Assani Seidou Alassan

• PhD in Agricultural Sciences
• Lecturer-Researcher at University of Parakou

Context The effectiveness of adaptation strategies employed by women small ruminant farmers to combat climate change depends on the accuracy of their perceptions. However, these women’s perceptions are not well understood and are seldom considered in climate change adaptation policies. Aims The aim of this study is to analyze the perceptions of wom...

Slaughterhouse waste management is a major challenge in urban areas of West Africa. This study aims to assess waste generation and management in slaughterhouses in six major West African cities in order to propose models for the sustainable management of slaughterhouse waste. A better knowledge of the quantity of waste produced and of the managemen...

Understanding farmers' breeding systems and preferred traits is crucial for establishing effective genetic improvement programs. This study investigated Gudali cattle breed selection, breeding objectives, and selection criteria in Northeast Benin (Malanville and Tchaourou). We surveyed 120 Gudali cattle farmers using a structured questionnaire and...

Feed availability and accessibility are two of the main challenges for Benin livestock systems, which are currently subject to environmental stress and changing climatic conditions. The aim of this study was to assess the main fodder resources used by livestock in Benin by estimating fodder supply and demand for livestock in Benin's agroecological...

Le changement climatique constitue une menace pour l’élevage en raison de ses conséquences sur les performances des animaux et sur la disponibilité des ressources pastorales. Les systèmes sylvopastoraux et agrosylvopastoraux sont des solutions pour concilier production animale durable et changement climatique. Ce document synthétise la littérature...

In dry regions of Benin, it is very difficult to cover livestock nutritional requirements both qualitatively and quantitatively over the whole year. Therefore, it is necessary to assess the seasonal fluctuation of livestock feed resources in order to define future interventions to improve livestock feeding systems. A survey has been conducted in Su...

Ruminant feed is a major problem for the livestock sector in West African developing countries causing animal nutritional diseases, reducing ruminant production, and creating a massive ecological crisis through greenhouse gas emissions. Alternative feeds, which include agro-industrial by-products, fodder trees, crop residues, insects, fodder legume...

Au Bénin, une typologie de quatre groupes d’éleveurs a été établie sur la base des deux pratiques agroforestières (agrosylvopastoralisme et sylvopastoralisme) en lien avec l'adaptation au changement climatique. Il s’agit : des petits agrosylvopasteurs (Groupe 1 : PAS), des petits sylvopasteurs (Groupe 2 : PSV), des grands sylvopasteurs (Groupe 3 :...

Hyptis suaveolens (H. suaveolens), known as Gros baume or sweet-smelling Hyptis, is an invasive plant from tropical regions widely used to manage human and animal ailments, such as bacterial, viral, and parasitic diseases. This study aimed to synthesize a scientific research work on the use of this medicinal plant in the traditional pharmacopeia, a...

Documentation on the domestic geese (Anser anser) in Benin is scarce, making it objectively difficult to exploit. Its production depends on small flocks raised by livestock farmers in different areas. The aim of the study was to describe the phenotypic and morphometric characteristics of geese encountered in northern Benin. To this end, a total of...

Dans de nombreux pays, les pratiques agroforestières ont été proposées pour lutter contre la dégradation des terres et le changement climatique. Parmi ces pratiques figure l’agro-sylvo-pastoralisme et le sylvopastoralisme qui constituent des puits de carbone (C). Cependant, des informations sont rares sur le potentiel de puits de C de ces pratiques...

Goose farming is less developed in Benin compared to chicken and guinea fowl. The objective of this study was to characterize goose farms in northern Benin through the socio-demographic profile of the goose farmers, the modes of operation of the farms, and their constraints. Data were collected through a retrospective survey from 102 farms in four...

Cattle farmers are developing adaptation strategies to deal with the effects of climate change. Understanding how adaptation affects livestock productivity is, therefore, essential in order to identify and prioritize the optimal strategies. Yet, few studies have addressed this issue. This study aims to fill the gap, by assessing how the adaptation...

Knowledge about dairy cows raised in small-scale agroforestry systems in dryland areas is of paramount importance to inform policy and decision making in the dairy production sector in the current context of climate change. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of integrated farming systems on daily milk yield and demographic traits of d...

Integration of livestock farming practices with trees is neglected and poorly explored in the context of climate change (CC) in drylands. However, such knowledge is urgently needed to propose effective strategies in the livestock sector to cope with CC. This study is initiated to characterize the diversity of indigenous integrated livestock systems...

