The Maasai and Barbaig pastoral communities possess an enormous range of IK on animal health, forage plants and range management, which greatly increases animal survival and overall animal productivity, and thus household food security.
Despite its overwhelming potential, the knowledge of Maasai and Barbaig is not accorded the same recognition as scientific knowledge and consequently the Maasai and Barbaig are not recognised as formal sources of information. The present wave of developmental initiatives that do not recognise and support indigenous technology will not only erode this long acquired knowledge, but will also make the pastoral communities lose their skills, capabilities and confidence, exposing them to food insecurity.
The appropriate policy interventions that will slow down such negative developmental initiatives and give pastoral communities and their rangelands adequate rights of protection are thus essential for the sustainable use of resources and the conservation of biological diversity, for the long term food security of livestock keepers.
There is a need to document the knowledge of the Maasai and the Barbaig related to rangeland management of forage plants and animal productivity aiming at conserving biodiversity and thus increasing food security. Finally, it is important to recommend knowledge sharing and feed back mechanisms among the pastoral communities that will allow them to expand their existing knowledge.
