Notes to chapter eight. 1) However, in challenging this preconception I would not go so far as some in regarding all pastoralists as capitalists, their livestock as currency and small stock as change! (e.g. see Schneider 1975). Burnham (1987) observes that much of the literature on pastoralism:- "operates on the implicit premise that pastoralism is a 'natural' category of society...This impression of the 'purity' and distinctiveness of pastoralism as a way of life is, indeed, often reinforced by the ideologies of pastoralists themselves." (p.155) 2) The article also suggests that the livestock industry "has remained relatively undeveloped, largely because it has not attracted external funding arising from a number of factors which may not be unconnected with the length of time needed for livestock projects in general to reach maturity." (ibid.) I disagree with many of the points that the article makes. In particular, I refute the suggestion that the Sierra Leonean herds developed solely through improvement of veterinary services: during the 1950's many pastoralists migrated with their herds into Sierra Leone from Guinea. And, there is no evidence to support the claim that " the domination of the cattle industry by a single ethnic group" has impaired the development of the livestock industry. Indeed, I have suggested that the contrary may well be the case. (See above) 3) The alternative is at the expense of the child. This is the pastoral wife's daily dilemma; milk for the calf? or for the family? Whatever, she is not a meat producer, but a milk producer. 4) And again :-"In general, the cattle industry in Sierra Leone would appear to be a singularly uneconomic one...Cattle owners in Sierra Leone, in general sell only to provide for their immediate needs and regard their herds as a bank reserve. From the country's point of view, this represents a considerable block of idle capital. This matter, however, does not end there and their owners represent a greater annual drain on the country's natural resources than the return which they provide in terms of beef slaughtered or milk products sold". (Waldock et al. 1951, p.57) Hopkins (1973) provides an admirable antidote:-"The belief that Africans refused to sell their cattle rests upon a misunderstanding of the way in which the pastoral economy operated. It is clear from numerous sources that the cattle trade long antedates the coming of the Europeans in the fifteenth century and was certainly not the result of the presumed disintegration of 'tribal values' in the twentieth century. Admittedly, only a small proportion of the herd was sold, but this was not because of the limitations imposed by a pre-capitalist value system. Cattle in pastoralist societies were not simply a consumption good, but were also its main stock of capital. Returns on capital took the form of sales of milk and manure to farming communities. It is not surprising that the herdsman took care to conserve his capital, for cattle were a long term investment, and one which could easily be lost through disease, as happened, for instance in the late nineteenth century, when rinderpest decimated herds in many parts of the continent. Cattle were indeed highly prized, but their function as a status symbol derived from societies' appreciation of their economic wealth. The man who

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possessed a large number of cattle was not respected for his unthinking devotion to ascribed values, but for his skill in controlling a major resource". (p.42) 5) Hart (1982) provides a broader picture:-"Planning for the livestock industry is very much a regional affair, because its whole raison d'être lies in the articulation of dry north and wet south within a single social division of labour...No doubt some would like to see the savannah emptied of its low-productivity farmers and bankrupt pastoralists, so that it could be turned into a vast corporate ranching enterprise that would turn West Africa into the next Argentina. Be that as it may, indigenous herders will be controlling the livestock supply during the 1980's". (p.77) And, it would appear, during the 1990's. 6) Casual acquaintances among the educated ‚elite in Freetown were keen to point out that not enough meat was being made available for the Sierra Leonean market. There was resentment that so many cattle were taken to Liberia. There is, of course, an ethnic dimension; the Fula are widely recognised as being Guinean and hence "strangers". This adds to the resentment. (See above). 7) Fuller details are provided in Appendix Two: Tribal Authorities (Farming Areas) Order. 8) The growth of the Settlement scheme. Year 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 No. Registered 17 36 37 44 63 110 110 109 116 No. Occupied 14 14 33 29 57 86 89 86 79 Source: Koi/41/viii. Stock Farm Musaia: report from Senior Agricultural Officer to Director of Agriculture Freetown. March 1962. (Kabala Veterinary Office Records). 9) ibid. (Pages not numbered.) 10) For example:-"The object of introducing licences, within specified Farming Areas, is to afford a further step in the control of non-settled cattle owners. By introducing a system of licences the cattle population density in an area can be controlled and, it is hoped, litigation considerably reduced. Cattle owners will then be faced with three alternatives, settlement within a prescribed area, temporary licensed grazing within a prescribed area or migration to an uncontrolled area. In this manner cattle owners and cattle can be nicely adjusted to the agricultural potential of any given area". (From Director of Agriculture to Commissioner Northern Province. 10 Sept 1957 Doc no. 157, File A/13 Cattle Owners Settlement Scheme. Located at Kabala District Office.) And see Reid 1955 (especially pp. 13-14) But see Hunting Technical Services:-"Much has been made of the conflict between crop producer and grazier. The distribution of cattle in the dry season shows an immensely complex integration between crop production and cattle. Over the whole country in the dry season about 40% of cattle were seen on fallow lands, and, presumably mutually satisfactory agreements are reached between cultivators and