The transhumant herding system is increasingly dependent on protected areas to escape the scarcity of grazing areas, the occupation of transhumance corridors, the inadequacy of land legislation and the numerous social problems (human and material damages) in the sub-region and in Benin in particular. The present study was carried out in the village...

L'okara est un sous-produit de la production de lait de soja, dense en nutriments, qui se distingue par sa teneur élevée en protéines. Cependant, son intégration dans l'alimentation animale reste sous-exploitée. Cette étude vise à analyser la perception des cuniculteurs et les facteurs déterminant l’utilisation de l’okara dans l’alimentation des la...

La production laitière exclusivement bovine au Bénin ne permet pas de couvrir les besoins croissants de la population en produits laitiers. L’élevage des animaux à cycle court comme les chèvres laitières est impératif. Ainsi, une étude a été réalisée dans la ferme d’élevage de l’Organisation Non Gouvernementale (ONG) « Fermiers Sans Frontières » af...

The management of pastoral mobility is a stakeholder-centered approach for the integration of resource conservation and agricultural development. This study aimed to characterize the stakeholders of transhumance and to analyze their influence in the municipality of Djidja in southern Benin. For this purpose, semi-structured interviews were conducte...

Owning the best productive animals is among of the production goals of cattle farmers. This study aimed at exploring the selection indicators used by farmers to identify best promising cattle. Data were collected through surveys from 105 cattle farmers identified as Borgou cattle farmers. The data collected enabled to determine the scores and indic...

La production laitière exclusivement bovine au Bénin ne permet pas de couvrir les besoins croissants de la population en produits laitiers. L’élevage des animaux à cycle court comme les chèvres laitières est impératif. Ainsi, une étude a été réalisée dans la ferme d’élevage de l’Organisation Non Gouvernementale (ONG) « Fermiers Sans Frontières » af...

Kigelia africana, or sausage tree, is a plant widely used in the management of human and animal diseases for a very long time. The objective of this study is to synthesize the knowledge on its biological and pharmacological properties. To achieve this, specific keywords were used to explore scientific databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, Resea...

DIGESTIBILITE DE LA MATIERE ORGANIQUE DU CONCENTRE ALIMENTAIRE A BASE DE MORINGA OLEIFERA CHEZ LES OVINS DJALLONKE

Rabbits breeding in Benin: current state of situation and prospects (A Review)

The management of pastoral mobility is a stakeholder-centered approach for the integration of resource conservation and agricultural development. This management of space and its resources is the responsibility of a group of actors who are responsible for resolving conflicts of interest. This study aimed at analyzing the influence of transhumance s...

Studying body development in animals is an essential component for improving their production. The objective of this study was to study body measurements with regard to sex and age in Borgou cattle breed reared at the Okpara Breeding Farm. Data were collected on 244 animals (including 114 males and 120 females) distributed in 0-6, 6-12, 12-24, 24-3...

Benin has been facing the loss of its animal genetic heritage over the years. The aim of this study was to explore the reasons related to the progressive abandonment of the Borgou cattle breed. The assessment of threat level and functional traits related to the Borgou breed was therefore collected through semi-structured interviews from 105 cattle...

Reproductive parameters of dairy animals are generally affected by meteorological factors. This study aimed to investigate the effects of heat stress (HS) on reproductive parameters Saanen and Saanen Red Maradi (½S½RM) dairy goats reared on a private farm in a tropical sub-humid environment in Benin. To assess the reproductive performances 103 goa...

With the view to study the body conformation in Borgou cattle breed, sixteen morphometric measurements were taken on 108 adult Borgou cattle reared at the Okpara Breeding Farm and then submitted to a Principal Component Analysis. The correlation coefficients varied from -0.03 (CP and RL) to 0.89 (BH and HS) and most of them are positive and signifi...

Integration of livestock farming practices with trees is neglected and poorly explored in the context of climate change (CC) in drylands. However, such knowledge is urgently needed to propose effective strategies in the livestock sector to cope with CC. This study is initiated to characterize the diversity of indigenous integrated livestock systems...

The objective this study was to evaluate the adaptability of Saanen and the crossbreed goats (Saanen-Red Maradi) reared in a semi-intensive system under a moderate and extreme heat stress conditions. The study involved hundred dairy goats, 45 of which were Saanen and 55 half Saanen and half Red Maradi (RM) crosses and was carried out during 2019 an...

