Pastoralism and Poverty Reduction in East Africa

Read the press coverage of the conference from the People’s Daily Online (China)

SAGA
B16 MVR Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
(607) 255-8931
Fax (607) 255-0178
saga@cornell.edu

PASTORALISM AND POVERTY REDUCTION IN EAST AFRICA:
A POLICY RESEARCH CONFERENCE
June 27-28th, Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya
Organized by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)

Conference Co-organizers:

Christopher Barrett, Cornell University
Patti Kristjanson, ILRI
Peter Little, University of Kentucky
John McPeak, Syracuse University

This conference was made possible with financial support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Strategies and Analysis for Growth and Access (SAGA) cooperative agreement, directed by Cornell University and co-directed in Kenya by the Institute for Policy Analysis and Research, by the USAID Global Livestock CRSP Pastoral Risk Management (PARIMA) project, led by Utah State University, and by the World Bank.

View AGENDA for conference. (PDF)

Most of East Africa’s land mass falls in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL) where pastoralism based on extensive livestock production serves as the bedrock of livelihoods and culture. The ASAL regions are among the region’s poorest, where weak infrastructure, widespread insecurity, frequent droughts and limited livelihood options keep many residents in conditions of poverty and vulnerability. Recurring shocks and an influx of refugees from conflict zones in various countries have created pockets of protracted relief operations that raise concerns about dependency on external assistance. Nonetheless, because population densities in the ASAL are low, central governments, donors and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) pay relatively little attention to the particular challenges that confront residents of the ASAL regions and thus to policies necessary to sustain and improve their livelihoods.

The challenge of poverty reduction policy in the pastoralist areas is compounded by the complex relationship of pastoralist peoples and the natural resource base on which they depend. The condition of ecologically complex rangelands and the wildlife populations on which much of the region’s foreign exchange earnings from tourism depend are inextricable from the livelihood options facing pastoralists. Poverty reduction policy for pastoralists must therefore take on board difficult environmental issues as well.

National, provincial and local governments are confronting major policy questions that impact directly on the well-being of the region’s pastoralists: concerning livestock marketing, land use and tenure, conflict mitigation and resolution, early warning systems and drought relief, gazetting of protected areas, decentralization of services provision, community empowerment, evolving social organization in response to increased commercialization, and livelihood diversification. Recent years have brought a resurgence of rigorous research on these issues, and more generally on pastoralists, their livelihoods and cultures, and the natural resources they depend on and affect.

CONFERENCE OVERVIEW:
The Multiple Dimensions of Poverty in Pastoral Areas of East Africa
Peter Little, John McPeak, Chris Barrett, Patti Kristjanson

INVITED PRESENTATIONS (PDF):

Beyond Group Ranch Subdivision: Collective Action for Livestock Mobility, Ecological Viability and Livelihoods
S. BurnSilver and E. Mwangi

The Policy and Practice of Educational Service Provision for Pastoralists in Tanzania
Elizabeth Bishop

Collective Action and Informal Institutions: The Case of Agropastoralists of Eastern Ethiopia
Fekadu Beyene

Women’s Groups in Arid Northern Kenya: Origins, Governance, and Roles in Poverty Reduction
D. Layne Coppock, Solomon Desta, Adan Wako, Ibrahim Aden, Getachew Gebru, Seyoum Tezera, and Chachu Tadecha

Is Settling Good for Pastoralists? The Effects of Pastoral Sedentarization on Children
Elliot Fratkin, Martha A. Nathan, and Eric A. Roth

Livelihood Diversification in Borana Pastoral Communities of Ethiopia—Prospects and Challenges
Kejela Gemtessa, Bezabih Emana, and Waktole Tiki

Strengthening Pastoralists’ Voice in Shaping Policies for Sustainable Poverty Reduction in ASAL Regions of East Africa
Ced Hesse and Michael Ochieng Odhiambo

Maasai Pastoralists: Diversification and Poverty
K. Homewood, E. Coast, S. Kiruswa, S. Serneels, M. Thompson, and P. Trench

Longitudinal Analysis of the Impact of Land Privatization on Samburu Pastoralist Livelihood Strategies
Carolyn K. Lesorogol

Empirical Forecasting of Slow-Onset Disasters for Improved Emergency Response: An Application to Kenya’s Arid Lands
Andrew Mude, Christopher Barrett, John McPeak, Robert Kaitho, Patti Kristjansen

CONFERENCE BRIEFS:

Livelihood Choices and Returns among Agro-Pastoralists in southern Kenya
M. Radeny, D. Nkedianye, P. Kristjanson, M. Herrero

Heterogeneous Wealth Dynamics: On the Roles of Risk and Ability
Paulo Santos and Christopher Barrett

Women’s Groups in Arid Northern Kenya: Origins, Governance, and Roles in Poverty Reduction
D. Layne Coppock, Solomon Desta, Adan Wako, Ibrahim Aden, Getachew Gebru, Seyoum Tezera, and Chachu Tadecha

Cattle Breeding Strategies using Genetic Markers as a Pathway for Improving Competitiveness of Pastoral Systems in Kenya
Ulrike Janssen-Tapken, Haja N. Kadarmideen and Peter von Rohr

Longitudinal Analysis of the Impact of Land Privatization on Samburu Pastoralist Livelihood Strategies: 2000-2005
Carolyn K. Lesorogol

Conflict Minimizing Strategies on Natural Resource Management and Use — The Case for Managing Conflicts between Wildlife and Agro-pastoral Production Resources in Transmara District, Kenya
Sospeter Onchoke Nyamwaro, Grace Adira Murilla, Miyoro O. Kennedy Mochabo and Kennedy Barasa Wajala

