The Future of Pastoralism in Africa

An international conference in Addis Ababa 21-23 March 2011

PENHA was invited to make a presentation of its work among pastoralist women in the Horn of Africa at a major conference in Addis Ababa. The meeting was organised by Future Agricultures Consortium, Institute of Development Studies, Sussex University, and the Feinstein International Center, Tufts University, Addis Ababa.
 
Everse Ruhindi from Uganda gave a paper on behalf of PENHA on “Economic Empowerment for Pastoralist Women”. This was written in partnership with John Livingstone. The presentation pointed to the effectiveness of business skills training for women’s groups in pastoral areas, when combined with grants for rotating funds. This enables women to acquire productive assets and expand their micro-enterprises. The paper can be downloaded as a pdf from this internet link: http://www.future-agricultures.org/events/future-of-pastoralism Click on “Future of Pastoralism” box and then “Conference outputs” and go to Panel 12. Other papers can be downloaded. For example, Prof. John Morton from the University of Greenwich and a PENHA Trustee gave a paper on “Responsible companies and African livestock-keepers: teaching but not learning”. This is in Panel 6.

The theme of the conference was that the future of pastoralism in Africa is uncertain. Radical changes are affecting pastoralist areas in terms of access to resources, options for mobility and opportunities for marketing. These changes also bring new possibilities for making pastoralist livelihoods stronger but many questions remain about the sustainability of these changes. Is there opportunity for a productive, vibrant, market-oriented livelihood system or will pastoralist areas remain a backwater of underdevelopment, marginalisation and severe poverty? How can pastoralist ‘drop-outs’ be supported after they leave the livelihood but continue to interact with the livestock sector?

Introduction :
Prosopis juliflora in Eritrea within the Global Context of Rural Development and Environmental Sustainability To ensure environmental sustainability by 2015 is one of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the United Nations alongside the eradication of extreme hunger and poverty and the combating of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. They are a blue print of international development to which all countries and leading development institutions agreed. According to the MDGs, environmental sustainability includes the integration of related sustainable development principles into national policies and programmes as well as regeneration efforts regarding environmental resources. The international development community and policy makers have at last understood the close interlinkages between those goals and have - among other things - acknowledged the importance of tackling environmental degradation and improving ecological management as a vital component in the eradication of global poverty. As a result, many programmes and initiatives in recent years have adopted a more holistic and integrated approach to development. In regard to (natural) environmental sustainability issues such as natural resource management, reforestation, protection of biodiversity, resource based conflict management, and environmental education have all become common aspects in the fight against poverty.

A new major challenge is the integration of the question of climate change, carbon dioxide capture and carbon footprint reduction to which many  development organisations and policy makers are only slowly adapting. The ongoing debate on climate change and appropriate measures to mitigate the effects of global warming may be slowing the adaptation process down. Nevertheless the threat is evident and therefore makes the need for the protection and regeneration of natural resources even more immediate.

To achieve this, relevant policy design and widespread mobilisation needs to take place at several levels. Planning, coordination, and implementation of sustainable and effective natural resource management will need to take place at a country cross-cutting level as well as at national, regional and community level. However progress is often undermined by a lack of necessary technologies, capacities, knowledge and research. This often leads to a mismanagement  of resources, inappropriate practices or simply a sense of helplessness or ignorance.

The issue of Prosopis - at least in the case of Eritrea - seems to fit exactly into this wider picture: Awareness raising about the importance of natural resource management and protection alongside active community mobilisation has been widely and very visibly taking place at all levels and in this regard, Eritrea is ahead of many other Sub-Saharan countries. In the semi-arid areas of Eritrea however, Prosopis is now widely viewed as a threat to those resources and rural livelihoods mainly because of its invasive character at the expense of native species and land size within both range and crop lands. This research study aims to assess and analyse the impact of P.juliflora on Eritrea’s ecosystems and its role in terms of both the socio-economic benefits and disadvantages it brings to rural communities. Prosopis at the moment seems a  continuously spreading element at the expense of Eritrea’s native environmental resource base. Therefore, the matter needs to be urgently researched, managed and integrated into related national and community-based development programmes and policies.