Milk β-Lactoglobulin (MBLG) is an important candidate gene for milk production traits in cattle. However, the effects of MBLG polymorphisms on milk traits have never been investigated in indigenous Borgou and White Fulani cattle breeds in Benin. The aim of the study is to assess the single nucleotide polymorphisms in MBLG gene and their association...

Understanding the factors influencing the perception of climate change can help improve policies for strengthening the adaptive capacity of pastoralists with regard to climate change. Despite this importance, few studies have focused on this issue, especially among cattle farmers. In order to attempt filling this gap, this study analyzed the determ...

L’adaptation au changement climatique (CC) est un sujet de recherche important, en particulier dans le secteur de l’élevage, un secteur tributaire de ressources sensibles au climat. La modélisation peut être utilisée pour soutenir l’adaptation des éleveurs au changement climatique. Cette étude examine la littérature sur les approches de modélisatio...

RESUME La Forêt Classée des Trois Rivières (FCTR) est une aire protégée du Nord Bénin. Elle est confrontée à une dégradation de son couvert végétal due aux facteurs anthropiques et naturels. La présente recherche vise à analyser les perceptions des populations riveraines sur les facteurs naturels et anthropiques de dégradation du couvert végétal...

The valorization of food resources which cannot be used by humans in domestic animals’ feeding allows ensuring of sustainable animal production in the tropics. The by-products of cotton and soy are part of the source of food resources that have been resulted in subject of several research works in ruminant feeding in West Africa. The study aimed to...

Ruminants feeding, especially smalls ruminants, is a major problem in tropical Africa. The availability of local foods does not often attract the attention of farmers and these foods are not properly studied. Baobab is a plant that is widespread in Northern Bénin and whose organs can be incorporated into the diet of these animals. This revealed the...

Située dans la zone soudanienne du Bénin, la forêt classée de l’Alibori supé- rieur est à cheval entre le climat tropical humide et le climat tropical sec. Elle est l’une des destinations privilégiées des transhumants nationaux et étrangers. Ces derniers sont attirés par ses ressources pastorales. Les fortes concentrations de bétail présentes ont...

Le Bénin est confronté à une dégradation constante des ressources forestières, ainsi nos forêts classées sont menacées de disparition sous l'action conjuguée des activités humaine et du climat. Cette étude a pour objectif d'évaluer les changements survenus dans la végétation sous l'influence du climat et de l'homme dans la Forêt Classée des Trois R...

Cattle farming is directly impacted by climate change (CC), as it utilizes resources whose seasonality and pro- ductivity are strongly climate-dependent. Farmers respond to the negative influence of CC by implementing different adaptation strategies, where choices are informed by many factors. This study aims at analyzing the adaptation strategies...

Cattle farming is directly impacted by climate change (CC), as it utilizes resources whose seasonality and productivity are strongly climate-dependent. Farmers respond to the negative influence of CC by implementing different adaptation strategies, where choices are informed by many factors. This study aims at analyzing the adaptation strategies of...

Cottonseed cake was substituted by soybean pulp in the diet of West African Dwarf (Djallonke) sheep, at the Pélébina livestock farm in the commune of Djougou, Benin, in order to assess its effect on growth and economic performances. Thirty ram lambs (120 ± 10 days old, 12.65 ± 0.16 kg body weight) were divided into three homogeneous groups of ten...

A thorough knowledge of cattle herding systems is very important for planning sustainable genetic improvement and conservation strategies. This paper is initiated to characterize Benin native Borgou cattle farming systems in its department of origin by mean of survey including 180 cattle farmers owning at least one phenotype of that breed. Using mu...

Livestock production in the changing climatic condition is influencing by heat stress. The study was aimed to establish a heat stress mapping in Benin by means of Temperature-Humidity Index (THI) from 2009 to 2019. THI combines ambient temperature and relative humidity, and help to predict the effects of thermal environment warmth in dairy animals....

Ce travail porte sur les performances zoo-économiques des ovins Djallonké complémentés avec la feuille de Moringa oleifera au centre du Bénin. L'expérimentation a impliqué 30 antenais âgés de 7 mois et pesant en moyenne 13 ± 0,3 kg Les animaux sont répartis aléatoirement en trois lots de 10 sujets. La ration alimentaire est composée de foin de Pani...

