Category Archives: Pastoralism

Directorate / Drought / Drylands / East Africa / Ethiopia / Food Security / ILRI / Kenya / Opinion piece / Pastoralism / Somalia / Vulnerability

Belgian veterinary group message to Bill Gates: Herding livestock makes more sense than growing crops in arid lands

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A herd of livestock cross the drylands near Marsabit town, in northern Kenya; some farmers in the region took out livestock insurance, and this year are receiving the first payouts after a prolonged drought (image on Flickr by Neil Palmer/CIAT). Below is part of an open letter / press release brought out by Vétérinaires Sans … Continue reading →

Drought / Drylands / East Africa / Food Security / Pastoralism / Somalia / Vulnerability

United Nations declares famine over in Somalia–but says millions still at risk

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A herd of goats is driven through Ifo Refugee Camp at dawn on 8 Aug 2011; many families said they fled to Dadaab, Kenya, after all of their livestock died because of the drought in Somalia; the dirt road from Garissa to Dadaab was littered with cow and goat skeletons (photo in Flickr by Internews … Continue reading →

Drought / Drylands / East Africa / Food Security / Mali / Niger / Opinion piece / Pastoralism / Vulnerability / West Africa

Flawed global food systems–not drought–cause of African famines

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Foods of Khulungira Village, in central Malawi (clockwise from top left): nsima (maize meal porridge), kachewere wophika (boiled potatoes), nkhuku yophika (chicken stew), nkhwani ndi phwetekere (pumpkin leaves with tomato), kachewere wokazinga (fried potatoes), and kholowa ndi phwetekere (sweetpotato leaves with tomato) (photo credit: CGIAR/Stevie Mann). All names in Chichewa, Malawi’s national language; translations by Christopher … Continue reading →

Books and chapters / Drought / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / Kenya / Pastoralism / Vulnerability

Challenging dryland myths, seizing dryland opportunities

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A human settlement in northern Kenya, from the air (photo on Flickr by Neil Palmer [CIAT]). A fact-filled, thought-provoking and myth-busting book, which many researchers will have reason to hope will become widely influential, challenges the African ‘drylands myths’ that, despite decades of research that should have overturned them by now, remain entrenched in many … Continue reading →

Directorate / Drought / Drylands / East Africa / Food Security / ILRI / Kenya / Opinion piece / Pastoralism / Vulnerability

Are politicians making political hay – and pastoral havoc – out of diminishing dryland resources in northern Kenya?

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Northern Kenya from the air (photo on Flickr by Neil Palmer [CIAT]). ‘The chairman of [Kenya’s] National Cohesion and Integration Commission, Dr Mzalendo Kibunjia, has singled out divisive politicians as the main cause of recent ethnic violence among some pastoral communities. He warned that stern action will be taken against such people. ‘Dr Kibunjia’s observation … Continue reading →

CGIAR / Drought / Drylands / East Africa / Insurance / Kenya / Pastoralism / Vulnerability

Kenyan herders cope with drought by buying livestock insurance

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Sake Dabasso Halake stands proudly in front of Equity Bank’s Marsabit branch. She smiles, clutching an envelope filled with 16,000 Kenyan shillings that she just received. It was her insurance payout for the 10 cows she lost during the drought. Photo on Flickr by Jeff Haskins. Jeff Haskins, director of the Nairobi office of Burness … Continue reading →

Animal Production / Farming Systems / Livestock / Livestock Systems / Pastoralism / Policy

Policies for pastoralists?

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Pastoralists across the world suffer serious problems of poverty, vulnerability to shocks and political marginality. Authored by WrenMedia, this series of Information Notes from the Natural Resources Institute outlines the major challenges to development of and for pastoralists. Opportunities for Development Challenges to Pastoral Development Rights, Governance and Voice Risk Reduction and Linking Relief with … Continue reading →

Drought / Drylands / East Africa / Ethiopia / Food Security / ILRI / Insurance / Kenya / Pastoralism / Pro-Poor Livestock / Project / Vulnerability

To insure or not to insure: That is the question for Kenyan herders restocking after the great drought of 2011

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The first payouts for livestock insurance being made in Marsabit District, in northern Kenya (photo on Flickr by Jeff Haskins). From Reuters AlertNet comes this update on how the livestock herders of Kenya’s Marsabit District are faring. Some bought an innovative livestock insurance product this year that is being piloted by the International Livestock Research … Continue reading →

Article / Capacity Strengthening / Drought / East Africa / Ethiopia / ILRI / Pastoralism / Vulnerability / Women

Capacity building helps Ethiopia’s pastoral women transform their impoverished, drought-ravaged communities

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Borana girl (photo on Flickr by Gustavo Jeronimo). Layne Coppock, of Utah State University, and Solomon Desta, Seyoum Tezera and Getachew Gebru, of Managing Risk for Improved Livelihoods, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, report in the journal Science this month on a project they conducted in southern pastoral Ethiopia that indicates that capacity building can, and should, ‘set … Continue reading →