Abstract
Marketing strategies employed by herders in Piura, a coastal region in northern Peru, are discussed in conjunction with ecological and economic factors. Data from regional slaughterhouses help in analyzing decisions concerning livestock offtakes and in understanding the rationale behind them. Piura is characterized by sharp weather changes, amplified by the El Niño phenomenon. The variations in precipitation and forage availability strongly affect production, structure, and dynamics of the herds and are therefore a significant component in determining the actual marketing decision strategy.
“Pure” herders adopt an “insurance” strategy emphasizing a build-up of herds during abundant years in order to compensate for considerable losses caused by frequent droughts. The use of stubble and concentrated feed in coping with droughts is restricted by economic and social factors. Agropastoralists are affected not only by ecological factors but also by labor availability, agricultural cash requirements, and household needs. As a result, these goat keepers practice a “capital-manipulation strategy” in which goats and kids are used as a form of capital. The paper provides an empirical representation of these two marketing strategies based on slaughterhouses' records and a complementary field survey.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aronson, D. (1980). Must nomads settle? In Salzman, P. C. (ed.),When Nomads Settle: Processes of Sedentarization as Adaptation and Response. Preager, Bergan, New York.
Barlett, P. (1980). Adaptive strategies in peasant agricultural production.Annual Review of Anthropology 9: 545–573.
Barth, F. (1973). A general perspective on nomad-sedentary relations in the Middle East. In Nelson, C. (ed.),The Desert and the Sown. Research Series No. 21, Institute of International Studies, University of California, Berkeley.
Brandstrom, P., Hultin, J., and Lindstrom, J. (1979). Aspects of agropastoralism in East Africa. Research Report 51, Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, Uppsala.
Caviedes, C. N. (1975). El Nino 1972: Its climatic, ecological, human, and economic implications.Geographical Review 65: 493–509.
Chayanov, A. V. (1966).The Theory of Peasant Economy. Irwin, Homewood, Illinois.
Clark, N. T. (1985). The effect of the 1973/4 drought in Somalia on subsequent exports and registered slaughterings of camels, sheep, goat and cattle.Nomadic Peoples 17: 53–57.
Dahl, G., and Hjort, A. (1976).Having Herds: Pastoral Herd Growth and Household Economy. Department of Social Anthropology, Stockholm Studies in Sociology and Anthropology 2, University of Stockholm.
Deshler, W. W. (1965). Native cattle keeping in eastern Africa. In Leeds, A., and Vayda, A. P. (eds.),Man, Culture, and Animals. American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, D.C.
Doran, M. H., Low, A. R. C., and Kemp, R. L. (1979). Cattle as a store of wealth in Swaziland: Implication for livestock development and overgrazing in eastern and southern Africa.American Journal of Agricultural Economy 61(1): 41–47.
Evans, O. R. (1978). Decision theory in the management of renewable natural resources. Proceedings of the First International Rangeland Congress, The Society for Range Management, Denver.
Glantz, M. H., and Thompson, J. D. (1981).Resource Management and Environmental Uncertainty. Wiley, New York.
Goldschmidt, W. (1972). The operation of a Sebei capitalist: A contribution to economic anthropology.Ethnology 2: 187–201.
Guillen, O. G., and Galienes, R. Z. (1981). Biological productivity and El Niño. In Glantz, M. H., and Thompson, J. D. (eds.),Resource Management and Environmental Uncertainty. Wiley, New York.
Haaland, C. (1977). Pastoral systems of production: The sociocultural context and some economic and ecological implication. In P. O'keefe and B. Wisner (eds.),African Environment—Land Use and Development International African Institute, London.
Hama, A. (1981). Consumption and marketing of pastoral products among the Kal Tamacheq in the Niger bend, Mali. In Galaty, J., Aronson, D., and Salzman, P. C. (eds.),The Future of Pastoral Peoples. IDRC, Ottawa.
