Pastoralists and agropastoralists loosing ground: a Horn of Africa perspective

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Book chapter

Title:	Pastoralists and agropastoralists loosing ground: a Horn of Africa perspective
Author:	Fre, Zeremariam
Book title:	Security in African drylands: research, development and policy
Year:	1992
Pages:	159-182
Language:	English
Geographic terms:	Sudan Eritrea
Subjects:	pastoralists agricultural policy droughts environment agropastoralism
Abstract:	Eastern Sudan and Eritrea, on which this paper focuses, generally represent a wider Sahelian scenario. Environmental degradation, famine, drought, displacement, encroachment and, in the case of Eritrea, war, have had a combined negative effect on pastoralism as a mode of production. The paper starts by questioning the prevailing definitions of and misconceptions about pastoralism as a mode of production and form of land use. Government policies are then critically reviewed. The author presents evidence of a policy of neglect towards pastoralists. He then concentrates on the ongoing environmental crisis and its implications for pastoral peoples and their mode of production, and describes how some pastoralist groups coped better than others during the 1984-1985 drought. Next, he focuses on the concept of sustainable development and environmental and social security, and makes suggestions for future research and policy. The main assumption is that as a mode of production, an economy and a form of land use, pastoralism is seen as a viable industry by its adherents who inhabit various ecosystems and face a multiplicity of problems. Bibliogr.