Mobility is one of the main characteristics of livestock farming in Burkina Faso. It enables breeders to find the best pastures and optimise the productivity of their herds. Mobility is also an essential part of the business strategy of pastoralists. When this mobility is not ensured through the definition of pastoral spaces and facilities, pastoral activity becomes a source of multiple conflicts, particularly with sedentary populations.
It is with this in mind that the Research and Action Group on Land, the GRAF, accompanied between 2008 and 2013 a group of communes in western Burkina to trace and secure a transhumance trail. The project has made it possible to define two routes, the first, 185 km long, is for commercial purposes and the second, 145 km long, is practiced mainly by herds in transhumance towards the west and south of Burkina Faso.
Two years after the project, what remains of its achievements? What is the situation on the ground? How are local actors organised to sustain gains and address other challenges related to pastoralism? To answer this, GRAF and MEDIAPROD are working on the production of a 26-minute documentary film. Filming took place in December 2015 and the film is expected in early February 2016.