Prosopis juliflora (referred to in this paper as Prosopis or locally known to as ‘’Muskit’’) is a member of a fast growing, ever green and drought resistant shrub which grows in semi-arid areas all over the world, including Sudan and several arid and semiarid countries in Africa. The seed pods are palatable to local animals, particularly ruminants such as sheep and goat. The leaves are relatively unpalatable – due to both the tannin content and to their indigestibility. However, in Sudan and elsewhere, Prosopis has also caused considerable problems because of its rapid growth and damage to farmlands, pasture and especially the irrigated agricultural schemes. The shrub is dispersed in a number of ways, including distribution of seeds from the pods via the faeces of goats and sheep. A concerted but unsuccessful attempt at its removal has been made by the government.

There are differing perspective in Sudan among policy makers and academics and such views range from total physical eradication of Prosopis to seeking alternative uses for it. This paper uses as its point of departure that Prosopis in underutilized resource and that it has great potential as an animal feed resources in the arid lands of Sudan and Africa. 

During 2007, The Pastoral and Environmental Network in the Horn of Africa (PENHA) and the Animal Production Research Centre (APRC) within the Animal Resources Research Corporation within the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) have been engaged in some serious research to investigate the potential and more effective use of Prosopis as an animal feed. The results from the four month study which came to an end in late 2007 have clearly indicated that prosopis has indeed a great potential for use as animal feed in various forms if fed in appropriate quantities and made more palatable to the animals .Following the outcomes of the research led to a series of pilot training programmes were conducted with pastoral communities in Eastern Sudan and Eritrea. The overall conclusion is that Prosopis can provide a significant input into the feed of
small ruminants in the pastoral areas of Sudan as a well as other parts of Africa.

The full report can be downloaded here as a pdf file (897 kb).

Urban Development in Africa

Dr. Zeremariam Fre appeared on the weekly Vox Africa "Shoot the Messenger" programme in August 2010 to discuss urban development in Africa.

The programme, which is introduced by Henry Bonsu, was also joined by Architect and Academic, Giles Omez , and  leading architct David Adijaye.    

The discussion covered the history of urban development in Africa. How livable are African megacities? And how can African governments build sustainable cities?

If you have a fast connection (broad band or ADSL), the discussion can be followed here. Click on the arrow in the middle of the frame. the discusson lasted about one hour.

In partnership with the Commonwealth Secretariat and with the Council for Education in the Commonwealth, PENHA had a conference on "Education Nomadic and Pastoralist Children" in September 2007. This report looked at the issue in the Horn of Africa but also in Africa in general and in Asia. The report can be downloaded as a pdf by clicking here (261 kb).

PENHA's Director lectures at the UN University in Japan

Zeremariam Fre gave a presentation on "The New Phenomenon of Land Grabbing in Africa and its Impact on Livelihoods and Ecosystems".

In summary, he said that the question of land grabbing in the developing world, including Eastern Europe, could be seen as a new phenomenon to some, and to others it could well be new wine in old bottles given the various stakeholders involved in land grabbing both at domestic and international levels. It is important that land grabbing is contextualised in the regions where it is taking place to have a better understanding of the various stakeholders, their production objectives, their relation to the ecology and other the factors at play. By a better understanding of the political, ecological, class and governance contexts where the land grab is occurring, we may be able to not only grasp the situation but also help in finding some solutions to the problem.

This presentation focused on the African context of both ‘’internal’’ and ‘’global’’ land grabbing experiences, shedding light on some practical experiences as they impact on the livelihoods of the rural poor and the ecology. Various references to Ethiopia, Sudan and Eritrea with particular focus to pastoral and peasant farming communities in those countries were briefly highlighted. These reflections were designed to promote debate on the land grabbing issue from a livelihoods and ecological perspective.

The power point which accompanied this presentation can be downloaded as a pdf here. (701 kb)

A video of the presentation followed by the discussion can be viewed by clicking here for the presentation and here for the discussion. It is essential that you have a broadband (ADSL) connection to be able to view this presentation.

An African view of the Copenhagen conference on climate change

Zeremariam Fre, PENHA's Executive Director joined three others on the VoxAfrica channel to discuss how Africa might be affected by the conference. This discussion took place in November 2009.

Over a hundred world leaders descended on Copenhagen in December 2009 in a bid to save the world from the threat of climate change. They were under pressure to agree to cut carbon emissions by 25-40% below 1990 levels by 2020, and to stop the earth's temperature from rising by more than 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels. Could this summit really deliver for Africa, and is the continent speaking with one voice? This discussion, which took place as the conference was beginning, included the following guests.

DR AMA BINEY, Historian and Pan-Africanist, SIMON TRACE from PRACTICAL ACTION UK, and DR ZEREMARIAM FRE from the Pastoral and Environmental Network in the Horn of Africa (PENHA) and University College London. The presenter was HENRY BONSU.

If you have a fast connection (broad band or ADSL), the discussion can be followed here. Click on the arrow in the middle of the frame. The disussion lasted about one hour.

Overgrazing: The Crux of the Pastoralist Controversy

Eric Schwennesen, M.Sc., Director, Resource Management International, Winkelman, Arizona, USA

This paper challenges the Eurocentric approach to this issue and provides an alternative definition of the term.

The full paper can be downloaded as a pdf by clicking here (85 kb).