16. In the rural economy, households easily generate cash through the sale of stored harvests or animals to meet cash demands as they come. The main motives for which crop products were sold by the sample included food purchase, tax payments and to meet miscellaneous family expenditures. In 59% of the cases, the reasons for crop sales were attributed to the purchase of food grains, which the sample farmers did not produce themselves, and for the purchase of condiments. Tax payments were cited in 22% of the cases as reasons for the sale of crop products, and 2% for the purchase of animal feed. The proportion of crop cash income used for different purposes varies from product to product. For example, 60% of the cash income obtained from the sale of groundnuts, the important cash crop, was used to acquire rice and maize from the market.
17. As noted earlier, livestock activities provide the main source of cash incomes for smallholder households in the semi-arid zone of Mali. Livestock were sold for the same reasons as crop products but in addition, livestock sales generated cash to buy animal feed and to purchase other livestock. Livestock sales were also used for the payment of hired labour in both crop and livestock production as well as for the purchase or repair of farm equipment. Expenditures to meet miscellaneous family obligations constituted by far the most important reason for livestock sales. Such obligations include baptisms, religious festivals, circumcisions, medical treatments, travel, as well as the purchase of condiments and clothes. Table 5 summarizes the most important purposes of expenditure for which livestock were sold and the relative contributions of sales of the two livestock species in meeting household cash needs.
18. On average 43% of the cash generated by livestock sales went to meet miscellaneous household expenditures while 10% and 7% was spent on food grain and animal feed purchases respectively. Payment of taxes and purchase of livestock took closely similar shares as the latter two purposes of expenditure, 12% and 6% respectively. Overall, small ruminant and cattle sales contributed approximately equal amounts to the total cash generated to meet all expenditure purposes but showed different levels of contributions to expenditure for some specific purposes. For example, small ruminant sales contributed about 53% and 72% of the cash used to meet miscellaneous household expenditures and food grain purchases respectively. On the other hand, cattle sales contributed about 85% and 73% of the cash used to purchase animal feed and to re-invest in livestock respectively, and 61% for the payment of taxes. Small ruminant sales are probably made to meet frequent but relatively small cash needs (e.g. food grain purchases) while cattle sales are probably made to meet lumpy expenditures which have to be made much less frequently (e.g. payment of taxes).
Table 5. The role of livestock in meeting various household expenditure needs of smallholder mixed farmers in the semi-arid zone of Mali
|
Purpose of expenditure
|
Contribution of livestock sales to cash expenditure (%) |
||
|
|
Of which |
||
|
Average/Total |
Small ruminants |
Cattle |
|
|
Miscellaneous family needs condiments, baptism, clothes, festivities, travel |
43 |
53 |
47 |
|
Purchase of food grain |
7 |
71 |
29 |
|
Payment of taxes |
12 |
39 |
61 |
|
Payment of hired labour |
2 |
40 |
60 |
|
Purchase of animal feed |
10 |
15 |
85 |
|
Purchase of livestock |
6 |
27 |
73 |
|
Purchase/repairs of farm equipment |
1 |
100 |
0 |
|
Other |
19 |
64 |
36 |
|
Total number of animals sold |
235 |
203 |
32 |
|
Total cash income obtained (CFA) |
2770290 |
1389290 |
1381000 |
