Common Market for Eastern and

Southern Africa (COMESA) / PACAPS

Livelihoods and Vulnerability of Pastoralists in the Horn of Africa

By

Dawit AbebeCOMESA/PACAPS

Presented on Workshop onTrade and Tran boundary Animal Diseases in the Horn of Africa

March 30 – April 3, 2009 Nairobi, Kenya

§ About 18 million § Own major proportion of the national herd

COMESA : Free movement of people, Goods and Services

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)

Common Market for Eastern and

Southern Africa (COMESA) / PACAPS

Objectives

• Overview of Pastoral Livelihoods and vulnerabilit y• Pastoralists adaptive and risk management strategies• Governments and Donors response to crisis • Contexts• Questions• Policy and programme issues

Common Market for Eastern and

Southern Africa (COMESA) / PACAPS

Financial capital

• in the form of l ivestock

• remittances

Human capital

• skills & knowledge of family

• the ability to wok

• good health, strength…etc

• labour

• indigenous knowledge

Social capital

Network & relationships

• to work together

• reciprocity and exchange

• providing support

Natural capital

• pasture

• water

• soil

• trees and tree produc ts

Physical capital

• infrastructure

ü shelter

ü transport

ü tools

• very low

Political capital

• representation

• voices

• very weak

ü loss of key resource assets

ü weak infrastructure (physical capital)

ü weak education & health services (human capital)

Livelihood Assets

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) / PACAPS

Livelihood assets and strategies under pressure

Reduce access to key resource

areasChange in Market trend

• market exclusion • Cereals - livestock price

Livestock Losses

SedentarizationOvergrazing

Human Losses

Seasonal variation (wet & dry

season)

ShocksDisease outbreaks (RVF, PPR…etc)

Somalia & Ethiopia: 1997/8, 2001,2003, 2006/7

Kenya: 2003, 2007/8

Sudan: 2001, 2008

1. Mobility:Ø Seasonal movement Ø Drought period movement

• long-distance• across international borders• negotiation and agreement

between different usersØ In case of disease outbreakØ In case of conf lict and insecurityØ Market opportunities

Common Market for Eastern and

Southern Africa (COMESA) / PACAPS

Pastoralists adaptive and Risk management strategies

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) / PACAPS

Livestock movement patterns from dr y to wet season grazing areas: Awash Valley

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) / PACAPS

Adaptive and copping strategies….Cont’d

2. Livestock sale

• high supply • low and unstable prices • poor body condition • difficulty to access market

• surplus males and unproductive females

• rarely breeding females – sever drought situation

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) / PACAPS

Adaptive and copping strategies….Cont’d3. Herd splitting

4. Livestock sharing, loan and gift with in kinship networks

5. Diversifying species composition of herds

• camel – drought tolerance

• efficient utilization of vegetation

• faster herd rebuilding

6. Maximizing Stocking densities

7. Livelihood diversif ication (manual labour, petty trade, firewood and charcoal selling, cultivati on)

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) / PACAPS

Government and donors development and disaster response strategies:

Does it supportive of the pastoralist coping strategies?

Negative / LimitationsPositive / StrengthsImpact on coping strategies

Policies and programmes

1. Development• Privatization • New land and NR use

None • Restrict movement• Overgrazing• Disease outbreaks (human & animal)• Conflict• Reduced l ivestock production

Livestock marketing

Livestock marketing associations and Groups linked to exporters (e.g. Borana–Ethiopia)

• Cross-boarder – illegal: reduce incomes & food avai lability • International Standards – market exclusion / ban• not accessible to remote areas • Market facilities - more taxes and levies from pastoralists & traders• Export oriented instead of livelihood focused, local and regional market development

Negative / LimitationsPositive / StrengthsImpact on coping strategies

Policies and programmes

1. Development

Animal Health

CBAHWs (e.g. Rinderpest eradication in Ethiopia and Disease reporting in Tanzania)

Conventional livestock disease control and surveillance system don’t reflect on the epidemiological realities of the various diseases

Water development (Permanente water points – boreholes)

• Settlement and local ized overgrazing• High cost of operation & unsustainable• Conflict