To download the complete PhD dissertation, click here (6.1 mb). (Please note large size of file.)

The launch of an important report held in February 2010 at Sanga, Nyabushozi Kiruhura District.Herders' representatives and other stakeholders led the official launch of this study. Nearly 100 people attended this meeting, almost all of whom were herders from the local district where the work had been done. 41 were women.

The importance of the work was emphasised by the number of senior government officials present, in particular the National Animal Genetic Resources Centre and Data Bank. In addition, representatives of LPP, LIFE and PENHA (UK) were present.

The picture below show members of those attending the meeting celebrating the formal launch by waving the report.


A full description of the launch can be downloaded by clicking here (1.03 MB). The report itself is now available in electronic form and can be downloaded in English by clicking here (1,477 kb) and in Runyankore by clicking here (1,403 kb).  It can also be obtained by post from the PENHA London office or from PENHA Uganda.

Zeremariam Fre (PhD) Team leader,
Mirghani Ibnoaf (PhD) Senior Researcher, and
Hiroshi Kuwata (MSc) Researcher
(PENHA)

Study commissioned by IIED / UNFPA
Khartoum, Sudan
2009


ABSTRACT

The global increase of food prices in 2007 has to a degree affected the Sudan like so many other nations and has been a subject of discussion at the national level. However, in the case of the Sudan the food prices increase has happened over a much longer time frame and it is difficult to trace its roots in the current world food crisis.

Price increases in essential imported commodities such as food stuffs, e.g. wheat, are reflected in local prices in the cities but there are also marked increases in locally produced staple foods particularly sorghum which is the most important locally produced food item as far as the rural and urban poor are concerned.
The Eastern Region of the Sudan in general and the Kassala State in particular, which are main focus of this study, reveal that the underlying causes for the current local grain price rises have more to do with internal distribution systems, accessibility and policy issues than external factors such as increases in international food prices. Getting reliable information on such issues is politically very sensitive and therefore difficult to obtain.

The Eastern Region and particularly the Gadarif State is considered to be the breadbasket for the whole of Sudan and the Eastern Region is more than able to feed itself. It is beyond the scope of this study to analyse all the underlying factors that led to a situation in which a food surplus region in general suffers from food insecurity. The Eastern Region produces 23% of the total grain production for Sudan.

This study which is mostly based on findings from Kassala State which revealed the following:
    There is a major livelihood transformation among the pastoral communities who are symbiotically linked to urban communities to the benefit of the rural-urban poor. However, we have found very little evidence that the sedenterisation and urbanisation process is driven by the international food price increases.
    For livestock owners both rural and peri-urban the availability of animal food is the critical factor in securing their food security. Animal food is the second most important purchase along with human food for the livestock owning population who are the main producers of meat and milk for the urban centres. The terms of trade at present are not in the favour of livestock owners and that are adding to their economic and social vulnerability.
    From a policy and knowledge perspective at State and Federal levels there is very little understanding as to how the above mentioned rural-urban symbiotic relationships operate to benefit the rural-urban poor. The premise for intervention, be it in food security or other development spheres, is based upon rural-urban dichotomy which stresses the artificial rural-urban divide. There is thus a huge information gap, which needs to be bridged by fresh research that seriously looks at the urban-rural dynamics more seriously.

The authors of this report are of the view that there are a number of opportunities to enhance local food security by putting in place rural-urban inclusive policies which should include: more investment on the livestock sector, more investment on animal fodder, improving the local market infrastructure, revitalising the private sector, introducing better milk/meat processing technologies for home and abroad.

The full text of the paper can be downloaded by clicking here (1,053 kb).

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).

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.

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).