Livestock production in sub-Saharan Africa is dominated by pastoralism and agropastoralism, traditional systems that have evolved in response to the regions diverse agricultural environment. In recent decades, pastoralism has been in decline because of threats posed by human population growth, increasing crop cultivation, and other human activities that shift extensive livestock-production to areas that are of increasing marginal primary productivity. In addition, government land-tenure policies designed to support sedentarization have, in most cases, proved to be inappropriate. As a consequence, pastoralism, once capable of maintaining the sensitive balance between grazing land, water, livestock numbers, and the environment, is gradually breaking down. This has created a need for reorientation in planning and implementing development projects and research priorities for revitalizing pastoral systems
Publication year
2005
Authors
Language
English
Keywords
land use, property rights
Geographic
Ethiopia
