- Climate change is impacting grazing periods for livestock.
- Pastoralists in Senegal have to start their journeys earlier and travel further for their herds to graze.
- The UN estimates Senegalese pastoralists supply 65% of meat and 70% of milk sold at local markets in the region.
As the climate changes in Senegal, pastoralists — or cattle, sheep, and goat herders — are experiencing an evolving set of problems.
In the past, pastoralists would take their herds to graze on grass close to home. But with rainy seasons becoming less predictable, finding areas for herds to graze has been becoming harder. As a result, pastoralists have to travel further to feed their animals.
New grazing areas can bring new threats, and pastoralists have to start moving with their animals months earlier and sometimes travel almost 100 miles to find food.
The changes don’t just impact the animals. They can uproot entire families. While the men go with their animals to find land to graze on, their children and wives are left at home hundreds of miles away.