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graziers to allow such distributions...the interaction between cultivator and grazier is likely to be much more mutually beneficent and interlocking than either side will readily admit". (1979, p.56) From my own observations, I would say this is correct. 11) Fula "traditional husbandry practices" are frequently criticised for the environmental damage they are believed to cause; especially dry season burning to encourage grass growth. (For example, Millington 1985 and Ormerod 1978, although the latter takes a broader perspective and links "ecological damage" with the growing demand for meat.) Against his Horowitz (1981) has demonstrated how little data there is on this particular subject. He warns against discarding the judgement of the herders and cites a study of the Jafarabe Fulbe in Niger which reports:-"though fire caused a substantial decrease in dry-season biomass and the long term environmental effects are not known, the direct nutritional benefit for the herd is obvious". (p.70) To my knowledge, the "severe environmental damage" that Fula herders cause through dry season burning is a popular assumption yet to be examined with an open mind. 12) However, correspondence over a dispute between the departments of Forestry and Agriculture concerning the impinging of forest reserves by the Cattle Settlement Scheme, indicate that after 1955 the administration's definition of "nomadism" was contingent on whether the nomad in question had joined the settlement scheme or not!:- "I must stress that although Fullas are generally described as nomadic, all the settlement holders whose settlements are infringed by the "Protectorate Forest" area are now permanently settled. Their houses, although of simple construction, have a normal life span of twenty years , and most of the houses concerned are not more than five years old...Furthermore, all these houses have "gardens", farms and plantations around them and most of these have been fenced, at the holders' expense, with barbed wire." (Department of Agriculture, Musaia to District Officer, Kabala. 19 Dec. 1961. File A/13 Cattle Owners Settlement Scheme, located at Kabala District Office. p.229) 13) It appears that a number of Fula were returning to Guinea at this time, although it is not clear whether the proposed Settlement Scheme was responsible for this re-migration. Nonetheless, the authorities were well informed of the potential consequences of their policies. For example, a communique‚ to the Director of Agriculture includes details of a meeting of "Fullas" connected with the scheme, where they asked to "reduce rents below the proposed figure of six pounds, with a view to encouraging back the Fullas who have gone over the Guinea border". (Document 69, Agric. Superintendent, Gberia Timbako to Director of Agriculture, Njala. re. Rent reduction. 25 April 1959. Filed under A13/01 Cattle Owner Settlement Scheme, areas and rents. Located at Kabala District Office.) In 1954, the District Commissioner advised against the compulsory inoculation of cattle against rinderpest, fearing "that it would lead to whole-sale evasion of the law and, perhaps, even migration to French Guinea on the part of many" (Document 337. Dated 14.3.55. File A/11 Control of diseases. Located at Kabala District Office. (Also see "Soil conservation and land use in Sierra Leone", 1951 p.60) Finally, Burnham (1975) has examined how mobile groups of Fulani pastoralists in Cameroon posed similar problems to the French Colonial Government. Under indirect rule, local taxation influenced many Fulani to leave French Cameroon for

