Grasslands of the World.pdf - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP

The changing face of pastoral systems in grass-dominated ecosystems of eastern Africa 39
are particularly oriented toward marketing: selling animals, milk and hides regularly.
Herds are managed in a way that minimizes sales because of the traditional
social and economic functions of livestock other than income generation
(Coppock, 1994). In most pastoral areas, livestock are used as a social “safety
net”, with livestock exchange cementing mutual obligations to help each other
in times of need. Like many other pastoral areas, cattle are also of particular
significance in the Borana area of Ethiopia as a symbol of wealth and prestige,
and owners are reluctant to sell. Sheep and goats are usually sold to raise cash
for household needs. Although marketing of livestock products (milk, meat ,
hides) in pastoral systems is a relatively new phenomenon, pastoral peoples
who live near markets and roads are increasingly selling products.
Traditionally, herders consume a large part of the milk produced; any surplus
is shared with neighbours, exchanged in barter or sold in urban areas. In
Somalia , a commercial milk chain through a cooperative has been established
by the pastoralists for marketing camel milk in Mogadishu as a source of
income to buy sugar, clothes and medicines (Herren, 1990). An EU-funded
project, Strengthening food security through decentralized cooperation, active
from 1996 to 2002, also supported establishment of a small processing plant for
pasteurizing camel milk and marketing the resulting products in suitable packaging
for the Somali market (EC, 2000). The 2001–2 drought had a considerable
effect on camel calving intervals and milk sales. In some parts of Somalia, there
was virtually no income from milk sales following the drought. Milk formerly
provided approximately 40 percent of a household’s income and the return on
livestock sales, which typically provide an additional 40 percent of income, was
halved after the drought (FSAU, 2003). Maasai in Kenya and Tanzania living
close to main roads or towns sell fresh milk, butter or fermented milk. The
Borana in southern Ethiopia sour cow’s milk and process it into butter for sale
in local markets or for transport to large cities (Holden and Coppock, 1992).
Distance to market, season and wealth of the household (which is directly
related to the number of livestock owned) influence marketing of dairy products
in the southern rangelands of Ethiopia (Coppock, 1994).
Most of the extensive grasslands in the region are either under the control of
the government and designated as wildlife and conservation areas for national
parks (about 10 percent of the land area) or are open access or common property
resources . Access to these resources and the conditions under which they
can be used are under national laws, but frequently traditional land use rights
are granted by local communities . Traditionally, long-term sustainability of
these rangelands has been ensured by agreed management norms, but these
are increasingly breaking down as lands privatize, crop farmers migrate to
pastoral areas and human needs grow. Governments are also reducing support
to pastoral peoples, who are often marginalized in national affairs (IFAD,
1995). Options for income generation and alternative land uses for extensive
grasslands for pastoralists are limited and can lead to overutilization and land