Pastoralists Preferences for Cattle Traits: Letting Them be Heard
Emily Ouma, Awudu Abdulai and Adam Drucker

Influencing and Developing Good Policy in Early Childhood Development (ECD) amongst Pastoralist Communities in East Africa
Tanja van de Linde and Stephen Lenaiyasa

Property Rights among Afar Pastoralists of Northeastern Ethiopia: Forms, Changes and Conflicts
Bekele Hundie

Livelihood Diversification in Borana: Pastoral Communities of Ethiopia — Prospects and Challenges
Kejela Gemtessa, Bezabih Emana (Ph.D), Waktole Tiki

Maasai Pastoralists: Diversification and Poverty
K. Homewood, E. Coast, S. Kiruswa, S. Serneels, M. Thompson, P. Trench

Linkages between Biodiversity, Land Rights and Poverty in Tanzania: Increasing Incentives for Unsustainable Land Use Change through Conservation Policy
Hassan Sachedina

Is Settling Good for Pastoralists? The Effects of Pastoral Sedentarization on Children’s Nutrition, Growth, and Health Among Rendille and Ariaal of Marsabit District, Northern Kenya.
Elliot Fratkin, Martha A. Nathan, and Eric A. Roth

Collective Action and Informal Institutions: The Case of Agropastoralists of Eastern Ethiopia
Fekadu Beyene

Empirical Forecasting of Slow-Onset Disasters for Improved Emergency Response: An Application to Kenya’s Arid Lands
Andrew G. Mude, Christopher B. Barrett, John McPeak, Robert Kaitho, Patti Kristjanson

Beyond Group Ranch Subdivision: Collective Action for Livestock Mobility, Ecological Viability and Livelihoods
S. BurnSilver and E. Mwangi

The Policy and Practice of Educational Service Provision for Pastoralists in Tanzania
Elizabeth Bishop

Contextualising Conflict: Introduced Institutions and Political Networks combating Pastoral Poverty
Fred Zaal and Morgan Ole Siloma

Strengthening Pastoralists’ Voice in Shaping Policies for Sustainable Poverty Reduction in ASAL Regions of East Africa
Ced Hesse and Michael Ochieng Odhiambo

CONFERENCE PAPERS:

Beyond Group Ranch Subdivision: Collective Action for Livestock Mobility, Ecological Viability and Livelihoods
S. BurnSilver and E. Mwangi

The Policy and Practice of Educational Service Provision for Pastoralists in Tanzania
Elizabeth Bishop

Is Settling Good for Pastoralists? The Effects of Pastoral Sedentarization on Children’s Nutrition, Growth, and Health Among Rendille and Ariaal of Marsabit District, Northern Kenya
Elliot Fratkin, Martha A. Nathan, and Eric A. Roth

Livelihood Diversification in Borana Pastoral Communities of Ethiopia—Prospects and Challenges
Kejela Gemtessa, Bezabih Emana, and Waktole Tiki

Longitudinal Analysis of the Impact of Land Privatization on Samburu Pastoralist Livelihood Strategies: 2000-2005
Carolyn K. Lesorogol

Women’s Groups in Arid Northern Kenya: Origins, Governance, and Roles in Poverty Reduction
D. Layne Coppock, Solomon Desta, Adan Wako, Ibrahim Aden, Getachew Gebru, Seyoum Tezera, and Chachu Tadecha

Influencing and Developing Good Policy in Early Childhood Development (ECD) amongst Pastoralist Communities in East Africa: The Case of Samburu in Kenya
Tanja van de Linde

Heterogeneous Wealth Dynamics: On the Roles of Risk and Ability
Paulo Santos and Christopher B. Barrett

Conservation, Land Rights and Livelihoods in the Tarangire Ecosystem of Tanzania: Increasing Incentives for Non-conservation Compatible Land Use Change through Conservation Policy
Hassan Sachedina

Livelihood Choices and Returns among Agro-Pastoralists in Southern Kenya
M. Radeny, D. Nkedianye, P. Kristjanson, and M. Herrero

Pastoralists Preferences for Cattle Traits: Letting Them Be Heard
Emily Ouma, Awudu Abdulai and Adam Drucker

Cattle Breeding Strategies using Genetic Markers as a Pathway for Improving Competitiveness of Pastoral Systems in Kenya
Ulrike Janssen-Tapken, Haja N. Kadarmideen and Peter von Rohr

Conflict Minimizing Strategies on Natural Resource Management and Use: The Case for Managing and Coping with Conflicts between Wildlife and Agropastoral Production Resources in Transmara District, Kenya
S.O. Nyamwaro, G.A. Murilla, M.O.K. Mochabo and K.B. Wanjala

Empirical Forecasting of Slow-Onset Disasters for Improved Emergency Response: An Application to Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Lands
Andrew Mude, Christopher Barrett, John McPeak, Robert Kaitho, Patti Kristjansen

Property Rights among Afar Pastoralists of Northeastern Ethiopia: Forms, Changes and Conflicts
Bekele Hundie

Maasai Pastoralists: Diversification and Poverty
K. Homewood, E. Coast, S. Kiruswa, S. Serneels, M. Thompson, and P. Trench

Contextualising Conflict: Introduced Institutions and Political Networks Combating Pastoral Poverty
Fred Zaal and Morgan Ole Siloma

Strengthening Pastoralists’ Voice in Shaping Policies for Sustainable Poverty Reduction in ASAL Regions of East Africa
Ced Hesse and Michael Ochieng Odhiambo

Collective Action and Informal Institutions: The Case of Agropastoralists of Eastern Ethiopia
Fekadu Beyene