Research Between NGOs and Government in Uganda

B. Gessesse Ref. No150

This study was done in order to assess the state of collaboration between the research community and NGOs and to look at the prospects for encouraging better collaboration.

The study does not pretend to be exhaustive but is based on looking at a few NGOs and government sectors in Uganda and is supplemented by 2 case studies.

Agricultural research by government still follows a top-down approach and does little for pastoralists. By contrast NGOs use a more innovative and participatory approach and are loathe to get too involve with government bodies for fear of having to compromise their more effective approach. In certain other sectors collaboration does exist notably in primary health care and HIV/Aids research.

There is a recognition among government bodies that their research and development fail to reach the rural poor. Nevertheless they still maintain that, contrary to NGOs' belief, on-farm research is not necessarily the best approach. But the government sectors lack resources and tend to rely on NGOs to provide the resources to encourage collaboration. Since they also feel that NGOs are benefiting from donor bias, the relationship between the two groups is unequal. The paper concludes that there is still a lack of information about the state of research and suggests a directory be compiled to circulate such information and to avoid duplicating efforts.

Pastoral Land Use and Environmental Resources in the Horn of Africa: an Overview

Lume W. Ref. No 021

This paper is a study of pastoral land use and environmental resource utilisation in the Horn region and looks at traditional pastoral production systems as viable means of livelihood in arid and semi-arid areas.

The study looks at the ecological rationale of resource management in pastoral communities and at traditional land tenure. It highlights how the monetised economy and agricultural development projects have had an adverse impact on pastoral economies.

Policy planners continue to view 'development' in terms of sedentarising pastoralists. Similarly international NGOs interventions find it easier to distribute relief to settled groups and continue to view pastoralism as an outmoded way of life. The paper concludes that the decline of pastoralism in the Horn today has been caused by the dismantling of the balance between the natural and human social ecology.

Aspects of Declining Pastoral Land Tenure in Southern Somalia and Ogadenia

M. Dolal Ref. No. 111

The author strongly argues for the case of pastoralism as a highly adapted and rational system in marginalised arid zones.

In the case of Ogadenia evidence shows that pastoralism declined because of Ethiopian occupation policy in the territory. The paper argues that a number of scholars have perpetrated misconceptions about pastoralism. The author demonstrates how intervention policies disrupted traditional land tenure and ignored indigenous technical knowledge which pastoralists had relied on for so long but external factors (notably conflict) played a role as well.

The two case studies on Ogadenia and southern Somalia highlight how the colonial legacy and the Ethiopian development intervention led to a massive exodus of pastoralists who became victims of expanding agricultural opportunities.

The study concludes with several recommendations to improve the present situation of pastoralists in that area. It suggests creating pasture security zones and maintaining water supplies, creating associations which do not go against customary traditions and lobbying for the interests of pastoralists as well as education programmes to improve health and food security.

Agropastoralism and Drought in Africa: the case of Chad

Wallis M. Ref. No. 015

This paper based on field research looks at the production systems in Kanem and Lac districts of Chad.

Prior to the 1970-74 and 1984-85 droughts these areas were well endowed with natural resources and the divers ethnic groups lived reasonably harmoniously. The place is very poorly serviced by roads and the Agriculture, Forestry and Livestock departments are largely inoperative.

The drought had severe impact on the physical environment and created a massive exodus of people. Pastoralists lost large quantities of stock. Since then access to seasonal grazing has been on a ‘free for all’ basis and as marked differentiation between the have and the have nots has emerged and the most vulnerable are increasingly marginalised.

Various attempts have been made to help revitalise the livestock market after the drought. Some such as breed improvement, fodder banks and herders associations offer a promising future. However, as the author notes, further study needs to be carried out notably a resource inventory based on indigenous technical knowledge.

Selected Articles on Education, Extension, and Training of Agro-Pastoral People in sub-Saharan Africa

Ismail M. A. Ref. No. 030

This paper critically looks at the questions of education, training and extension in agriculture and concludes with a brief look at the research crisis in Africa.

In developing countries, education in agricultural and related topics suffers from a western bias, lack of specialised staff and shortage of resources. Moreover remote areas are not even covered by educational services. Recent food crises in sub-Saharan Africa have shown that food production has been declining over the last two decades. At the same time it is known that farm production is strongly correlated with levels of education thus pointing to the need for training at all levels.

Extension programmes are essential in order to ensure local participation in development programmes. The paper offers a detailed analysis of the components, pitfalls and benefits of extension work and touches on the reasons why gender-bias is found in this area. As the study from Turkana District suggests, pastoralists are even more marginalised when it comes to the delivery of extension services. The paper outlines the reasons for this and gives practical ways of involving pastoralists in decision-making.

The final part highlights the importance of research. It shows there is a pressing need for more specialised research which adopts a realistic stance.

Reflections on Pastoral Development

Legesse Asmaron Ref. No. 26

This paper gives a critical appraisal of development among pastoralist population over the past 25 years. The author reviews some of the water development programmes and the reasons for their failure. He also highlights how through involving the indigenous population in designing projects, organisations such as the African Development Foundation proved that programmes could be successful and sustainable.

Interesting research on the ecology of arid zones conducted by the Integrated Project on Arid Lands confirms that pastoralists’ management practices are not to blame for desertification. The author also gives an example of how adaptive strategies in times of food shortages and famine relief were shown by the Eritrean Relief Association to be successful. This could be copied by others to achieve self-reliance and counter the negative effects of dependence.