The contribution of pastoral farming in improving the living conditions of households rural areas in the Tinghir zone

Abstract

The systems of the Maghreb hinterlands are based on the complementarity and integration of agriculture and livestock, especially through the mobility of herds. Therefore, this study aims to understand the links between livelihoods and agricultural practices (herd mobility in our case), as well as the organization of work in rural households with a focus on the place of women. This is in order to characterize the vulnerability of rural households. This will be addressed by using a set of data collected by the use of the Rural Household Multi-Indicators Survey toolkit (RHoMIS) from the pastoral and agro-pastoral areas of Tinghir, more precisely in 7 municipalities from downstream to upstream of the Dades valley, which are: Ikniouen, Boumalne, Ait Youl, Ait Sedrat Jbel Soufla, Ait Sedrat Jbel El Oulia, M'semrir and Tilmi. Based on the typology that results from a multivariate analysis followed by a hierarchical ascending classification, we were able to identify 4 categories of breeders or household profiles. Two are most represented in the study sample. Those are, the category E1 representing the agro-pastoral system combining agriculture and small ruminant breeding, and the category E2 representing farms specialized in pastoralism with small ruminant breeding. Intermediate systems are also distinguished, namely small family farms (category E3) and mixed farming systems that integrate agriculture and livestock (E4). In terms of economic analysis of the livestock system for each category, we found that the breeding, in general, and pastoral of small ruminants, in particular, is not sufficient to meet the needs of the rural population living in the most landlocked areas of Morocco. As a result, in order to become more resilient, the rural households’ members adopted means, other than livestock to manage their resources and to fight against poverty. Regarding the organization of work within the household, the members of the rural households themselves design their own activities to achieve their goals and properly manage the resources to which they have access (grazing, work, water, capital, etc.). Regarding the place of women in these production systems, they are ubiquitous in all activities, whether agricultural or livestock, as well as in domestic tasks.