Pastoralism in Africa’s drylands

The FAO paper “Pastoralism in Africa’s drylands: reducing risks, addressing vulnerability and enhancing resilience” (2018, 52pp) explores the mounting challenges faced by pastoralists and indicates opportunities to strengthen the resilience of pastoralist livelihoods.

Pastoral livestock production is crucial to the livelihoods and the economy of African’s drylands. It is practised in an area covering 43% of Africa’s land mass and is the dominant livelihoods system in some regions of Africa. An estimated 268 million pastoralists live in 36 countries stretching from the West to the East and from the North to the South of the continent.

The mobility of pastoralists exploiting feed resources in different ecological zones is a flexible response to a dry and increasingly variable environment. It ensures that the herds access high‑quality grazing and create economic value. Since the early 1990s, a new rangeland paradigm provides a more comprehensive understanding of dryland ecology and shows that mobility is an appropriate strategy to sustainably exploit the natural resources in dry areas. In recent decades, however, institutional and policy factors have undermined the adaptability and mobility of pastoralists and made them increasingly vulnerable. The paper analyses these factors and their implications for the viability of pastoralism. It identifies interventions for increasing pastoralist resilience by e.g. improving accountability and responsiveness in governance institutions; addressing cross‑border and regional dimensions of pastoralism; using a livelihoods‑based information and monitoring system; ensuring stronger linkages between local and higher‑level peace initiatives; reducing vulnerability by supporting livelihood resilience programming; and ensuring a timely livelihoods‑based livestock emergency response when a crisis threatens.

Strengthening pastoralists’ capacity to operate in more sustainable pathways requires a more in‑depth understanding of the dynamics of the socio-ecological challenges and opportunities in the different regions of Africa’s drylands. It also requires long‑term engagement and broad partnership among the diverse actors involved at the local, regional and international levels.

Posted on 20 November 2018 in Pastoralism & Climate Change, Pastoralism & Natural Resources, Pastoralism, Mobility & Land Tenure, Pastoralism, Policy & Power, Pastoralist Livelihoods & Nutrition, Value of Pastoralism