Drought time water sources

Negative / LimitationsPositive / StrengthsImpact on coping strategies

Policies and programmes

2. Disaster response

Emergency livestock marketing

Create income & expendi ture capacity:• to buy food: income shock • helps fast recovery and herd rebuilding (buying feed, veterinary drugs & tracking breeding stock to grazing areas) – prevent asset lose / shock

Emergency feed supplementation

• Limited to accessible areas (road side & market centre) due to poor road access and high transport cost• Not timely in most cases, and price go down as the crisis develop• Ineffective in the absence of pre-existing LMS • Ineffective in the face of export ban

• Saves breeding animals,• Rapid post drought recovery

• Limited to accessible communities • Not timely in most cases

othersbuyclothes

buyveterinary

care

schoolexpenses

buyanimal

feed

savingssupportrelatives

pay offdebts

buyhuman

medicine

transportlivestock

buy foodfor

people

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

Mea

n pr

opor

tion

(%) o

f exp

endi

ture

(95%

con

fiden

ce in

terv

al)

4.35.365.3

18.8

6.6

3.21.9

8.8

11.7

27.7

Type of expenditure

Proportional (%) use of income derived from commerc ial de-stocking (n=114 households)

Livestock 37%

79%Livelihood benefits

Negative / LimitationsPositive / StrengthsImpact on coping strategiesPolicies and

programmes 2. Disaster response

Emergency animal health intervention

Not significant• Lack of clarity of objective,• Ineffective vaccination practices:üweakness in disease diagnosis,üDelayed implementation,üInappropriate coverage,üImproper storage at field levelüLack of adherence to vaccineand drug administration protocols• Weak immunological response: Pastoralists believe that vaccination during disaster undermine their resilience.• Subsidized and free drugs and vaccinations• Difficult in the absence of pre-existing network of primary veterinary service delivery system

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) / PACAPS

Contexts Ø Mobility is a key pastoralists adaptation strategy:ü Seasonal movement - Dry and wet season

ü Coping strategy: in time of disaster (drought, flood, conflict, disease outbreak)

ü Access to market: in response to better market opportuni ty

Ø Drought: slow onset, frequent and normal event Ø Fixed-point service delivery system

Ø Disease control and surveillance system

Ø Uncertain and changing livestock export market

Ø Lack of appropriate livestock marketing system

Ø Cross-boarder livestock trade: poverty alleviation and food security

Ø Disconnect between disaster responses and development intervention

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) / PACAPS

Questions• Given the need f or mobility, likely occurrence of shocks

and stresses, and uncertain export market condition, how should livestock marketing system that can be effective both in “normal” and crisis period established?Ø that insure access to mobile herd in remote areas,Ø that address potential risks of market exclusion

• Given mobility, epidemiologica l, economic and ecological contexts, how should effective disease control and surveillance system that meets livestock keepers needs in both “normal” and crisis period be established?

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) / PACAPS

Policy and programmesØ Vulnerability is one of the defining characteristics of poverty. Risks of drought, disease, conflict and market exclusion should be regarded by large as a development problems:

ü Development policies that recognize the benefit of mobility; livestock services and markets that is adapted to and strengthening pastoralists copping strategies should put in place.

üEmergency response: should be based on principles of disaster management cycle, and appropriate guidelines and standards.

Ø Pastoralists vulnerability to the risk of diseases depends very much on the access to veterinary services for preventive measures:

ü Normal period: preventive disease strategies that ensure adequate levels of herd immunity;

ü Drought period: specific disease control policies and strategies during drought and flood.

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) / PACAPS

Policy… Cont.Vulnerability to risks of exclusion form domestic and international markets is associated mainly with high transaction costs, and inability to meet international standards.

ü Streamlining taxes and bureaucracy

ü Capacity-building in government marketing and veterinary systems

Ø International standards

ü Upgrading of export abattoirs – to meet market demand and sanitary standards

ü Improve road access to reach remote and mobile pastoral communities

ü Support and facilitate cross-border livestock trade as critically important to food security and poverty reduction in pastoral areas.

ü Rapid commercial destocking during disaster – based on appropriate guideline and standards.

Thank you