Patron Joanna Lumley OBE

Papers 2000 onwards





By Kees Maxey | Published 08/16/2010 | Papers 2000 onwards | Unrated
The use of alternative animal feeds to enhance food security and environmental protection in the Sudan (The case for Prosopis Juliflora)
By T. M. Abedelnoor; N. H. Talib; A. A. Mabrouk; M. A. Mohamed, M. I. El-Mahi H.H.Abu-Eisa; Fre.Z; and Bokrezion.H
Editor in chief: Zeremariam Fre (PhD).


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).
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By Rita Perez | Published 12/17/2008 | Papers 2000 onwards | Unrated

Pastoralism in the Horn of Africa - To Be or Not To Be: An Evolutionary Perspective
By Zeremariam Fre (PhD), Lecturer at the University College London and Executive Director of PENHA

Paper presented to the Japan Natural Science Science Programme Seminar on pastoralism, Nairobi, September 2008.

The paper provides a broad context to the current status of pastoralism in the Horn of Africa from an economic and resource competition/conflict perspective. It argues that traditional pastoralism as we know it (i.e. an environmentally/socially sustainable livelihood) is going through serious self generated and externally driven evolution process which may be irreversible thus changing the pastoralist production system as we knew it. This realisation the author believes is so fundamental if planners, researchers and funders wish to contribute to the well being of pastoral peoples in this region. Drawing from experiences from Eastern Sudan and Western Eritrea,the author argues that researchers and planners often ignore the above challenges and the changing livelihood parameters.

There is also growing evidence that pastoral peoples are in urban and peri-urban economic activities in a symbiotic manner with other groups. Pastoral peoples are not as marginalized as is often claimed by some academics and over the last 20 years we have seen considerable growth in pastoralist led civil society organisations both at the national and local level. Pastoral peoples have now their political constituencies and have say in political systems regardless of the nature of the ruling elite. The author demonstrates that pastoral peoples despite the evolution mentioned above possess tremendous skills in animal production/management and own productive breeds of livestock, which could form the basis for more sustainable people, centred development..The author believes that it is critical that we recognise and build on these opportunities thus promoting a new agenda for sustainable pastoral development.

The full text as a pdf can be downloaded by clicking here. (65 kb)

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Legislators and Livestock: A Comparative Analysis of Pastoralist Parliamentary Groups in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda
By Rita Perez | Published 08/1/2007 | Papers 2000 onwards | Unrated
John Morton, Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, April 2005

Final Report of the NRI/PENHA Research Project on Pastoralist Parliamentary groups, funded by DFID's Livestock Production Programme and the CAPE Unite, African Union's Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources.

Full report can be downloaded by clicking here (95 kb).
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The New Phenomenon of Land Grabbing in Africa and its Impact on Livelihoods and Ecosystems
By Kees Maxey | Published 08/4/2010 | Papers 2000 onwards | Unrated

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.
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By Kees Maxey | Published 08/4/2010 | Papers 2000 onwards | Unrated

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.

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By Kees Maxey | Published 08/8/2010 | Papers 2000 onwards | Unrated

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.
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What's New

PENHA'S August Newsletter available
Download the latest fully illustrated issue from PENHA's website.
Added:Saturday 28th August

Handicrafts made by Sudanese pastoralist women
A showcase shown after a training session of 45 pastoralist women from Kassala State in Eastern Sudan.
Added:Saturday 21st August

Enhancing food security and the environment in Sudan
The use of alternative animal feeds to enhance food security and environmental protection in the Sudan (The case for Prosopis Juliflora)
Added:Monday 16th August

PENHA's Director live on Vox Africa
Dr. Zeremariam Fre appeared on the weekly "Shoot the Messenger" programme in August 2010 to discuss urban development in Africa.
Added:Sunday 08th August

"The Ankole Longhorn Cattle Sustain our Life and Livelihood - We have to Conserve Them"
The launch of an important report held in February 2010 at Sanga, Nyabushozi Kiruhura District.
Added:Tuesday 04th May

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