Livestock Transfers, Risk Management, and Human Careers in a West African Pastoral System

Pastoralists employ different strategies to minimize the risk of losing their livelihood due to drought, disease, and other disasters. Livestock transfers have been considered critical because they provide not only a safety net during disasters but also contribute to the resilience of pastoral societies by allowing pastoralists to rebuild their herds after disasters. I examine whether and how livestock transfers serve as risk management strategies in a comparative, ethnographic study of three pastoralist communities in the Far North Region of Cameroon. The findings show that livestock transfers contribute to short-term survival of households but not long-term viability of family herds. Here I argue for a more holistic, anthropological approach that considers the social and cultural aspects of strategic decisions that individual pastoralists make when they engage in these transfers.