![]() Rising Chinese demand for donkeys has elicited a variety of responses by governments across Africa. This makes the donkey trade a sensitive topic. The loss of a donkey to a household in rural Kenya is associated with an increased risk of poverty – children drop out of school, and there’s less water security and more economic fragility. ![]() The value of having a donkey in the household is evident. This frees up labour and time for other income generating activities, such as sowing someone’s farm for money. This means people need to make fewer trips. The presence of a donkey also freed girl children to go to school.ĭonkeys can also carry heavy loads of firewood and water. In Ghana, for instance, owning a donkey was found to save adults about five hours of labour a week, and children 10 hours a week. ![]() They are a durable household asset.ĭonkey ownership increases productivity and lessens hard work by, for example, reducing the loads women must otherwise carry themselves. Even in harsh environments donkeys can travel long distances with a heavy load, limited fluids, and without showing signs of fatigue. In rural areas, the presence of a donkey in a household helps to alleviate poverty and frees women and girls from household drudgery.ĭonkeys are one of the simplest, most sustainable and affordable means of transporting people, goods and farm inputs and outputs from home to farm to market and vice versa, as well as to water wells and other places. Value of donkeysĭonkeys are estimated to support about 158 million people in Africa. Millions of vulnerable East Africans rely on donkeys for a living and are at risk of losing out through the donkey skin trade. This was also highlighted by a recent survey of the East African Community which found that the region was not ready for the mass slaughter and unregulated trade of donkeys. Only when the donkey hide trade is fully regulated - and export numbers are able to be very limited - might the trade work without adverse consequences for the poor. The other part of the challenge is regulatory. Donkeys have a valuable, ancient role as a workhorse and losing access to them creates a huge problem for poor households. ![]() Besides donkey welfare, a big part of the challenge is how affordable donkeys are locally. My findings are that the scale of the donkey trade, both illicit and legal, poses a challenge for many countries in Africa, especially in terms of its impact on the most marginalised communities. My information came from interviews, literature and news reviews in English and Chinese. In a recent paper I examined the trends, issues and prospects for the Africa–China donkey trade. ![]()
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