West African countries, working with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), have launched a coordinated regional response to cattle rustling, now recognized as a serious cross-border security threat linked to organized crime and the financing of armed groups.
The new approach was adopted during a sub-regional workshop held in Dakar from February 9 to 12, which brought together more than 70 participants from 15 countries, including government officials, security forces, pastoral organizations, regional bodies, and private sector actors.
Authorities agreed on the need to move beyond treating cattle theft as a rural crime and instead address it through criminal prosecution, enhanced cross-border security cooperation, and livestock traceability systems.
Officials warned that cattle rustling is undermining food security, social cohesion, and territorial stability across the region. FAO data presented at the meeting estimate annual economic losses at over 467 million dollars, with Nigeria alone losing nearly 478 million dollars over five years and Mali about 32 million dollars in the same period, while Senegal faces growing annual losses.
The organization also highlighted the rise of organized cross-border networks exploiting hard-to-monitor corridors, particularly in areas such as Liptako-Gourma and the Lake Chad basin, where stolen livestock is increasingly used to finance armed groups and fuel regional insecurity.
