G. Gebru

Assessing the Value of Climate Forecast Information for Pastoralists: Evidence from Southern Ethiopia and Northern Kenya

Climatic variability exerts tremendous influence on the livelihoods and well-being of pastoralists in the Horn of Africa. Recent advances in climate forecasting technologies have raised the intriguing prospect of reasonably accurate forecasts of coming seasons’ rainfall patterns. We explore the value of such external climate forecast information to pastoralists in southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya using data collected using both open-ended, qualitative methods to identify and understand indigenous climate forecasting methods and quantitative data collected using survey instruments. On balance, climate forecast information does not seem a limiting factor at present in pastoralist communities in the Horn of Africa.

Capacity Building Helps Pastoral Women Transform Impoverished Communities in Ethiopia

Diversification of income-producing activities provides greater resilience to drought. Poverty, drought, and hunger devastate people on Africa’s rangelands. We used an action-oriented approach from 2000 to 2004 to build capacity among thousands of pastoralists to diversify livelihoods, improve living standards, and enhance livestock marketing. The process included collective action, microfinance, and participatory education. Poor women previously burdened by domestic chores became leaders and rapidly changed their communities. Drought occurred from 2005 to 2008. We assessed intervention effects on household drought resilience with a quasiexperimental format that incorporated survey-based comparisons of treatment groups with ex post controls. Interventions led to major improvements in trends for quality of life, wealth accumulation, hunger reduction, and risk management. Human capacity building can be a driver for change, generating hope and aspirations that set the stage for the use of new information and technology.

Opportunities and challenges of indigenous biotic weather forecasting among the Borena herders of southern Ethiopia

The practical utilization of available modern as well as traditional weather forecasting systems builds herders’ resiliency capacity to climatic shocks. The precision and reliability of the forecasting system determines its creditability and acceptance by the users to be proactive in the decisions they make based on the forecasted information. It has been postulated that traditional weather forecasting systems are becoming less reliable due to repeated faulty forecasts. The study assesses the current status of the Borana traditional weather forecasting system and how traditional experts make weather forecasts based on biotic indicators such as intestinal readings, changes in plant and animal body languages. Questionnaire survey, field observations, focus group discussions and interviews with relevant key informants were employed to obtain data. Collected field data was compared with National Metrological Service Agency instrumental data for consistency. Results reveal that herders made short term weather forecasts using intestinal readings, and observed changes in plant and animal body languages. The study shows the extent how public confidence in the accuracy of indigenous weather forecasting skills has been gradually eroded overtime due to faulty forecasts. The precision and credibility of the traditional weather forecast steadily declined and led to repeated faulty predictions. Poor documentation, oral based knowledge transfer system, influence of religion and modern education, aging and extinction of traditional experts were identified as the major causes undermining the vitality of traditional climate forecast. Traditional weather foresting knowledge and skill could have some utility and also serve as a starting point to scientifically study the relationship between various signs and implied climatic events. This article recommends before traditional Borana weather forecasting system completely disappears, a remedial action should be carried out to rescue this long established wisdom, knowledge and skill and maximize the benefits from what works well. The forecast needs of herders could be rendered by a combination of modern and traditional weather forecasting services. Further research is required to explore possible area of complementarity between the modern and traditional forecasting systems for improved efficiency and effectiveness in predictability, dissemination and advice.

Cross-Border Interaction Spurs Innovation and Hope Among Pastoral and Agro-Pastoral Women of Ethiopia and Kenya

On the Ground African pastoralists endure poverty, drought, and hunger. Women are especially marginalized because they are illiterate, unskilled, disempowered, and engaged in daily drudgery. Such women, however, are capable of remarkable, sustained achievements in collective action, livelihood diversification, micro-finance, and community-based wealth generation. Women can be profoundly inspired by successful peers. After careful training and mentoring, inspired women can then start new initiatives. Husbands can be supportive of womens empowerment because household welfare improves. Men sometimes join—and occasionally help lead—collective-action efforts. Womens empowerment should be a major focus in pastoral development projects because of the positive community synergisms women create.

Climate variability, perceptions of pastoralists and their adaptation strategies: Implications for livestock system and diseases in Borana zone

Purpose Climate variability and extremes adversely affect the livestock sector directly and indirectly by aggravating the prevalence of livestock diseases, distorting production system and the sector profitability. This paper aims to examine climate variability and its impact on livestock system and livestock disease among pastoralists in Borana, Southern Ethiopia. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods using household questionnaire, field observations, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Areal grid dikadal rainfall and temperatures data from 1985 to 2014 were collected from national meteorological agency. The quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed and interpreted using appropriate analytical tools and procedures. Findings The result revealed that the study area is hard hit by moisture stress, due to the late onset of rainy seasons, decrease in the number of rainy days and volume of rainfall. The rainfall distribution behavior coupled with the parallel increase in minimum and maximum temperature exacerbated the impact on livestock system and livestock health. Majority of the pastoralists are found to have rightly perceived the very occurrence and manifestations of climate variability and its consequences. Pastoralists are hardly coping with the challenges of climate variability, mainly due to cultural prejudice, poor service delivery and the socio-economic and demographic challenges. Research limitations/implications Pastoralists are vulnerable to the adverse impact of climate variability and extreme events. Practical implications The finding of the study provides baseline information for practitioners, researchers and policymakers. Originality/value This paper provided detailed insights about the rainfall and temperature trend and variability for the past three decades. The finding pointed that pastoralists’ livelihood is under climate variability stress, and it has implications to food insecurity.