Interplays between Policy and Practice on Rangelands in Kazakhstan since the 1990s

Kazakhstan contains a large share of the world’s remaining “near-natural” temperate grassland, so how the Kazakh rangelands are managed has global implications for plant and animal biodiversity, carbon stocks, and at a national level for the wellbeing of Kazakhstan’s land, people and the economy. The extensive livestock and rangeland management systems of Kazakhstan were transformed after the early 1990s. Privatisation had deep and very damaging structural impacts. There are now considerable inequities in the distribution of state support, landed resources and livestock, with the appearance of a minority of large-scale livestock owners. Government policies allowed these livestock owners to register title over former state pastureland containing key natural and infrastructural resources. As the national economy was bolstered by oil and gas extraction, increased demand for meat encouraged accumulation of livestock and capital investment into larger livestock enterprises, widening the disparity with the majority of small-scale livestock owners, who also own the majority of the livestock. The Kazakh government now has programmes that support large-scale livestock owners, through subsidies backed by loans from international financial agencies. The mass of small-scale owners is ignored, as the government considers these mostly sedentary livestock farmers to be economically unviable and their animals a threat to the grazing land around villages. This is because small-scale livestock owners are unable to achieve economies of scale permitting seasonal migration to distant pastures, in contrast to the bigger-scale livestock owners who have re-adopted the former migratory management system. Smaller-scale livestock producers are major suppliers of livestock products to the market and also uphold rural livelihoods with employment and food. Government efforts to promote productivity and growth for the livestock sector could promote seasonal mobile livestock management for small as well as large-scale livestock owners, which can be more environmentally sustainable and economically efficient than greater reliance on cultivated fodder crops and reduced grazing

Some research and development implications for pastoral dairy production in Africa

Examines the relative merits of milk versus meat production by African pastoralists. Discusses the implications for livestock development policy

The role of milk in a pastoral diet and economy: The case of South Darfur, Sudan

Describes the characteristics of dairy production and processing in South Darfur and provides an analysis of the way in which pastoral families vary their diets according to seasonal food shortages and shifting terms of trade between milk and food grains

Livelihoods and basic service support in the drylands of the Horn of Africa

This technical brief was commissioned by the Technical Consortium for Building Resilience in the Horn of Africa as one of a series of briefs. The Technical Consortium was established to support the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and national governments in the Greater Horn of Africa. ILRI is the host organization of the technical consortium, which seeks to develop regional, national and investment programs for the long-term development of the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) in the Horn of Africa. The objective is to support IGAD and common program frameworks to end drought related emergencies and build resilience in the Horn of Africa

Potential for increasing producers' income from wool, fibre and pelts in Central Asia

The systems of livestock production, marketing and research have been profoundly transformed by recent policies in Central Asia since the break up of the Soviet Union. Decollectivisation of state farms has transferred livestock ownership to new private farming units. These receive little or no state support for inputs, or for processing and selling livestock products. Most livestock-keeping families have much-reduced incomes compared to the Soviet period. Live animal sales now constitute the main subsistence income for such families, but may be unsustainable for the majority of families who own small numbers of animals. Poverty is particularly prevalent in the more remote areas distant from urban markets

Editorial: Grazing in future multi-scapes: From thoughtscapes to landscapes, creating health from the ground up

More than half the land surface of the Earth is used for grazing (United Nations General Assembly, 2022), with Asia at 36% and Africa at 30% of the total. About 91% of global grass- and range-lands are unfenced with few boundaries and limited crop farming (Reid et al., 2014). The remaining grass- and range-lands are privately owned and used, with 13% in North America, 10% in Australia and New Zealand, 8% in South America, and 3% in Europe; all with a mix of more intensive grazing and cultivated land. No wonder why across the world's landscapes, grazing and browsing herbivores—both wild and livestock—(be they within a spatial and temporal pastoral context, whether they naturally graze or are grazed by farmers, ranchers, shepherds, and nomadic peoples—all termed pastoralists), fulfill essential roles in driving the composition, structure, and dynamics of pastoral ecosystem. The provision of ecosystem services, including social, economic, and cultural benefits to families, farms, and communities, is accordingly impacted (Gregorini, 2015)

Production Strategies of Livestock Herders in the Grasslands of Kazakhstan: Implications for the Marketing of Fine Fibres

Goat populations have been rising in Kazakhstan over the past ten years since independence and goats are preferred by farmers trying to restock. Quality of cashmere production is the key to profitable and sustainable sales to world markets for this luxury good. However, Kazakhstan did not develop a cashmere industry in the Soviet period so today goats are sheared rather than combed and little profit is made from cashmere. Goats, as well as sheep and camels are currently multi-purpose animals providing income from sales of animals, cashmere, milk and meat. This will change as the terms of trade change for high quality cashmere and households comb for fine down

Cashmere Marketing is a New Income Source for Central Asian Livestock Farmers

Some indigenous goats in the Central Asian republics of Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan produce good quality cashmere (Millar 1986). International processors have recently been buying this cashmere. (Kerven et al., 2005), but Central Asian producers are not equipped to take full advantage of these new marketing opportunities. The U.S. AID Global Livestock-Collaborative Research Support Program project, Developing Institutions and capacity for sheep and fiber marketing in Central Asia is working to increase the income of small-scale livestock farmers through improved cashmere marketing