Regional Sahel Pastoralism Support Project

The Project Development Objective (PDO) is to &ldquo;improve access to essential productive assets, services, and markets for pastoralists and agro-pastoralists in selected trans-border areas and along transhumance axes across six Sahel countries, and strengthen country capacities to respond promptly and effectively to pastoral crises or emergencies.&rdquo; In this way, the proposed project will support improved productivity, sustainability, and resilience of pastoral livelihoods, as prioritized in the Nouakchott Declaration on Pastoralism.<br /> <br /> The PDO will be achieved through a combination of strategic investments, capacity building, and policy dialogue. The pastoral population includes all people (active and inactive persons of all ages) who are members of a livestock-keeping household that: (i) obtains at least 90 percent of its animal feed requirement from grazing natural vegetation and (ii) derives at least 50 percent of its income from livestock. The agro-pastoral population includes all people (active and inactive persons of all ages) who are members of a livestock-keeping household that: (i) obtains 10 percent or more of its animal feed requirement from crop residues and (ii) derives at least 50 percent of its income from cropping activities.<br /> <br /> The main beneficiaries of PRAPS will be pastoralists and agro-pastoralists in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal; specific trans-boundary geographic areas and transhumance axes are prioritized in each of these six countries. The proposed project is expected to benefit 2,070,000 people directly (200,000 in Burkina Faso, 400,000 in Chad, 440,000 in Mali, 400,000 in Mauritania, 400,000 in Niger, and 230,000 in Senegal) whose livelihoods rely mainly on pastoral activities, including but not limited to livestock keeping or marketing. Target groups include women and youth, who will benefit from the project&rsquo;s overall activities and from activities specifically addressing their needs whenever possible. Secondary beneficiaries include service providers (both public and private), as well as national and regional institutions. CILSS will be a major institutional beneficiary of this project, alongside CRSA (Centre R&eacute;gional de Sant&eacute; Animale, the ECOWAS Regional Animal Health Center, based in Bamako) and other regional coordinating partners at the technical level. Under the harmonized approach of the Alliance Globale pour la R&eacute;silience (Global Alliance for Resilience, AGIR) partnership, the goals of PRAPS and other development partners are expected to align to strengthen coordination andmonitoring capacities within the Sahel.