Preliminary Study on the Role of Pastoral Women in the Economy: the Case of Somalia.

R. Ibrahim Ref No 170

This study is based on considerable experience of the pastoral life of women in Somalia and provides an overview of the productive role of women in the pastoral economy. It assesses survival strategies and development interventions both from national governments and NGOs and proposes policy guidelines for PENHA’s work in addressing gender issues.

Somali pastoral society is established along patrilineal lines where the male elder is head of the family. He is the person who makes important decisions about family migration and wealth management. Polygamy is common among pastoralists. Women’s status, however, is protected by their affiliation to their birth family. There is a clear division of labour between women and men. Women’s role include small stock husbandry and decisions about milking as well as household tasks and child rearing. They are further responsible for the division of labour among children. They make the various implements needs for the household and sell surplus product outside to purchase cloth, cereals etc.

Recently pastoralists have suffered from extensive droughts and widespread conflicts. Women have had to shoulder a large part of the burden and have in many cases become heads of household.

In Somalia as in a number of countries, governments’ attempts at implementing development programmes have failed to address the needs of pastoralists. Earlier development interventions in favour of women became very much synonymous with particular political affiliation.

The Impact of Government Policy on Livestock Development in Ethiopia

Melesse B. Ref. No 070

The attempts by previous governments in Ethiopia to implement development policies resulted in alienating the peasants and landowners alike. But even within those policies very little was devoted to improving livestock production.

It seems wrong that the livestock sector should remain such a neglected area of investment particularly considering its foreign currency earning potential. This paper proposes a number of solutions for Ethiopia to realise its potential. Among them are: the abandoning of government intervention in marketing and pricing of livestock, the return to the right to own land and transferring the responsibility of the livestock sector to an autonomous body.

The author recommends a special relationship should be established between each livestock development district and at least one developed country. This would benefit the livestock sector and open up to foreign investment for commercialising it. It could later extend to other sectors of the economy. The economy would be stimulated through competition between regional livestock projects, standard of living of farmers would improve and they would be able to export more and bring foreign currency into the country.

Pastoralism and Land Tenure Systems in and around the Rahad Irrigation Scheme, East Sudan

Abusin M.,
Rahman El Mahi,
Suliman Y. ref. No. 135

This region is increasingly dominated by mechanised farming and tenancy agriculture which have forced pastoralists and traditional farmers to adjust their mode of living.

Land tenure was particularly affected by the 1970 Land Act which has serious implications for pastoral communal land tenure. Subsequent legislation seems to have further marginalised pastoralists who are victims of persistent prejudices on the part of governments.

Development of the livestock sector could have been an opportunity to involve pastoralists but instead it has benefited private firms and individuals and is not regulated by any government institution.

The Rahad project was designed because of the government policy to move towards large scale projects and because of the availability of shared water resources after the Nile Water agreement of 1959. The tenants interviewed during the study confirmed livestock plays an increasingly important role in the economy and showed that small stock and productivity rather than numbers are now favoured. The results show that adaptation to new situations is widespread and that pastoralists are becoming more open to negotiating with government on certain issues.

The study questions the sustainability of pastoralists’ coping mechanisms when they fight their case alone. It further suggests that while a broad development model is a good starting point, no model can be applied to all pastoralists given the wide variations among communities. Finally the paper recommends that land tenure issues be researched further as they have such an impact on pastoralist communities.

Ethnoveterinary Practice and its Role in Pastoral Development

Kheir M. Ref. No. 014

Indigenous knowledge is used in fields such as human health care, veterianry techniques and conservation of natural resources. This knowledge should be tapped whenever development projects are designed.

In the past 1-2 decades ethnoveterinary research and development has become widespread. This includes a number of practices which pastoral people use. Traditional drug preparations are a cheap alternative to modern ones as are various management practices to control the spread of diseases.

These practices need to be integrated to modern techniques in order to strengthen the quality and quantity of services provided to pastoralists. This will guarantee that development interventions are successful and sustainable and that they are culturally acceptable.