Thébaud, B.2016-04-192016-04-19198892-2-205605-1http://hdl.handle.net/10919/66205Metadata only recordBased on field work carried out during the 1984 drought, this study investigates the interrelationship of livestock rearing and drought in the Sahel. The functioning and evolution of the pastoral economy is studied in terms of its relations with the rural and urban sectors. Aspects of livestock production in Niger are described: natural resources, the concept of animals as capital and human resources. The producers' strategies are explored: the causes of migration and settlement, attaining access to agricultural byproducts, management of land, reproduction and maintenance of the herd, use of herds, the balance to be found between labour and herd size, etc. It is concluded that the droughts of recent years have had the effect of magnifying an inescapable process: the origins of the crisis in livestock rearing are largely to be found in the socioeconomic changes which have occurred away from the pastoral zones. A series of intervention methods are proposed in order to re-establish the viability of livestock rearing and to safeguard this vital economic sector as well as the social, economic and cultural identity of the pastoral peoples. (CAB Abstract)text/plainfr-FRPastoralismDroughtLivestock farmingNigerFarm/Enterprise Scale Field ScaleAbstract