La présente étude a pour objectif d'évaluer les facteurs influençant la mortalité des chevreaux Saanen et de leurs métis au Nord-Bénin pour réduire la mortalité élevée des chevreaux. La mortalité avant sevrage à 90 jours était de 54,6 % à la ferme d'élevage de l'Organisation Non Gouvernementale (ONG) «Fermiers Sans Frontière» (chevreaux Saanen). De...

A false perception of climate change can lead to lack of adaptation or maladaptation, thus increasing vulnerability to climate change. Nevertheless, very few studies have focused on this question, especially with cattle breeders. This study compares the climate change perception of cattle breeders in the dry and sub-humid tropical zones of Benin wi...

Pastoral livestock farming systems effectively promote a highly constrained agro-climatic territory, they are both a source of protein and income for the majority of poor people in Africa. At the same time, climate change is a threat to livestock farming because of the impact on animal performance and the quality and availability of pastoral resour...

Filling information gaps is important for setting future research priorities and defining proper strategies for the improvement and conservation of indigenous breeds. This review focuses on a synthesis of knowledge on the Borgou cattle breed farming in Benin. It gathers information about its origin, its physical and ethnological characteristics. It...

The study was conducted at the farm of the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) "Fermiers Sans Frontière" to assess the reproductive performance of Red Maradi, Saanen goats and their crossbred F1 and F2 (backcross) in an intensive livestock farming system in northern Benin. The reproduction data were collected on 238 goats. The Red Maradi first reac...

Filling information gaps is important for setting future research priorities and defining proper strategies for the improvement and conservation of indigenous breeds. This review focuses on a synthesis of knowledge on the Borgou cattle breed farming in Benin. It gathers information about its origin, its physical and ethnological characteristics. It...

The valorization of food resources which cannot be used by humans in domestic animals’ feeding allows ensuring of sustainable animal production in the tropics. The by-products of cotton and soy are part of the source of food resources that have been resulted in subject of several research works in ruminant feeding in West Africa. The study aimed to...

Djidja est l’une des plus grandes communes productrices agricoles du département du Zou au sud du Bénin. De par ses ressources fourragères et hydriques, elle est devenue une destination des éleveurs transhumants. Les mouvements des éleveurs transhumants continuent de s’étendre, de même que les séjours dans cette zone d’accueil s’allongent. L’étude...

L'alimentation et surtout la forme de présentation des aliments pour lapins constituent une des contraintes majeures en cuniculture. L'effet de 2 formes de présentation (granulé =G ou farineux = F) d'un aliment sur la croissance de lapereaux de souche locale en engraissement a été étudié au Nord-Bénin. Pendant 6 semaines, deux lots G et F de 48 lap...

This article makes an inventory of the different legumes used in the diet of ruminants in Benin. It focuses on their nutritional values, the bromatological constraints related to their recovery and the zoo- economic performance of ruminants supplemented with these forage legumes. In the search for information on forage legumes exploited in the di...

The butcheries are growing in Benin with a number of animal slaughtered on the rise. This slaughter practices generates more waste whose mismanagement can be a serious danger to the environment and public health. The aim of the study was assess the environmental impacts of pork-butcheries according to the types of butcheries in southern Benin. Obse...

The food of rabbits constitutes one of the major constraints in rabbit breeding. To mitigate this constraint, the valorization of the by-products locally available can be considered. This trial aims at determining the effect of soybean meal substitution by okara, in fattening rabbit feed, to reduce feeding costs. 144 locals rabbits aged 41 ± 2 days...

The food of rabbits constitutes one of the major constraints in rabbit breeding. To mitigate this constraint, the valorization of the by-products locally available can be considered. This trial aims at determining the effect of soybean meal substitution by okara, in fattening rabbit feed, to reduce feeding costs. 144 locals rabbits aged 41 ± 2 days...

The companion modeling applied to forest management assumes that any planning document reflects a way of organizing and controlling the interactions between ecological dynamics and social dynamics. A literature review could aid to assess the related data for perspective researches and decision-making for the natural conservation. The present work a...

The characterization of livestock farming systems is a tool for defining development actions. In order to characterize the poultry farms in Parakou town in northen Benin, 123 farms with a total of 58,665 heads of poultry were surveyed. Using the methods of factorial analysis of multiple correspondences (FAMC) and ascending hierarchical classificati...

In rural areas, goats contribute to the reduction of malnutrition through their production of milk and meat. A review of the zootechnical and reproductive performance of goat breeds in Benin was made from ninety (90) articles, papers and documents related to these goat breeds. The main data concern the taxonomy of goats, their origin, the importanc...

