African Pastoral Development Policy Frame Work Principles and Strategies: Implication for National Development Policies and Research

Abstract

Africa has nearly 270 million (FAO, 2012) people (41 percent percentages) living in dry lands. Pastoral systems in Africa’s are found in the vast arid and semi-arid areas. African pastoralists and pastoral culture is a core part of Africa’s culture, history and heritage. The livestock and natural resource management practices used by pastoralists require well organized collective action, especially in the harsh environments in which they live. Pastoralists organize themselves to split herds and move animals to distant grazing areas, to control access to communal grazing areas, to manage the watering of livestock, and to provide security. Partly for these reasons, pastoralists have very strong social organizations and leadership. The Policy Framework for Pastoralism in Africa arises from the need for a continent-wide platform to effectively address, in a holistic manner, the many challenges confronting pastoral communities. The framework defined the guidelines, principles and modalities for combining all the essential elements needed for a better understanding of pastoral issues, and for the development and implementation of interventions to address these issues. While facilitating engagement with regional and country-level planning processes, the policy framework can play a catalytic role in promoting development in pastoral communities by providing the African platform tool for harnessing the economic and technical resources needed to empower pastoral communities to better manage their resources, for their own long-term benefit. The Policy Framework for Pastoralism in Africa is the first continent-wide policy initiative Aims to secure, protect and improve the lives, livelihoods and rights of African pastoralists. The policy framework is taken as a platform for mobilizing and coordinating political commitment to pastoral development in Africa. This presentation is based on the review of African policy frame work recently indorsed by the African Head of States in Addis Ababa. (2010). Outcome of the consultative workshop by Ethiopian Pastoral Research and Development Network (EPRDN). The objective of the presentation is to familiarize the participants with the African policy frame work and indicate its implication to the higher education and research.