Pastoralists and the city: Fulani herders in Benin in an urbanising and globalising era At present, the pastoralists mode of production in Africa is under increased ecological, political and... Show morePastoralists and the city: Fulani herders in Benin in an urbanising and globalising era At present, the pastoralists mode of production in Africa is under increased ecological, political and economic pressure. In the past 30 years political marginalisation, economic integration into markets leading to increased competition, and ecological degradation of pastures have resulted in dramatic shifts in pastoralism. In West Africa, it has been noticed that since the 1970s pastoralism is increasingly dominated by cities. Firstly, increased market integration has resulted in dependence on and orientation towards urban markets. Secondly, urbanities now own considerably parts of pastoralists (also called Fulani or Peul) herds. Thirdly, Fulani have increasingly moved to cities and towns. However, evidence is scattered and hardly any coherent research has been done on the modern relationship between pastoralists and the city in the present era of urbanisation. Thus, the present research project on Pastoralists and the city in Benin will explore the urban livelihood of Fulani and the niches they have found to sustain and expand their livelihood. Moreover, it will look into the possibility how and where they could improve their access to livelihood opportunities, including those created by government interventions Show less
