The Borana Plateau of southern Ethiopia: Synthesis of pastoral research, development and change, 1980-91 summarises results from work conducted by 40 people in the southern Ethiopian rangelands between 1980 and 1991. The global objectives of this inter-disciplinary project were to describe the evolving production system of the Borana pastoralists and prescribe best-bet component interventions and policies that might promote growth in the livestock sector, alleviate poverty among pastoral producers and encourage ecologically sustainable patterns of resource use. A large effort was also devoted to contrasting our research results with other findings in the pastoral literature, largely from eastern and southern Africa. This comprehensive system study is intended to serve two main audiences: (1) professionals within Ethiopia who deal with range research and development and need detailed interpretation of local data but also have poor access to international literature and (2) an international audience concerned with more general implications of the work for pastoral research and development in sub-Saharan Africa.
