Övergång från nomadisk till en mer bofast boskapsskötsel i West Pokot, Kenya

West Pokot County is located in North Western part of Kenya where the previous lifestyle was nomadic pastoralism. However, in recent years the semi-arid county has been under dramatic developments and a sedentary agro-pastoral lifestyle is now growing. This is a major change in production systems and there is a big knowledge gap especially for the livestock based agro-pastoral systems. The main objective of this study was to investigate the current situation of animal husbandry in West Pokot. Twenty farmers were interviewed in Chepareria Division, using semi-structured interviews to investigate if the use of enclosures have had any effect on animal husbandry in West Pokot and if so, how have this method affected the animal husbandry? The results of the study indicated that there is a difference in animal husbandry between farms using enclosures and farms not using enclosures. There was a significant positive association between number of years with enclosures and total number of animals (p<0.05). Those farmers that had been using enclosures more than 12 years had considerable more animals compared to the other categories of farmers. There was a negative correlation between the use of enclosures and the use of migration (p<0.01). Only one of the farms using enclosures also migrated with the animals, while four of the five farms not using enclosures migrated. To be able to draw further conclusions about these differences, more detailed research needs to be done of the animal production in West Pokot County. The focus should be on pasture management and the supply of water and feed to animals.West Pokot ligger i nordvästra delen av Kenya, där den tidigare livsstilen var nomadisk boskapsskötsel. På senare år har den halvtorra regionen genomgått en dramatisk utveckling och en mer bofast agro-baserad pastoral livsstil växer fram. Detta betyder en stor förändring i de produktionssystem som används i regionen och det har uppkommit en stor kunskapslucka, särskilt för agro-baserade djurproduktionssystem. Syftet med studien var därför att undersöka den nuvarande djurhållningen i West Pokot, Kenya. Tjugo bönder intervjuades i Chepareria Division med hjälp av semi-strukturerade intervjuer för att undersöka om användningen av inhägnader har haft någon effekt på djurhållningen i West Pokot och i så fall, hur denna metod har påverkat djurhållningen. Resultaten visade en skillnad i djurhållning mellan gårdar som använder inhägnader och gårdar som inte använder inhägnader. Det fanns ett signifikant positivt samband mellan antal år med inhägnader och det totala antalet djur (p<0.05). De bönder som använt inhägnader mer än 12 år hade betydligt fler djur än de andra kategorierna. Samband hittades också i frekvens av migrering mellan gårdar som använder inhägnader och gårdar som inte använder inhägnader (p <0.01), där gårdar med många års användning av inhägnader hade mindre frekvens av migration. Endast på en av gårdarna som använder inhägnader migrerade bonden med djuren, medan fyra av de fem gårdar som inte använder inhägnader migrerade. För att kunna dra ytterligare slutsatser om dessa skillnader behöver mer detaljerad forskning göras om djurproduktionen i West Pokot. Fokus bör ligga på skötsel av betesmark samt ranson vatten och foder till djuren

Animal welfare in Ethiopia: handling of cattle during transport and operations at Kera Abattoir, Addis Abeba

