Traditionally sung by mothers, this song describes the importacne of cattle to a pastoralist community living in a semi-desert area.

Presents a general description of pastoralist milk production from cattle in Africa, analyzing data on milk yield & offtake, lactation and milk composition under pastoralist conditions; briefly examines the use of milk from camels and smallstock by pastoralsits to complement their milk supply from cattle.

Discusses issues related to the collection of data on labour inputs for pastoral production, considering the utility of data on labour as part of pastoral systems research, and research methods for data collection, particularly for multi-visit recall techniques and the time allocation technique.

Lance Robinson, Governance and Resilience Scientist, ILRI, at the side event, “Measuring and Evaluating Resilience in Drylands of East Africa.”; IFPRI 2020 conference on Building Resilience for Food and Nutrition Security, May 15-17, 2014, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. More information at http://www.2020resilience.ifpri.info

Describes techniques of long-and short-term measurements of changes in vegetation and feed resources in pastoral systems, with particular reference to sampling techniques and costs of the various methods.

Background: Human behavioral factors have been found to be central in the transmission of Rift Valley fever.

Consumption of contaminated meat and milk in particular have been identified as one of the key risk factors for

the transmission of Rift Valley fever in humans. In pastoral communities, livestock is the main source of livelihood

from which many benefits such as food as well as economic and cultural services are derived. Zoonotic diseases

therefore have a great impact on pastoral communities livelihoods. However, lay perceptions regarding the

This report characterises the extent of livelihood diversification in Turkana District, briefly surveys a range of options, identifies their relative strengths and weaknesses, and makes recommendations for supportive interventions by development actors. It relies on three main sources of information: a literature review, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions. A case study approach was used to gain further insights into selected diversification opportunities. The study team, however, noted that, when applying an agreed selection criteria (i.e.

Consumption of contaminated livestock products is one of the risk factors for the transmission of Rift Valley fever (RVF) in humans. In pastoral communities, livestock is the main source of livelihood providing nutritional, economic and cultural services hence zoonotic diseases tend to be more prevalent in such communities. An understanding of the lay perceptions regarding the transmission of zoonoses can help institute effective interventions. A qualitative study was carried out in Ijara district in Kenya to investigate the lay perceptions of RVF transmission.

Describes the characteristics of dairy production and processing in South Darfur and provides an analysis of the way in which pastoral families vary their diets according to seasonal food shortages and shifting terms of trade between milk and food grains.