This study focused on the analysis of birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW), weaning age (WA) and average daily gain (ADG) between birth and weaning of 950 Borgou cattle using data over five years from the Okpara Breeding Farm. The BW, WW, and ADG of animals including 513 males calves and 437 females calves were determined based on the variation f...

In order to judge the opportunity of using Saanen males to improve the productivity of Red Maradi goat, a study was conducted to evaluate growth performance of crossbreed kids (F1 and F2). The data were collected in the NGO “Fermier Sans Frontière” farm from 2012 to 2016 on 135 animals. The comparative performance results showed the near superiorit...

Agroforestry have immense benefits for the environment and the farmer. Indeed, in an agroforestry system, the planted or preserved trees produce litter that releases after decomposition into the soil, biogenic elements as natural fertilizer suitable for cropping. But, several factors affect the biomass productivity in these systems. In this study,...

The aim of this study is to assess the state of plant biodiversity in the natural rangelands of transhumant cattle herds in the Classified Forest of Upper Alibori (CFUA), Northern Benin. Forty-five (45) phytosociological plots were carried out using the Braun-Blanquet method. The phytosociological data were submitted to Detrended Correspondence Ana...

The natural rangelands of the Classified Forest of Upper Alibori (CFUA) are subject to strong anthropogenic pressures. One can question the capabilities of the classified forest sustainably support this level of control. The aim of this research is to assess the physiognomy changes recorded in these natural rangelands of this forest from 2000 to 20...

Protected areas are increasingly frequented by transhumant cattle herds. This phenomenon has grown in recent decades in West Africa. In order to make a state of play of the use of areas protected by cattle herds, through its history, the causes of their presence and the consequences on natural resources and propose mechanisms for managing transhuma...

Une expérimentation a été menée au centre national ovin de la ferme d’élevage de Bétécoucou, afin d’évaluer l’effet de la complémentation à base des feuilles de Leucaena leucocephala et de Gliricidia sepium sur les performances d’engraissement des ovins Djallonkés, ainsi que les retombées financières de cette complémentation. A cet effet, 24 antena...

This study, which deals with the determination of the demographic parameters of the different types of Lagune cattle herds in the Oueme valley in southern Benin, took place between October to December 2016 and concerns 56 herds of Lagunecattle with a total of 1,837 head. It aims to compare the demographic parameters of four different types of Lagun...

Dryland herders traditionally move to the wettest areas including southern Benin in search of pasture and water to ensure the survival of their livestock. The main objective is to characterize the cattle herds in transhumance in the municipality of Djidja in Southern of Benin. Inquiry data has been collected through semi-structured interviews of 61...

The Classified Forest of Upper Alibori (CFUA) is one of the favorite destinations of national and foreign transhumant who are attracted by its availability of water and forage resources. The agricultural and pastoral pressures on the biological resources of this reserve forest are intensifying, and it is important to develop the transhumance map an...

A study involving 40 cattle herds with a total of 3645 head was carried out in the Classified Forest of Upper Alibori (northern Benin) to compare the productivity of four types of cattle breeding systems: the riparian small transhumant livestock (type 1), the riparian medium transhumant livestock (type 2), the national great transhumant livestock (...

To characterize the cattle herds in transhumance in the classified forest of upper Alibori (CFUA) north of Benin, an investigation of 132 cattle herds with a total of 11,020 head was carried out. Using the methods of factorial analysis of multiple correspondences (FAMC) and ascending hierarchical classification (AHC), a typology of four types of tr...

Le Bénin fait partie de la zone de prévalence de la trypanosomose qui constitue un frein au développement de l’élevage bovin. Seul l’extrême nord du pays (communes de Malanville et Karimama) est indemne de cette maladie. D’où l’essor de l’élevage des races zébu N’bororo, White fulani et Goudali dans cette zone. Cette étude a pour but de caractérise...

A study involving 30 cattle herds with a total of 1680 head was carried out in the commons of Malancity and Karimama (extreme north of Benin) to compare the productivity of three types of Gudali cattle breeding systems: great transhumant livestock (type 1), periurban sedentary livestock (type 2) and the small purebred Fulani livestock (type 3). Th...

Results concerning an investigation and experimentation farms Zebu Goudali of Malanville Public and Karimama to the extreme north of Benin