6. Studies of African pastoralism suggest that the traditional systems shared several features which account for producers' ability to use a harsh and uncertain environment. Almost always people relied upon several species: sheep, goats, cattle and either camels or donkeys. The key constraints were low rainfall, the long dry season, and the spatial variability of precipitation. In reaction, people started to rely more on browsing animals (like camels or goats) and shifted their households over the season. By leaving grazing as a common property resource, the resource use system permitted maximum flexibility in response to the vagaries of rainfall and disease outbreaks. Smallstock were traded for grain, and in good years allowed for a comparatively rapid recovery of flocks and herds. The system was quite labour intensive, with separate herding for young animals and those not in milk. Contrary to many statements, existing resource use was comparatively efficient when considered in relation to environmental constraints.
7. These features explain why in the past pastoralists made little use of permanent investments (fencing, paddocks, and irrigation) and resisted mass education (because of competition for labour). While they sold smallstock readily to obtain grain and cash over the season, they treated their large female animals (cattle and camels) as capital which were sold only in extreme circumstances. Offtake of large stock into commercial channels took place mainly in years of drought, when the larger system often could not absorb the many animals on offer. As a consequence, pastoralists' terms of trade vis-à-vis grain farmers tended to decline precipitously. The overall production system was not in equilibrium, but showed an opportunistic build-up of stock populations in good years balanced by high losses during major droughts.
8. Many of the problems in Africa's first generation livestock projects after independence can be explained in relation to the very poor fit between the technologies being promoted and the recipient systems. Obvious points of friction included:
- the preoccupation of project interventions with cattle, to the exclusion of small ruminants and camels;- an end-sale meat production orientation whereas indigenous systems emphasized production of milk and breeding stock;
- promotion of rotational grazing in environments where this practice increased risks and did not outperform indigenous grazing methods;
- lack of a technical solution for periods of extended drought;
- failure to protect pastoralists' terms-of-trade vis-à-vis grain producers, especially evident in dry years;
- introduction of unsuitable breeding stock requiring high management skills;
- rapid deterioration of facilities provided to pastoralists;
- inability to offer attractive prices for superior stock.
9. Detailed field studies have shown that existing production was relatively efficient when compared to other systems with similar constraints. Those pastoralists who enjoyed access to higher prices and good marketing did enter the market, with Somalia's traditional sector becoming a major supplier of Saudi Arabia's market (until blocked by Saudi Arabia in 1983). In the drier areas, at least, studies failed to find an untapped surplus of livestock being held supposedly for "prestige" reasons.
