Migration, household production and consumption among the agropastoral Hal Pulaar of the Boundou in Eastern Senegal

This research looks at the effect of migration on household livestock and grain production, on household patterns of food purchases and consumption and on social and economic stratification. Social and economic factors that enable households to participate in migration are also analyzed. The sample for the research consists of 110 households in 10 villages located south of the town of Bakel in Eastern Senegal. The findings show that migration is tied to caste status and household size and that migration is an economic stage in the developmental cycle of the individual and the household. Migration does not tend to reinforce existing social and economic stratification; on the contrary, it challenges the existing structure. Migration among the Boundouke has a positive long-term effect on household livestock production through reducing the number of cattle which must be sold to maintain subsistence and increasing the number of cattle the household is able to purchase. Though the results are not unequivocal, migration does not appear to have a major impact on the level of household grain production. As a result of migration, household food expenditures increase; however, the kinds of foods purchased are associated with caste status rather than migration status of the household. The nutritional level of food prepared for consumption by the household is not affected by the migration status of the household, but rather is associated with its consumption pattern with single unit households having a higher nutrition level than multiple-unit households which share in consumption.