Marketing, securing and facilitating livestock transport between coastal and Sahelian countries: Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire

The action is part of a drive to intensify livestock trade between coastal and hinterland countries, and also to combat road harassment in order to strengthen economic integration within the framework of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). It is also in line with the ECOWAS policy of promoting pastoralism, boosting herders' incomes, eradicating abnormal livestock transport practices, and combating food and nutritional insecurity.

The project aims to facilitate border crossing procedures and improve the efficiency and health safety of slaughterhouses and butcheries. It specifically addresses the objective of facilitating, securing and making profitable live cattle transport operations between Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire.

As a reminder, the livestock trade is faced with a recurring problem: the unsuitability of the trucks used to transport live animals. Although faster than transporting animals on foot, this mode of transport generates losses due to poor transport conditions (impossibility of feeding and watering the animals, injuries and deaths, etc.) and regulatory difficulties (need to have herdsmen on the truck when mixed transport is forbidden).

In order to meet the challenge of making livestock transport safer, our project will test prototypes of adapted and efficient multifunctional cattle trucks. The project will ensure that trucks leave coastal countries with products in high demand in Sahelian countries.