The main objective of this study was to evaluate animal welfare situation in Ethiopia during slaughter and to investigate chain activities between animal markets and Kera abattoir in Addis Abeba. In total, 442 animals were observed within 52 groups of cattle; both ox and calves with different breeds. The study was divided into four different sets of data collection; behavioural observations, recording of slaughter process, observation during transport and interview. During the behavioural observations, an ethogram was used with 46 behaviours observed, categorised into 5 different groups. The data was calculated using Excel and SAS. The results indicated that a significant correlation (p-value<5%) between abusive handling “beating of body” (frequency 46%) and aggressive animal behaviour “aggressiveness” (frequency 23%). In the supply chain, distance between Kera abattoir and the eight, most common markets, varied from 600 km. To improve animal welfare and hence, Ethiopia’s agricultural sector, further studies must be made, with more detailed measurements such as heart rate, glycogen and pH-value.Målet med den här studien var att undersöka dagens djurvälfärd på Kera abattoir i Addis Abeba, Etiopien. Målet var också att kartlägga transportkedjan av djur mellan slakteriet och djurmarknader runt om i Etiopien. Totalt observerades 442 djur, inom 52 grupper med både oxar och kalvar av olika raser. Undersökningen delades upp i fyra olika steg; beteendeobservationer, observation av slaktprocessen, observation av transport samt en intervju med en anställd på slakteriet. 46 olika beteenden observerades och delades in i fem olika grupper som definierades i ett ethogram och delades upp i fem olika grupper. Data beräknades sedan i Excel och SAS och resultaten visade signifikant korrelation (p-värde<5%) mellan ”beat of body” (46% frekvens) och ”aggressiveness” (23% frekvens). I den kartlagda transportkedjan varierade avståndet mellan Kera abattoir och de åtta, vanligaste djurmarknaderna, mellan 600 km. För att förbättra djurens välbefinnande, och därmed Etiopiens jordbrukssektor, måste ytterligare studier göras med detaljerade mätningar såsom hjärtfrekvens, glykogen och pH - värde

Enclosures in West Pokot, Kenya: Transforming land, livestock and livelihoods in drylands

Dryland livestock production systems are changing in many parts of the world, as a result of growing human populations and associated pressure on water and land. Based on a combination of social and natural science methods, we studied a 30-year transformation process from pastoralism to a livestock-based agro-pastoral system in northwestern Kenya, with the overall aim to increase the understanding of the ongoing transition towards intensified agro-pastoralist production systems in dryland East Africa. Key to this transformation was the use of enclosures for land rehabilitation, fodder production, and land and livestock management. Enclosures have more soil carbon and a higher vegetation cover than adjacent areas with open grazing. The level of adoption of enclosures as a management tool has been very high, and their use has enabled agricultural diversification, e.g. increased crop agriculture, poultry production and the inclusion of improved livestock. Following the use of enclosures, livelihoods have become less dependent on livestock migration, are increasingly directed towards agribusinesses and present new opportunities and constraints for women. These livelihood changes are closely associated with, and depend on, an ongoing privatization of land under different tenure regimes. The results indicate that the observed transformation provides opportunities for a pathway towards a sustainable livestock-based agro-pastoral system that could be valid in many dryland areas in East Africa. However, we also show that emergent risks of conflicts and inequalities in relation to land, triggered by the weakening of collective property rights, pose a threat to the sustainability of this pathway

Enclosures in West Pokot, Kenya: Transforming land, livestock and livelihoods in drylands

Dryland livestock production systems are changing in many parts of the world, as a result of growing human populations and associated pressure on water and land. Based on a combination of social and natural science methods, we studied a 30-year transformation process from pastoralism to a livestock-based agro-pastoral system in northwestern Kenya, with the overall aim to increase the understanding of the ongoing transition towards intensified agro-pastoralist production systems in dryland East Africa. Key to this transformation was the use of enclosures for land rehabilitation, fodder production, and land and livestock management. Enclosures have more soil carbon and a higher vegetation cover than adjacent areas with open grazing. The level of adoption of enclosures as a management tool has been very high, and their use has enabled agricultural diversification, e.g. increased crop agriculture, poultry production and the inclusion of improved livestock. Following the use of enclosures, livelihoods have become less dependent on livestock migration, are increasingly directed towards agribusinesses and present new opportunities and constraints for women. These livelihood changes are closely associated with, and depend on, an ongoing privatization of land under different tenure regimes. The results indicate that the observed transformation provides opportunities for a pathway towards a sustainable livestock-based agro-pastoral system that could be valid in many dryland areas in East Africa. However, we also show that emergent risks of conflicts and inequalities in relation to land, triggered by the weakening of collective property rights, pose a threat to the sustainability of this pathway.