The territory of the Lower and Middle Valley of the Ouémé River (BMVO) and its zone
of influence, welcoming transhumant herds annually, extend over
13,872 km2, or nearly 12% of the area of the Republic of Benin, in the
south-east and center of Benin. Administratively, they are divided between 22
municipalities. The population of this area has between 3.5 and 4 million inhabitants,
or between 30 and 40% of the total population of Benin in 2013 (RGPH4, 2013). The
main activities carried out by its inhabitants are: agriculture (57.2%),
trade and catering (19.4%), small-scale farming (60% of households) and
fishing, which employs between 40 and 65% of the active population in coastal municipalities or municipalities with a
large lake population. It is not a traditional
cattle ranching area.Recently, starting with the great drought of 1973 in the
Sahelian zone, an important and regular destination for transhumance in southern Benin.
This pastoral movement concerns both
national and cross-border cattle herders, with an average of 84,000 head of cattle per year
between 2007 and 2013.This document is an account of the analysis by
local actors of the factors determining this dynamic.