Economic contribution of pastoral and agro pastoral production to food security and livelihoods systems in Africa: The case of Eastern Sudan, Eritrea and Western Ethiopia in the Horn of Africa

The paper provides a broad context to the current status of pastoralism and agro-pastoralism in the Horn of Africa from a food security and smallholder livelihoods perspectives. It argues that the significant contribution pastoral and agro pastoral livestock producers make to domestic, national and regional food security is often misrepresented and such contribution to food security is regularly unappreciated by policy makers at State level. Such an attitude is reflected in national and regional government policy perspectives which often do not apportion adequate financial and human resources to help the sector develop to its fullest potential. The paper argues that pastoralism and agro-pastoralism (i.e. as an environmentally/ socially sustainable livelihood system) is going through a serious self generated and externally driven evolving process which may be irreversible. Thus a change of the pastoralist production system from subsistence to more commercial orientation may be feasible. This reality, the authors believe, is so fundamental that government planners, researchers, international organizations and funders must recognise this if they wish to contribute to the wellbeing of pastoral peoples from a food security dimension in the Horn of Africa region. Drawing from authors’ experiences from Eastern Sudan, Western Ethiopia and Western Eritrea, they demonstrate the significant economic contribution small producers make to food security within the Region as well as the Middle East, the key challenges they face and recommend ways in which such contribution could be enhanced at national and regional levels

Knowledge Sovereignty among African Cattle Herders

Beni-Amer cattle owners in the western part of the Horn of Africa are not only masters in cattle breeding, they are also knowledge sovereign, in terms of owning productive genes of cattle and the cognitive knowledge base crucial to sustainable development. The strong bonds between the Beni-Amer, their animals, and their environment constitute the basis of their ways of knowing, and much of their knowledge system is built on experience and embedded in their cultural practices. In this book, the first to study Beni-Amer practices, Zeremariam Fre argues for the importance of their knowledge, challenging the preconceptions that regard it as untrustworthy when compared to scientific knowledge from more developed regions. Empirical evidence suggests that there is much one could learn from the other, since elements of pastoralist technology, such as those related to animal production and husbandry, make a direct contribution to our knowledge of livestock production. It is this potential for hybridisation, as well as the resilience of the herders, at the core of the indigenous knowledge system. Fre also argues that indigenous knowledge can be viewed as a stand-alone science, and that a community’s rights over ownership should be defended by government officials, development planners and policy makers, making the case for a celebration of the knowledge sovereignty of pastoralist communitie

Exploring Prosopis Management and Policy Options in the Greater Horn of Africa: Proceedings of a Regional Conference, Addis Ababa, November 2014

Prosopis and the challenge itis posing has become a serious issue in most IGAD countries, affecting the livelihoods of farmers, agro-pastoral and pastoral communities. It has taken over farmland, browse and pasture, as well as reduced the water supply for people and for livestock in affected areas. Some governments have opted for expensive physical eradication methods which, however, are not proving effective. Others are trying alternative approaches which consider Prosopis an underutilised resource, rather than just an ecological menace

Status and determinants of poverty and income inequality in pastoral and agro-pastoral communities: Household-based evidence from Afar Regional State, Ethiopia

This paper analyzes poverty and its determinants and income inequality in pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in Ethiopia. 2295 households from zone 1 and zone 2 of the Afar region were surveyed and examined using the FGT index, the Gini coefficient, and logistic regression. 47.6 percent of the households are poor, with poverty gap index of 0.178 and poverty severity index of 0.092. Food poverty accounts for 33.7 percent with an income gap of Birr 33 per month. Food poverty is highest in pastoral (35.6%) than the agro-pastoral communities (29.8%). 35.6 percent of PSNP non-participants and 32 percent of the participant households are poor. Gender of the household head, family size, access to credit, mobility, participating in safety net programs and local institutions, distance to market and remittances are determining poverty in the area. There is an alarmingly high degree of income inequality (0.592) in the study area. The lowest Gini index (0.433) is found in Koneba district, and the highest index (0.616) is observed in widowed heads of households. Strengthening the poverty reduction programs and introducing diversified income schemes; modernizing local institutions, increase provision of microfinance services, introducing packages specific to women and youth are recommended to address the high poverty and inequality in Afar

The Great Green Forest is here and expanding all on its own: A call for action

Prosopis juliflora is recognized as one of the most invasive tree species worldwide. Following widespread introductions throughout arid and semi-arid regions of Africa and throughout the world, it has spread rapidly, threatening natural ecosystems and livelihoods. Control through utilization as a resource is now accepted as the way forward in developing countries, but efforts have so far been uncoordinated, with only isolated impacts. This paper reports on the global state of knowledge and recent advances, but focuses on prosopis-related research and innovations from IGAD member countries; the successes, failures, challenges and opportunities. It underlines the need to build and apply scientific knowledge to scale up new, resilient, drought-proof livelihood options in the Greater Horn of Africa and elsewhere where introduced, from value-added prosopis wood and non wood products. The authors estimate that there are at least five million hectares of prosopis forest across the region of the perhaps ten million throughout Africa, and growing significantly in extent every year. Experiences from the native range such as in Peru are well documented, where community associations sustainably manage and make a living from fuel, fodder, food, honey and timber from their prosopis forests. Efforts in Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya have had mixed results, but milling the sweet protein-rich pods into animal feed is becoming increasingly popular with the introduction of appropriate small scale technologies. Its use as a human food ingredient has also been promoted, though with little uptake, but there is sharp rise in the use of prosopis charcoal in the region, and the possibility of electricity generation using wood chips (bioenergy), with the transfer of experiences from India where there are at least 15 power stations fueled entirely by prosopis. But much more can be done by applying scientific knowledge and innovation to enhance the role of prosopis in improving food security, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and building resilience for millions of the poorest rural and urban people in the Greater Horn of Africa, with great potential for exchange and scaling up in other arid areas in Africa, Asia and the Americas. This paper is a call to the African Union, national governments, IGAD, IFAD, FAO, the Arab League and other international, regional and bilateral donors, to come together and support a regional research and development programme to push the frontiers on prosopis management and utilization and develop a transnational strategy, as the impacts are potentially enormous and immediate. The initial objectives are to take stock of existing knowledge and practices, assess prosopis forest areas throughout the region, estimate wood and pod volumes and production rates, document prosopis management and utilization experiences, enhance South-South knowledge sharing, and rapidly and effectively scale up the successes