Jarvis, L. S. (1974). Cattle as capital goods and rangers as portfolio managers: An application to the Argentine cattle sector.Journal of Political Economy 82: 489–520.
Keith, R. G. (1976).Conquest and Agrarian Change: The Emergence of the Hacienda System on the Peruvian Coast. Harvard University Press, Cambridge.
Konczacki, Z. A. (1978).The Economics of Pastoralism: A Case Study of Sub-Saharan Africa. Frank Cass, London.
Lees, S. (1982). Environmental hazard and decision making: another perspective from human ecology. In Ortiz, S. (ed.),Economic Anthropology: Topics and Theories. University Press of America, Lanham.
Murphy, R. C. (1926). Oceanic and climatic phenomena along the west coast of South America during 1925.Geographical Review 16: 26–54.
Namias, J. (1976). Some statistical and synoptic characteristics associated with El Niño.Journal of Physical Oceanography 6: 130–138.
Netting, R. (1977).Cultural Ecology. Benjamin and Cummings, Menlo Park.
Orlove, B. (1980). Ecological anthropology.Annual Review of Anthropology 9: 235–273.
Ortiz, S. (1979). The effect of risk aversion strategies on subsistence and cash crop decisions. In Roumassent, J. A., Boussard, J., and Singh, I. (eds.),Risk, Uncertainty and Agriculture Development. Agricultural Development Council, New York.
Perevolotsky, A. (1983). Pastoralists-agriculturalists relationships under fluctuating and variable environment: The tropical desert of Piura, Peru. Paper presented at the 11th Congress of the Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, Vancouver, August 20–25, 1983.
Perevolotsky, A. (1984). Goat herding in Piura, Peru: The environmental context and the human factor. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Davis.
Perevolotsky, A. (1985a).Los pobladores de los despoblados: Goat herders in Piura, Peru. SR-CRSP Technical Report #33, Department of Rural Sociology, University of Missouri, Columbia.
Perevolotsky, A. (1985b). The impact of the El Niño of 1983 on goat herding in Piura. SR-CRSP Technical Report #34, Department of Rural Sociology, University of Missouri, Columbia.
Philander, S. G. H. (1983). El Nino Southern Oscillation phenomena.Nature 302: 295–301.
Primov, G. (1981). The regional structure of distribution of mutton in Cusco, Peru. A technical report, Small Ruminant CRSP. Department of Rural Sociology, University of Missouri, Columbia.
Renán Iglesia, W. (1975). Estudio de las inundaciones en Piura, año 1972. Thesis, Universidad Nacional Agraria “La Molina,” Lima.
Sarbo, G. M. (1977). Nomads on the scheme—a study of irrigation, agriculture and pastoralism in Eastern Sudan. In O'keefe, P., and Wisner, B. (eds.),African Environment—Land Use and Development. International African Institute, London.
Schneider, H. (1974). Economic development and economic change: The case of East African cattle.Current Anthropology 15(3): 259–276.
Schneider, H. (1979).Livestock and Equality in East Africa: The Economic Basis for Social Structure. Indiana University Press, Bloomington.
Swift, J. (1977). Desertification and man in the Sahel. In O'Keefe, P., and Wisner, B. (eds.),African Environment—Land Use and Development. International African Institute, London.
Vayda, A. P., and McCay, B. J. (1975). New directions in ecology and ecological anthropology.Annual Review of Anthropology 4: 293–303.
Vengroff, R. (1980).Upper Volta: Environmental Uncertainty and Livestock Production. International Center for Arid and Semi-Arid Land Studies, Lubbock, Texas.
Weinpahl, J. (1985). Turkana herds under environmental stress.Nomadic People 17: 59–87.
Widstrand, C. G. (1976). The rationale of nomad economy.Ambio IV: 146–153.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Perevolotsky, A. To sell or not to sell—A Pastoralist's Dilemma: A lesson from the slaughterhouse. Hum Ecol 14, 287–310 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00889032
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00889032