Following the same approach as in Argentina, Chad, Mongolia, Mali and Burkina Faso, the FAO Pastoralist Knowledge Hub (PKH) is launching a survey on the economy of pastoral households in Mauritania. Funded by the Spanish Cooperation, the project aims to provide recent and reliable data on the economic importance of pastoralist communities as well as their risks and adaptation strategies. These data are meant to be collected by pastoral organisations and used as material to advocate for pastoralist-friendly policies.

The opening of the workshop was chaired by the adviser of the Wali in charge of economic affairs and livestock, Mr. Sidi Mohamed Ould Sidna

The official launch of the project was held on 6^th May 2022 with the presence of the president of the Organisation Mauritanienne pour le Développement des Zones Arides et Semi-arides (ODZASAM), M. Mohamed El Moctar Ould Mohamed Ahmed, the NGO that will lead this survey in the country, the technical advisor of the Ministry of Livestock, M. El Ghailani Mohamed, FAO land expert Salikou Ould Aghoub, as well as representatives of State and civil organisations in the country, including the national statistical office and of economic and demographic analysis (ANSADE), in charge of the validation of statistical data at the national level.

The survey was adapted to the local situation in a participatory way

The PKH team went on a mission to Mauritania end of May and was assisted by the National Coordinator of Réseau Billital Maroobé of Burkina Faso, M. Chec Ouattara, who has proven experience in data collection in other countries of the subregion. On May 24^th and 25^th 2022, a two-day workshop was organised in Aioun-El-Astrouss, and was officially opened by the authorities of the Wilaya of Hodh el Gharbi. The workshop was aimed at reviewing the survey and the methodology to be better adapted to the local situation, with the help of the participants as well as of the participation on the line of the expert in economy M. Alioune Ndiaye (Practical Action) who will be responsible for data analysis. During the workshop, 12 data collectors and their 4 supervisors were also trained on Kobo Toolbox, which will be used for data collection.  

The PKH team trained the data collectors and their supervisors on the Kobo tool

Data collectors test in groups of two, the survey on tablets.

The data collection will be held in 5 Wilayas in the South of the country, Hodh Chargui, Hodh el Gharbi, Assaba, Gorgol and Guidimakha, which host over 80% of the country’s livestock. The data collection process will take into account the mobility of herders, following their local and transboundary movements, including from Senegal and Mali, while the start of the rainy season, this year, is marked by early rains. A similar survey will soon be launched in Niger.