Restocking Refugee Pastoralists in the Horn of Africa

Jon D Unruh

doi:10.1111/j.1467-7717.1993.tb00504.x

Abstract

Repeated and lingering famine in the Horn of Africa has produced enormous pastoralist refugee populations in a region where livestock production is a major form of land use. Permanently settling destitute pastoralists has a record of failure. It can disrupt host land-uses, causing social and ecological problems, and prevent the utilization of very large grazing areas where pastoralism may be the only ecologically and economically sustainable land-use. Herd reconstitution should be considered an option in relief and rehabilitation programmes for pastoralists. This paper examines a design where the most proven and immediate way of sustaining stockless pastoralists - farming - can be used to facilitate restocking objectives. Using data gathered in Somalia, estimates of livestock carrying capacity are linked with forage resources, land area, livestock units, and the frequency of good, average, and poor (drought) water years, to explore the possibilities for incorporating restocking into refugee rehabilitation efforts.

Highlights

The recent decades of famine afflicting Africa have had particular impact on pastoral livelihoods and livestock production
The livestock industry--a significant, and in many cases dominant part of the national economy in a number of African countries--can be severely damaged by herd loss and require very long periods of time to recover (Table 1) (Clark 1985; Bennett 1984; Campbell 1981; Biswas et al 1987; Toulmin 1985; Box 1971; Lewis 1975)
From an ecologic and economic perspective the sedentarization of large numbers of pastoralists may be especially impractical considering that many farming areas are already crowded, and rangeland livestock production will be essential to many nations' ability to feed growing populations (Biswas et al 1987; Campbell 1981) from a land resource covering large areas with few alternative uses

Summary

Introduction

The recent decades of famine afflicting Africa have had particular impact on pastoral livelihoods and livestock production. In a design involving subsistence cultivation and restocking going on in adjacent locations, large areas would be needed for both farming and grazing in regions where such an abundance of land is most likely not available. This is why multiple use of land allocated to refugee pastoralists must be considered. Efforts to restock pastoralists engaged in 'refugee agriculture' could consider connecting the number and type of livestock supplied to pastoralists in restocking programs with the quantity and availability of fodder resources produced on land allocated to each household, which must be able to provide subsistence to pastoralists themselves through annual crop production. The length of the growing season and the severity of the soil moisture deficit are the primary factors determining range productivity in southern Somalia (LRDC 1985)

Methods

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Conclusions