Pastoralism can be considered as one of the best examples of agroecology in practice”, says Hassan Roba, himself a pastoralist and now working with the Christensen Fund, at the second International Symposium on Agroecology that took place at the FAO...

South Africa’s agricultural sector is responsible for devastating impacts on the environment. Most South African farms are privately owned, commercial operations, a fact that has somewhat naturally led to a one-dimensional approach to management: they’re out to make a profit. Many...

Drought in the Horn of Africa has been widespread, causing food insecurity that has triggered a regional humanitarian crisis, particularly among livestock-owning communities. FAO’s Abdal Monium Osman, Senior Emergency and Rehabilitation Officer, and Cyril Ferrand, Resilience Team Leader for East Africa explain what FAO is doing to help improve the resilience of pastoral livelihoods.
Q. How does the pastoralist system survive after a severe drought, like the ones in 2011 and 2017? A. The pastoral system employs a range of strategies to recover and enhance resilience. These strategies include the mobilization of pastoralists to exploit...

In Ethiopia’s southeast region, livestock are essential for survival. “We were pure herders. We used to follow the water and grass,” said Mahabo Hassen, a female livestock owner from the outskirts of Warder, in Ethiopia’s Somali Region.
22/03/2018 The animals provide families with milk to drink and to make butter and yoghurt. Male camels and donkeys are also used to fetch water and transport grain. Sheep or goat hides, or rope made from camel skins also generates income....

Below-average rains forecast for Somalia could lead to devastating cattle losses and intensify malnutrition in the Horn of Africa nation, the United Nations food security agency has warned.
The grim scenario follows massive livestock deaths due to drought – up to 60 per cent of herds in some areas – that have severely damaged pastoralists’ livelihoods. “Somalia is traditionally an agro-pastoral economy [and] livestock losses have severely affected its economy...