Étayage social et processus d’autonomisation des populations locales : cas des éleveurs et agriculteurs du département de Guéni (province du logone occidental)

Abstract

This dissertation is entitled: ‘Étayage social et processus d'autonomisation des populations locales: cas des éleveurs et agriculteurs du département de Guéni (province du Logone Occidental)’. The research project on methods of social support and capacity building for herders and farmers in the department of Guéni, in Logone Occidental, raises important questions about the development and support of rural communities. The context of the study highlights the importance of agro-pastoral activities in the livelihoods and economic development of rural communities in Chad. These activities mainly include agriculture and livestock farming, two of the region's economic mainstays. The difficulties encountered in these sectors, such as natural, human and economic constraints, hamper the development of local populations (Bateson, 1935). This frame of reference is reinforced by an analysis of the conditions that influence levels of agricultural production and livestock systems, and their contribution to community empowerment. The aim of this study is to understand social interactions and to envisage support that will promote the empowerment of livestock breeders and farmers in the Guéni department. The focus is on social scaffolding, a concept borrowed from Vygotsky (1978) and Bruner (1983), which refers to the forms of support, whether formal or informal, offered to individuals or groups in a learning or development situation. Agropastoral activity in Chad is facing major economic and social challenges, which are a real blight on the country's development and are plunging the Chadian people into social insecurity and total dependence. We therefore hypothesised that social support plays an essential role in the process of empowering livestock breeders and farmers in the department of Guéni. The research followed a comprehensive approach based on a qualitative approach using an interview guide as the data collection instrument. Analysis of the main findings revealed primitive violence, social disruption and chaos leading to a breakdown in the narcissistic contract, creating disagreement between herders and farmers. This would explain the incessant intercommunity conflicts between herders and farmers and the social precariousness of local populations.