Sanoussi Abdou Zankou, born around 1987, residing in the village of Albarkaram (Zinder region) comes from a poor family. Before his training in animal husbandry techniques, he cultivated the family field from a young age and went from market to market to identify and buy small ruminants that he sold after fattening.
Every year, like most of the young people in his village, Sanoussi went to Nigeria to earn money during the lean season. When he returned, he resumed his breeding, an activity he had been passionate about since he was a child.
Through the project that supports the training and professional integration of young people, financed by GIZ, he received training in breeding techniques (sheep and cattle fattening, paraveterinary care) and cattle feed production. After his training he got equipment to help him develop his activity (feeder, trough, fork, shovel, moulds, boots, gloves, etc.).
Today Sanoussi earns a good living, his income has multiplied since he added paraveterinary care to his activities, and this allows him to stay all year round in his village. He has given up migrating during the lean season and has requested a legal authorization from services of the livestock sector to allow him to fully exercise his profession in a formal framework. He still intends to improve his skills in breeding and producing small ruminants in order to multiply and sell his livestock in the surrounding villages, communes and departments.
"I have finally found what suits me and which I am passionate about. Thanks to this activity I provide for the needs of my family. The inhabitants of the neighbouring villages call on me for paraveterinary services. The mayor of my commune put me in contact with the only technical agent for livestock in the commune to help me carry out the tasks at the service level. I am proud of what I have achieved and it is thanks to Swisscontact that I have been given the opportunity to do what I love most."