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British Territory. (p.589) In this case:-"Geographical mobility was not the result of population pressure or other ecological constraint but was a political strategy and means of dispute regulation" (ibid, p.594) Burnham notes:-" The French recognised that cattle husbandry constituted the main source of wealth in the Adamawa region. Early French efforts to stabilise the Mbororo and promote economic development schemes failed, however, due to fissile tendencies inherent in Fulani political organisation".(p.592) 14) The following figures, which must be taken as estimates, indicate that in many instances large numbers of cattle were being confined to the one square mile settlement areas. Gberia Timbako Settlements. Musaia Settlements. 70 in two areas 120 in three areas 200 in three areas 100 in one area 70 in one area 80 in one area 170 in two areas 100 in one area 100 in three areas 60 in one area 120 in one area 60 in one area 60 in two areas 50 in one area 300 in three areas 30 in two areas 150 in two areas 150 in one area 250 in one area 50 in one area 300 in three areas 100 in one area Source: Document VD/KOI/47 Foulah Settlement. 23 April 1956. Kabala Veterinary Office. 15) Clearly this is a "customary" strategy. For as A.K.Murray, an agricultural officer who worked in Kabala during the 1950's, recalls:- "With "crop damage" a useful additional source, to the crop farmer, of income, often, they quite provocatively planted small patches of crops in the hope that cattle would destroy them. The Settlement Scheme...was an attempt to solve this problem". (1987: Personal communication.) And see Horowitz (1975, p.387) who reports a similar situation existing between farmers and Fulani herders in S.E.Niger. 16) During 1957, restrictions in the movement of cattle were enforced, due to an outbreak of contagious bovine pleuro-pneumonia. The District Officer noted:- "It has been very evident during the recent restriction in the movement of cattle, that damage to crops has considerably increased. The production of food by Yalunkas and Kurankos is limited, because of the large exodus of young men to the diamond areas. The result...has been that this limited food supply has been severely reduced." (District Officer to Director of veterinary Services (Teko) Document 377. Dated 13 July 1957. File A/11, located at Kabala District Office.) It is likely, that in areas where the Settlement Scheme was introduced, similar problems arose.

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17) Oxby, for example, suggests that the Settlement Scheme was originally devised for "the long-distance nomadic herders" who came down from Guinea in the dry season. I am not convinced that such long-distance transhumance occurred, at least on a regular basis. Oxby observes that the long distance nomads, which she calls "Teluku", never expressed interest in the proposed ranches, and that it was only the "Fouta", that is the settled pastoralists, who were involved in negotiations. Despite the confusion over named sub-groups, her general observation is accurate:- "although the scheme was specifically designed to settle the more nomadic herders, the ones who participated in the scheme were those who were already settled in the area".(1985 p. 228) 18) The KIADP did not get very far with their plans. Oxby, drawing on Hunting Technical Services livestock evaluation study (1979), writes:- "One ranch was attempted but not pursued due to a combination of impracticability of plans and non-cooperation of herders". (Oxby 1985 P.221) It would be strange to find that the herders were willing to co-operate with impractical plans. Non-cooperation is not, I feel, a relevant issue here. 19) The work oxen project is based at Musaia. It was established around 1980, and project work now covers five chiefdoms: Musaia, Sinkunia, Falaba, Mongo and Warra Warra Yagala. In 1983, it was estimated that 100 acres were ploughed with oxen in Koinadugu. It is estimated that there are presently 200 pairs of oxen in operation. (See below) 20) Jedrej notes:-"The objectives of an IADP is to raise the standard of living of the rural population in a large region through a strategy of developing the social and economic base in a coordinated way. In practice a great number of people, both Sierra Leonean and expatriate, are provided with employment trying to implement the old policy of encouraging farmers to abandon shifting cultivation and make labour-intensive swamp rice farms". (1983, p.556) 21) The charge was made at a meeting concerning "cow damage to KIADP crops", by Alhaji Yaya, Fula section chief of Yogomaia. Alhaji Yaya called for a "positive solution" to the emigration of the Fula. The minutes record:-"He referred to the cattle settlement scheme "at the time of Mr. Roche. According to that scheme, farmers worked during the rainy season and the cattle were kept under strict control, but in the dry season no farming was done and cattle were left to graze freely in swamps and elsewhere. As a result both farmers and cattle-owners were living peacefully with one another. Alhaji (Yaya) observed that if the same scheme could be adopted the present problem would solve itself unnoticed. He suggested that the farmers fenced their farms in the dry season and were to be assisted by the I.A.D. In fact, he said, he would welcome the idea of no swamp farming in the dry season". (Unnamed, undated document. c. 1984, concerning "cow damage to KIADP crops"- minutes of a meeting. File A/13 " Cattle Owner Settlement Scheme areas and rents. Located at Kabala District Office. 22) Ironically, the only major attempt at livestock development presently being carried out by the Government and the KIADP is disease control, through periodic inoculation programmes, and the extension of veterinary services (although I am

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