Ian Scoones, Science Adviser to ILRI reflects on the recent conference on the future of pastoralism and the work of ILRI in this area.

Jan de Leeuw from ILRI reflects on the recent conference in Addis Ababa on the future of pastoralism in Africa. He concludes that pastoral systems in Africa are very much in transition. He notes that external influences on pastoralism (education, religion, land rights etc) are much more visible than in the past; the "full mobility" pastoralism that we knew is changing.

Speaking in the margins of a recent conference on the future of pastoralism in Africa, Hussein Makmoud from Pwani University College in Kenya talks abut the growing trade in camels in northern Kenya and southern Sudan and how these new markets are contributing to pastoralist livelihoods in the regions.

Jan de Leeuw from ILRI reflects on the impacts of droughts and hazards on pastoral communities in Africa. He argues that pastoralists are often well-adapted to short term hazards and droughts. A single-season drought weakens livestock and communities. When rains fail repeatedly however, the problems start, and the impacts can be long-lasting.

Adrian Cullis from FAO Ethiopia reflects on the recent conference in Addis Ababa on the future of pastoralism in Africa. The event's fundamental take home message is that "there is a future for pastoralism in Africa." However, it looks like there will be different futures and different forms of pastoralism - with winners and losers.

This paper is an attempt to draw together and synthesise as much of the existing documentation as is possible within a limited time period, analyse it systematically, and draw out the main conclusions, lessons learned, and gaps in knowledge.

Global food production has increased by 20% in the past decade – but food insecurity and poverty remain widespread , while the natural resource base continues to decline.

The dialogue on Ethiopian Agricultural Development was organized by the Ministry of

Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD) of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) to honour Professor Gebisa Ejeta,

winner of the 2009 World Food Prize. The dialogue was held on 12 November 2009 at the

Cattle are one of the main instruments for economic (e.g., milk, meat, and cattle sale) and social (e.g., marriage, death, dispute settlement, and gift giving) exchange in Uganda. They serve as the main source of livelihood for a large majority of rural Ugandans, especially in the cattle corridor.

The diversity of animal genetic resources has a quasi-public good nature that makes market prices inadequate indicator of its economic worth. Applying the characteristics theory of value, this research estimated the relative economic worth of the attributes of cattle genetic resources in central Ethiopia.