OUTCOMES OF LIVELIHOOD DIVERSIFICATION AMONG AGRO-PASTORAL HOUSEHOLDS IN LAIKIPIA COUNTY, KENYA

Purpose: The purpose aimed to investigate livelihood diversification strategies and livelihood outcomes among agro-pastoral households in Laikipia North Sub-county, Kenya. Methodology: The study adopted a cross sectional survey design where a sample of the population was selected, and from these individuals, data was collected to help answer the research questions. A total of 422 households were systematically sampled. Data were collected using two instruments; household interview guides and key informant interview guide. Data analysis was done using SPSS (version 20) computer software program. Frequency tables, pie charts and bar graphs are used to present the findings of the study. Descriptive statistics were presented using maximum, minimum, mean, percentage, and standard deviations. Significance correlation between descriptive variables was tested using Chi square test and Spearman correlation coefficient at 0.05 level of significance. Results: The findings of the study revealed that there was a response rate of 90.3% with more than half of the respondents being household heads. The average number of years the respondents had lived in the area was 43. The researcher sought livelihood strategies pursued in the past, presently and enumerated the reasons for disparity where it existed. Climate change was cited as a major cause of disparity at 40.7% followed by increased levels of education, changing land use and need to increase income and availability of market in that order. Assets (physical, financial and social) were found to have a significant influence on livelihoods outcomes. Challenges the respondents faced however was found to have no significant influence on the livelihood outcomes (χ=1.017, df =1, p=0.313). Finally, there was significant relationship between the adopted livelihood strategies and livelihood outcomes (χ2=14.730, df =1, p=0.000, r=-0.197). Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The government should strengthen Cooperative Development and Trade and Industry to the ward level. Such efforts will enhance the formation and effective running of cooperative societies as well as equip local community members with skills of running profitable businesses.

Compatibility of Climate Adaptation Strategies with Livelihood Vulnerability Patterns: The Case of Fars Province, Iran

Pastoralists’ livelihood on natural rangelands are constantly influenced by the destructive impacts of climate change. While the phenomenon of climate change continues on a widespread scale, it is expected to put more pressure on unfavorable rangelands and pastoral households whose livelihood source is only based on pastoralism activity. Thus, it is vital to reduce livelihood vulnerability of pastoralists to climate change impacts through appropriate adaptation strategies. Accordingly, the aim of the current study was to specify the compatibility of adaptation strategies adopted by pastoralists with their livelihood vulnerability patterns. The evaluation was based on a spatial survey that was conducted with a random sample of 393 Iranian pastoralists distributed in the counties of Eghlid, Sepidan, and Shiraz in the northern Fars province. The results showed that pastoralists were commonly vulnerable in terms of the high-risk exposure and low adaptive capacity. About 27 livelihood vulnerability patterns were detected using data mining based on the relationships among the sub-components of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptation in 3 counties. The scores of the livelihood vulnerability were high in most of the livelihood vulnerability patterns. Only 4 patterns obtained the relatively low vulnerability scores through accurate decisions on adopting the appropriate set of adaptation strategies. According to the low compatibility of adaptation strategies with the corresponding vulnerability patterns, the results of this study can assist pastoralists to adopt appropriate adaptation strategies and thus, decrease livelihood vulnerability to climate change. In this regard, it is suggested that pastoralists in each vulnerability pattern adopt appropriate adaptation strategies according to their vulnerability sub-components.

Community-Based Actors and Participation in Rangeland Management. Lessons from the Western Highlands of Cameroon

Participation is a key component in socioecological systems (especially rangeland) governance. Yet, in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), this attribute is yet to be fully understood and/or mainstreamed in natural resource management. This suggests the need for renewed learning on how actors are (dis)engaged in rangeland governance. With a litany of studies focusing on rangeland transformation, complementary evidence which unpacks actor’s participation in rangeland management are required in SSA. Through a survey of 333 households from 12 pastoral communities in Cameroon’s Western Highlands, this paper (i) maps the interactions of rangeland actors, (ii) analyzes actors’ participation in rangeland institutions and in the implementation of management approaches, and (iii) discusses their potential implications for rangeland governance. Using the socioecological coevolution approach as analytical lens, the study revealed the following: (1) state and non-state actors demonstrate overlapping interests, and form temporary alliances to pursue these interests, (2) pastoral households’ participation demonstrate a wavy tendency—with activity-specific participation in decision making and grazing activities (facilitated by catalyzing agents) as opposed to nominal and passive participation in arbitrary boundary setting. (3) The wavy participation spectrum translates to suboptimal resource use, differential and fragmented engagements, and adaptation to changing resource circumstances. The results enhance our understanding of actor dynamics in socioecological systems, and provides relevant information to support Cameroon’s environmental management policy with emphasis on her cattle rearing kingdoms.

