Presents results of studies of settlement, land use & relations w. settled farmers of Fulani agropastoralists in Abet & Kachia Grazing Reserve in Subhumid Nigeria. Discusses reasons of choice of site, pattern & right of grazing and access to land.

This volume contains papers and abstracts of the Third Biennial Conference of the African Small Ruminant Research Network. In addition to the keynote address, there are nine papers on Genetic Resources Enhancement and Utilisation, seven papers on Production Systems, Policy and Economics, six papers on Management and Health, 12 papers and Feeding Systems and 10 papers on Performance and Reproduction. Six poster abstracts covering the above topics add to the volume.

This chapter investigates the options for improving the performance of small ruminants interms of their contribution to household incomes. The characteristics of the existing production system are first sketched in order to identify the resource requirements and constraints of the system. Based on this imformation, a steady-state flock model is then developed and used to assess the impact of variation in growth, reproduction and mortality rates production.

Studies were conducted among pastoralists on the Borana Plateau in 1986-89. Household surveys described seasonal milk production and allocation, marketed supply of dairy products, incidence of calf morbidity and mortality and human consumption of dairy products and grain. The efficiency of butter-making was measured. Dairying among the Borana is controlled by the women. Overall, 69 percent of milk produced was used as fresh milk and the remainder was soured for direct consumption or butter processing.

Synthesis of discussion on the design and implementation of pastoral development projects, particularly with reference to the project concept, basic constraints and information needs, organizational aspects and monitoring, w. recommendations.

Jan de Leeuw from ILRI reflects on the impacts of droughts and hazards on pastoral communities in Africa. He argues that pastoralists are often well-adapted to short term hazards and droughts. A single-season drought weakens livestock and communities. When rains fail repeatedly however, the problems start, and the impacts can be long-lasting. He was talking in the margins of the recent conference in Addis Ababa on the future of pastoralism in Africa. The Addis Ababa conference (21-23 March 2011) was organized by the Future Agricultures Consortium with Tufts University.

Pastoralism supports tens of millions of people, makes the best use of harsh environments and provides many economic and social benefits. At the Brussels Development Briefing on ‘New Challenges and Opportunities for Pastoralism in ACP Countries’, experts highlighted policies to improve the welfare of livestock herding communities.

Le pastoralisme subvient aux besoins de dizaines de millions de personnes. Il utilise au mieux des environnements difficiles et offre de nombreux avantages économiques et sociaux. Lors du Briefing de Bruxelles sur le développement portant sur « Les nouveaux défis et opportunités pour le pastoralisme dans les pays ACP », les experts ont souligné les politiques à adopter en vue d'améliorer le bien-être des communautés pastorales dépendant de l'élevage de cheptel.