Developing sustainable grazing management practices for ruminant farmers in the drylands of Benin using anintegrated system dynamics and precision livestock farming approach

Natural rangelands constitute the main feed resource for ruminants in the drylands of Benin. However, the increasing scarcity of exploitable land and rangelands is the primary source of conflict between communities, herders, and farmers. There is an urgent need to propose science-based sustainable management of pastoral resources in this region. This project will create a collaborative network between the University of Parakou and KU Leuven, and build capacity in precision livestock farming and integrated modeling for sustainable herd management in the drylands of Benin. This will be done through a participatory system thinking and modeling approach targeted at developing a decision support tool to help local communities/authorities manage grazing practices of transhumance and sedentarization herds that can balance livestock productivity and rangeland biodiversity. On an academic level, the project partners will cooperate in the joint training of 2 PhD and 4 Mastersstudents.