Pastoralist Ecologies

Rangelands cover more of the earth’s surface (25–45 percent) than any other type of land. The primary livelihood strategy for people living in these lands is the raising of livestock, with an estimated thirty million people in Africa alone depending on livestock for their basic subsistence. Pastoral people are found all over the world, and regardless of what continent on which they are found, the environments in which they live are characterized as marginal, being too dry or cold for cultivation. These ecosystems are also subject to unpredictable extreme events, most commonly droughts. The impact of the environment on pastoral people’s decision-making and livelihoods and the impact of livestock on the environment have been the subject of anthropological inquiry since the 1940s. Beginning with E. E. Evans-Pritchard’s work in the Sudan and Owen Lattimore’s work in China, many aspects of the literature on pastoralism have developed in concert with the larger literature on ecological and environmental anthropology. How to define pastoralism has also been the subject of anthropological debate, and how to define a livelihood as “pastoral” has been complicated by more recent research revealing that people have moved in and out of livestock keeping for millennia. However, the degree to which people depend on livestock, both in terms of subsistence and identity, lies at the core of any definition of pastoralism. In many respects, the anthropological and ecological study of pastoralism has led the way in the theoretical development of the study of human/environment relationships. Theoretical advances have also had important policy implications. The idea that pastoralism will inevitably lead to environmental degradation (the tragedy of the commons argument) has influenced governments and development agencies to advocate for reduced mobility and reduction of the number of livestock kept by pastoral households. This understanding has been challenged by an examination of rangelands as nonequilibrium systems, which would require a rethinking of pastoral development policies and programs. Now ecological anthropologists and other social scientists are examining the resilience of these coupled social and ecological systems as rangeland ecosystems are increasingly fragmented and subject to climate change.

Perception of Impacts of Climate Variability on Pastoralists and Their Adaptation/Coping Strategies in Fentale District of Oromia Region, Ethiopia

Climate change has been threatening pastoral communities in Ethiopia as their economy is mainly based on rain-fed agriculture. The study area is one of the climate change prone area affected by climate induced shocks. To reduce the adverse effects of climate change, pastoral households need to recognize the changes already happening in their climate and employ climate change adaptation measures. Therefore, the present study was conducted in Fentale district, Central Ethiopia to determine the perceived adverse impacts of climate change and variability, the perception of pastoral households on the patterns of climate change and variability, and identify the adaptation/coping strategies of pastoralists to climate change impacts. A household questionnaire survey and focus group discussion were employed to collect primary data at a household level. A total of 130 pastoral households were sampled using random sampling. The data collected from household survey were analyzed using SPSS (version 20). The rainfall and temperature trends of the study area were analysed using Mann–Kendall test. The findings indicated significant decreasing trend of Belg rainfall and increasing trend of Kiremt rainfall for the period 1983–2017. The perception of pastoral households on rainfall and temperature trends was in line with the results of the recorded meteorological data analysis of the present study except the Kiremt rainfall and the long-term annual rainfall trends. The results indicated that pasture and water availability became scarce and livestock assets and productivity were highly reduced, due to adverse impacts of climate change and variability. The most important strategies deployed by the local people included (i) integrating livestock with crop production, (ii) livestock mobility, (iii) livestock diversification and herd composition change, (iv) decreased consumption, (v) remittance, (vi) cash for work and (vii) food aid. Therefore, the government should support and enhance household’s indigenous adaptation strategies through the provision of market access, early warning information, affordable credit access, and development of water points.

Pathways to Enhance Climate Change Resilience among Pastoral Households in Northern Tanzania

The objective of this study was to evaluate the pathways to enhance resilience to increased climate variability and directional change among pastoral households in Simanjiro District in Northern Tanzania. The study used household survey and rainfall and temperature data. Results indicate increasing temperature and decreasing precipitation trends over the past four decades. Also, extreme climatic events, particularly drought, have become more frequent. Food and water insecurity are key factors causing an increased household vulnerability. Increased climate change-induced malaria prevalence poses additional health risks. Household adaptive strategies include livelihood diversification and migration. Local institutions are instrumental in enhancing climate change resilience at the local level. We conclude that livelihood diversification and migration are key pathways to enhancing households’ climate change resilience.

