Rangelands, Drylands & Pastoralism

The growing global demand for animal products also offers poor livestock keepers the opportunity to switch from the subsistence to the market economy. Our author gives an account of three approaches in the meat and dairy sector in Africa and Asia with their respective potentials and limitations – and also warns against possible negative effects.

Recently dubbed “Africa’s Lion” (in allusion to the discourse around “Asian Tigers”), Ethiopia is celebrated for its steady economic growth, including a growing number of millionaires compared to other African nations.

Large-scale land acquisitions have increased in scale and pace due to changes in commodity markets, agricultural investment strategies, land prices, and a range of other policy and market forces. The areas most affected are the global “commons” – lands that local people traditionally use collectively — including much of the world’s forests, wetlands, and rangelands.

Aflatoxin contamination in food is a human health threat in many developing countries. This study examines Kenyan milk consumers’ behaviour related to, and perception of, aflatoxin contamination. The study considered two groups of respondents: raw milk consumers mainly located in peri-urban areas of Nairobi, and processed milk consumers located in urban areas.

Poultry is important for many poor smallholders, but infectious diseases, such as Newcastle disease, can drastically reduce the poultry population in a village and affects the food security and the livelihood of many farmers. Newcastle disease vaccination can reduce the spread of disease, but may be hard to access for smallholders if there is not a supportive system in place.

Pastoralism is used to describe a society that derives majority of their food and income from livestock. This form of farming system is largely practised in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL). It is estimated that 70% of the landmass in the Horn of Africa is dry land; in Kenya 80% of the landmass is classified as ASAL, while approximately half of Tanzania consists of dry land.

Smallholder dairy farming is seen as a viable and promising activity to support the livelihoods of cattle keepers in low-income countries. This farming system, characterized by small herds of improved cattle raised under zero-grazing, is proven to lead to better milk yields, but also to require more constant and demanding inputs and resources to sustain production.

Pig production is thriving in Uganda and the demand for pork is increasing, therefore offering potential for smallholder farmers for increased income through pig production.