Horn of Africa’s potential begging for beneficial exploitation

Despite the climatic, economic, security and structural hardships in the Greater Horn of Africa, a livestock market for cattle, goats, sheep, donkeys, camels and poultry thrives. For example, eight out of 10 camels in the world can be found in the region. PHOTO | NMG 

In Summary

• The prevailing production and market systems in the region are skewed in favour of processors and marketers with the raw producers receiving very poor returns for their labour and investment, albeit meagre. 

By BRAZILLE MUSUMBA
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The Greater Horn of Africa (GHOA) covers a land area of nearly 5 million km² of which 70 per cent is arid and semi-arid with pastoralism being the main livelihood.

The largest number of livestock on the continent is found in this part of region that remains vulnerable to recurrent weather extremes and resource-induced conflicts.

Despite the climatic, economic, security and structural hardships, a livestock market for cattle, goats, sheep, donkeys, camels and poultry thrives. For example, eight out of 10 camels in the world can be found in the region.

According to various studies that the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has undertaken in recent years, countries in the region, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, the Sudan and Uganda, are said to be contributing between 10-30 per cent to their respective national gross domestic product from sales of live and value-added livestock commodities locally and internationally.

Pastoralism is a production system found in the rangelands whose livelihood mainly depends on traditional and non-traditional resources provided by natural ecosystems, such as wildlife, medicines, honey, fish and non-wood forest products (NWFPs).

Therefore, beyond livestock, the so-called pastoral areas or arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) are also endowed with many more other potentials and possibilities yet to be fully exploited for the benefit of local communities and national economies. 

Marginalised due to inadequate infrastructure such as road, telecommunications, water and energy as well as essential socio-economic services like health, education and security, majority of inhabitants of these areas continue to languish in abject poverty, illiteracy and total deprivation.

Ironically, these are the same areas that produce huge amounts of NWFPs such as gums, resins, spices and perfumes for multi-billion dollar beauty and confectionary industries.

Honey, wax and dye production as well as herbal medicines found in these remote areas; precious and semi-precious gemstones such as rubies, emeralds and sapphires are also mines from artisanal mines in environmentally unsustainable manner and exported for cutting, polishing and sale in major world cities.

Non-wood products play an important role in the daily lives and overall well being of over 200 million people in the GHOA region.

Studies conducted by IGAD have shown that besides providing sustainable supplies of food and medicines, the plants and their exudates are articles of commerce and contribute to the economic development of individual households, some local communities and national economies.

It is rather unfortunate that producer communities in pastoral areas do not receive their fair share of the benefits. The prevailing production and market systems in the region are skewed in favour of processors and marketers with the raw producers receiving very poor returns for their labour and investment, albeit meagre. 

Overall, the GHOA region and the pastoral areas in particular have a wealth of natural resources with the potential to drive economic growth and social development.

This has been hampered by a number of reasons including a fast growth rate of a largely rural, peasant and heavily natural resource-dependent population; natural disasters that remain evident in the region; and institutional weaknesses at regional, national and sub-national levels.

It is now evident that there is a need for a regional network of research and training institutions that would collect commercially exploitable plant substance to be sources for multiplication and distribution of quality breeding material. 

With support from the European Union, the IGAD Centre for Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development (ICPALD) was established with an approved protocol and five-year strategic plan. The centre has since promoted, facilitated and championed for development of policy and legal frameworks supportive of sustainable exploitation of livestock and natural resources for the benefit of communities in the ASALs.

To underpin this support, ICPALD developed and rolled out a regional training manual to enhance the capacity of policy makers to review and develop appropriate and supportive policies. ICPALD commissioned a study to assess the socio-economic impact of cattle rustling in Kenya, the Sudan and Uganda.

Separately, ICPALD assessed socio-economic contribution of alternative livelihood resources (NWFPs and artisanal minerals) to national GDPs in the region. It was established without doubt that artisanal mining and NWFPs significantly contribute to national economies.

It was further concluded that targeted investments should be made to allow for value addition and job creation in areas of production. This will not only inject liquidity in the local economies, but also alleviate youth unemployment in areas that would otherwise have few or no opportunities for youth employment.

Efforts are being made to champion for the revision of existing policies and laws to allow for artisanal mining and sustainable exploitation of NWFPs and value addition in areas of production to create wealth and employment locally. Regional strategies for the development of artisanal mining and NWFPs as well as policy and legal frameworks have also been initiated for domestication at national and sub-national levels.

Brazille Musumba is a media and communications advisor to Igad. E-mail: brazille.musumba@igad.int