productivity by enhancing outputs as input use increases.

Keywords: farm typology; development pathways; urban livestock production; specialization; intensification; West Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/11/1199/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/11/1199/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:11:p:1199-:d:83302

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().