Rural Migration and Relative Deprivation in Agro-Pastoral Communities Under the Threat of Cattle Rustling in Nigeria

Pastoral livestock production as a primary source of livelihood is increasingly becoming unsustainable due to the rapidly changing social context, perennial cattle rustling, unpredictable climatic conditions, and rapid population growth. Migration in response to these changes in social context has often increased competition for land and natural resources between the farmers and pastoralists. Using survey data from 1,750 agro-pastoral households, this study examines the impact of cattle rustling and relative deprivation on shaping the patterns of migration in Nigeria. The results of linear regression show that the loss of livestock, cattle rustling, income diversity, literacy, and herd size are significant determinants of migration patterns. These factors were instrumental in the households’ decision to migrate transitorily or permanently. While the findings indicate that relative deprivation is a significant push factor, migration in response to deprivation and cattle rustling may not necessarily decrease inequality due to weak social capital among the agro-pastoralists. In this sense, increasing pastoral social and economic capital is critical to the reduction of inequality and competition for natural capital. As such, rural livelihood enhancement intervention embedded within the context of a conflict mitigation mechanism is required to decrease the perceived relative deprivation.

Classification and characterisation of livestock production systems in northern Tanzania

Livestock keepers in sub-Saharan Africa face a range of pressures, including climate change, land loss, restrictive policies, and population increase. Widespread adaptation in response can lead to the emergence of new, non-traditional typologies of livestock production. We sought to characterise livestock production systems in two administrative regions in northern Tanzania, an area undergoing rapid social, economic, and environmental change. Questionnaire and spatial data were collected from 404 livestock-keeping households in 21 villages in Arusha and Manyara Regions in 2016. Multiple factor analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis were used to classify households into livestock production systems based on household-level characteristics. Adversity-based indicators of vulnerability, including reports of hunger, illness, and livestock, land and crop losses were compared between production systems. Three distinct clusters emerged through this process. The ethnic, environmental and livestock management characteristics of households in each cluster broadly mapped onto traditional definitions of ‘pastoral’, ‘agro-pastoral’ and ‘smallholder’ livestock production in the study area, suggesting that this quantitative classification system is complementary to more qualitative classification methods. Our approach allowed us to demonstrate a diversity in typologies of livestock production at small spatial scales, with almost half of study villages comprising more than one production system. We also found indicators of change within livestock production systems, most notably the adoption of crop agriculture in the majority of pastoral households. System-level heterogeneities in vulnerability were evident, with agro-pastoral households most likely to report hunger and pastoral households most likely to report illness in people and livestock, and livestock losses. We demonstrate that livestock production systems can provide context for assessing household vulnerability in northern Tanzania. Policy initiatives to improve household and community well-being should recognise the continuing diversity of traditional livestock production systems in northern Tanzania, including the diversity that can exist at small spatial scales.

Impacts of Climate Variability on Pastoralists and Their Adaptation/Coping Strategies in Fentale District of Oromia Region, Ethiopia

Background: Recently, more emphasis has been given to preparing and adapting communities to the adverse impacts of climate change than mitigating its risks. The present study was conducted in Fentale district, Central Ethiopia to determine the perceived adverse impacts of climate change and variability, the perception of pastoral households on the patterns of climate change and variability, and identify the adaptation /coping strategies of pastoralists to climate change impacts. A household questionnaire survey and focus group discussion were employed to collect primary data at a household level. A total of 130 pastoral households were sampled using random sampling. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: The findings revealed that the perception of pastoral households on rainfall and temperature patterns was in line with the results of the recorded meteorological data analysis of the present study except the Kiremt rainfall and the long-term annual rainfall trends. The results indicated that pasture and water availability became scarce and livestock assets and productivity were highly reduced, due to adverse impacts of climate change and variability. The most important strategies deployed by the local people included (i) integrating livestock with crop production, (ii) livestock mobility, (iii) livestock diversification and herd composition change, (iv) decreased consumption, (v) remittance, (vi) cash for work and (vii) food aid. Conclusion: Therefore, the decision-makers should support and enhance household’s indigenous adaptation strategies through the provision of market access, early warning information, affordable credit access, and development of water points.