Livestock, land and the changing political economy of pastoralism:

The bigger picture in the Horn

Jeremy Lind, j.lind@ids.ac.uk Future Agricultures Consortium / Institute of

Development Studies, Sussex

Pastoralists at the centre of dynamic change in the region

• Functionality of pastoral production systems has been eroded over a long period ... but pressures are intensifying

• Yet, another story to tell ... commercialisation processes accelerating– Lucrative camel trade stretching from northern Kenya

into Ethiopia and beyond– Small town growth, improvements in road networks

and mobile phone coverage, new saleyards, better distribution of vet drugs

• Political reform and decentralisation – opportunities for representation and addressing long-standing problems such as land

Focus on Laikipia• Laikipia stands out as an area with a pastoral

population that has long been incorporated into wider markets, commerce and trade

• Many types of pastoralism have evolved in Laikipia – commercialised, value-added subsistence herding, agro-pastoralism and pastoralism-gathering, livestock and tasks-for-cash

• Laikipia a scenario of what the future of pastoralism might look like in the future...particularly in terms of evolution of more commercialised forms of pastoralism that might survive

Crisis and a longer perspective

• Crises opportunities to examine patterns of vulnerability and livelihood change

• Pastoralists doing new things (and always have) – including innovation, diversifying and exiting – but lack of understanding of these in current context of political and economic transformation

Some key questions• What types of pastoralism might exist in 25

years time? Who will be practicing pastoralism in Laikipia and elsewhere?

• Who will be the main benefactors of the changes we observe?

• What will the many others who are no longer involved primarily in mobile livestock-keeping do?

• If most people cannot specialise and benefit greatly from commercialisation, then how else might they benefit?

Aims and objectives• Critical discussion of:– Pastoral livelihood trends and the different

pathways to improve pastoral livelihoods– Options and opportunities for innovation to

improve pastoral livelihoods

• ...keeping in mind how different land users access and use resources, and the relationships that exist amongst and between different land users in shifting political and economic contexts

Workshop is...• NOT intended to be a debate primarily about the

causes of land pressure• NOT a platform to advocate a particular view but

rather to share different perspectives around how to maximise the positive interactions and innovation amongst different land user groups and the opportunities and options for improving human welfare and life opportunities

• NOT an event to disseminate final conclusions – our group is still thinking about issues of land, livestock and livelihoods in Laikipia

...So what we aim for is...

• Reflective discussion of the challenges for improving pastoralist livelihoods

• Sharing preliminary findings with peers and contributing to wider dialogue

• Thinking collectively about how we might work together going forward in terms of sharing knowledge and information