Contexte : La valorisation des résidus de cultures pour l’alimentation des ruminants constitue une solution pour combler une partie du déficit fourrager des systèmes d’élevage pastoraux et agropastoraux durant la saison sèche en Afrique de l’Ouest, dans un contexte de changement climatique. Objectif : Cette étude avait pour objectif d’évaluer la perception des agropasteurs sur les techniques d’amélioration de l’utilisation des résidus de cultures – généralement des pailles de céréales et des fanes de légumineuses – pour l’alimentation du bétail. Méthodes : Une enquête a été menée auprès de 60 chefs d’exploitations dans la commune de Koumbia au sud-ouest du Burkina Faso. Résultats : La typologie obtenue permet d’identifier trois groupes d’exploitants – les agriculteurs, les éleveurs et les agro-éleveurs – selon la superficie qu’ils cultivaient en maïs et en coton et le nombre de bovins en leur possession. Ces trois groupes ont exprimé la même perception et appréciation favorable de la valorisation des résidus de cultures pour l’alimentation animale. En effet, 89 % des agro-éleveurs, 87 % des agriculteurs et 69 % des éleveurs utilisaient prioritairement les résidus de cultures pour complémenter leur bétail. Même si la moitié d’entre eux, quel que soit le groupe, connaissaient des techniques de valorisation des résidus de cultures, ils les pratiquaient peu. En effet, une faible proportion des agriculteurs et des éleveurs (9,1 %) et des agro-éleveurs (6,2 %) a déclaré asperger la paille avec de l’eau salée pour en améliorer la qualité nutritive. De plus, les résidus de cultures étaient le plus souvent stockés sur les toits des hangars, révélant ainsi une insuffisance d’équipements de stockage. Conclusions : cette étude a montré que les traitements visant à améliorer la valeur nutritive des résidus de cultures sont peu utilisés en raison de la mauvaise maîtrise qu’en ont les exploitants, de leur incertitude quant à l’efficacité de ces traitements, et de l’absence d’infrastructures.

Introduction Le changement climatique (CC), phénomène très ancien et inéluctable (Tomtepambo, 2013), ne cesse de prendre de l’ampleur et constitue une préoccupation actuelle majeure pour l’humanité. L’Union africaine, citée par Tomtepambo (2013), considère que « si les changements climatiques se poursuivaient en l’absence de tout contrôle, ils empêcheraient de plus en plus de nourrir une population croissante et en l’absence de mutations radicales avant la fin du siècle, le monde ne serait plu...

Background: Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) caused by Mycobacterium bovis is a major zoonotic disease in West Africa. In Africa, bTB is endemic in cattle with a prevalence ranging from 2% up to 18%. The disease causes significant public health risks due to unpasteurized milk and milk product consumption. In the context of the EU-PRISMA project, which promotes research and innovation for productive, resilient, and healthy agropastoral systems in West Africa, a cross-sectional survey was conducted in dairy herds from Mali and Niger to assess animal, herd, and within-herd bTB prevalence, as well as to identify animal risk factors and predictors of bTB herd status. Method and principal findings: A random cross-sectional survey on dairy cattle farms using comparative intradermal tuberculin test and epidemiological inquiry was performed in four regions of Mali (Bamako, Koulikoro, Mopti, and Sikasso) and three regions of Niger (Tahoua, Dosso, and Tillabéry). Herd and animal prevalence of bTB and within-herd prevalence were significantly higher in Mali (especially in Bamako and Koulikoro) than in Niger. Several risk factors were significantly associated with animals positive to bTB, i.e., the region where animals live, the age range from 3 to 7 years old, and female animals. In addition, in regions with higher bTB prevalence, the herd with slaughtering of animals in the farm and the herd with the presence of an animal assembly area were associated with the most unfavorable status of a herd with regards to bTB. Moreover, the average and the median annual economic losses of bTB at animal level were estimated at €262 and €137 respectively, with large variability depending on the farm (between €46 and €838). Conclusion and significance: This survey provides useful data on bTB epidemiology and economical losses in Mali and Niger and urges for improvement of surveillance systems and prevention and control strategies. Cost-benefit, return of investment, or similar analyses are strongly recommended to help with decision making.

As part of the PRISMA project, which promotes research and innovation for productive, resilient, and healthy agro-pastoral systems in West Africa, a cross-sectional survey was conducted to assess the apparent seroprevalence and investigate epidemiological factors associated with bovine brucellosis in dairy herds. The survey was carried out in Mali (Bamako, Koulikoro, Mopti, and Sikasso regions) and Niger (Tahoua, Dosso, and Tillabéry regions). A total of 1230 animals from 82 herds were tested, including 645 animals from 43 herds in Mali and 585 animals from 39 herds in Niger. At the herd level, apparent seroprevalence was significantly higher in Mali than in Niger (37.21% vs. 15.38%). Within each country, animal-level seroprevalence varied across region, with the highest levels observed in Bamako (11.11%) and Mopti (7.62%) in Mali, and Dosso (6.67%) in Niger. High within-herd prevalence (>20%) was identified in only one herd per country. The higher overall herd-level seroprevalence in Mali was primarily driven by a greater number of herds with low (≤10%) within-herd seroprevalence. Univariate risk factor analysis at the animal level identified a borderline trend toward higher odds of seropositivity in crossbred cattle than other breeds (OR = 1.95, 95% CI: 1.00–3.81, p = 0.0503). In addition, a classification tree analysis highlighted seven exploratory signals of the positive herd status. These included four animal/management-level factors—herd region, environmental disposal of aborted placentas, the number of lactating cows (as a proxy for animal density), and reported herd abortions—as well as three human-level signals within the household: a history of miscarriage, experiencing heavy night sweats, and suffering from undulant fever. In conclusion, this survey provides new insights into bovine brucellosis and its epidemiology in dairy herds in Mali and Niger, confirming established high-prevalence areas such as Bamako and identifying new zones of concern, such as Mopti and Dosso. Our findings underscore that bovine brucellosis remains an important public health and economic threat in both countries. Given that the identified positive regions are hubs for milk production and consumption, these data may support health authorities in implementing targeted surveillance, control, and prevention strategies under a One Health approach.