The value of donkeys to livelihood provision in northern Ghana

Abstract

Increased demand for the supply of donkey hides for use in the Traditional Chinese Medicine e’jiao, is leading to a re-appraisal of donkeys’ contributions to livelihoods across the world. This research aimed to understand the utilitarian value donkeys provide to poor small holder farmers, especially women, in their efforts to make a living in two rural communities in northern Ghana. Uniquely, children and donkey butchers were interviewed for the first time about their donkeys. A qualitative thematic analysis was undertaken of data disaggregated by sex, age and donkey-ownership. The majority of protocols were repeated during a second visit, ensuring comparative data between one wet, and one dry season. Donkeys are more important in people’s lives than had previously been recognised and are highly valued by their owners for their help in reducing drudgery and the multi-functional services they offer. Hiring out donkeys to generate income is a secondary role for people who own donkeys, especially women. However, for financial and cultural reasons the way donkeys are kept results in the loss of a certain percentage of the animals to the donkey meat market, as well as the global hides trade. Increasing demand for donkey meat, coupled with increasing demand for donkeys for farming, is leading to donkey price inflation and theft of donkeys. This is putting pressure on the donkey population of neighbouring Burkina Faso and pricing resource-poor non-donkey owners out of the market. E’jiao has put the spotlight on the value of dead donkeys for the first time, especially to governments and middlemen. This study shows that the value of live donkeys to poor farming households is substantial. It attempts to understand and document this value thoroughly, should the majority of donkeys in West Africa be rounded up and slaughtered for the value of their meat and skin instead.

Donkey business: Trade, Resource Exploitation, and Crime

“…While previous research has explored the impact of Chinese import competition on economic variables such as manufacturing employment (Autor et al, 2013;Pierce & Schott, 2016) and workers' earnings (Autor et al, 2014;Dix-Carneiro et al, 2023), there is a smaller body of work focusing on the demand-side effects of China's ascendancy, especially in those natural-resource based markets. Previous research has shown that ejiao market and donkey hide trade has led to detrimental effects on rural communities livelihoods in African countries, where donkeys are important assets (Carder et al, 2019;Goodrum et al, 2022;Maggs et al, 2023). Our results point out, however, to a resource-boom effect: international demand makes these previously worthless animals valuable.…”

“…The ramifications of this trade transcend mere concerns for animal welfare, posing substantial threats to both donkey demographics and the livelihoods reliant upon them, especially in regions like Africa where these animals play indispensable roles in agriculture and transportation. Notably, Maggs et al (2023) underscores the significant value of live donkeys to impoverished farming households in West Africa, thereby illuminating the multifaceted challenges associated with the escalating slaughtering of these animals in the region. In response to mounting apprehensions regarding the trade's impact on local economies and populations, various governments, including those of Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal, have taken regulatory measures by imposing restrictions on the exports of donkey products (The Donkey Sanctuary, 2022).…”