Supporting Pastoralism and Agriculture in Recurrent and Protracted Crises (SPARC)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/151921

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A review of approaches to the integration of humanitarian and development aid: the case of drought management in the Horn of Africa
(Journal Article, 2025-01-24) Mohamed, Tahira Shariff; Crane, Todd A.; Derbyshire, Samuel F.; Roba, Guyo Malicha
Whether and how to link humanitarian assistance and long-term development aid are questions that have underlain polarized debates in policy, practical, and theoretical spaces over recent years. This is due in large part to the diversity of actors, institutional mandates, funding sources, programmes (themselves always changing), and operational dynamics that exist between the two domains. In pastoral areas of the Horn of Africa, which experience recurrent drought emergencies, integrating the two forms of assistance has been attempted in several instances, which have often been disjointed and have sought to grapple with an unpredictable terrain of shifting policies and program designs. Such challenges have been further compounded by a substantial disconnect between programming (across humanitarian aid and resilience building) and existing pastoralist practices and strategies comprising local social safety nets. Using a comprehensive literature review, this paper explores some of the practical strategies that have been implemented to integrate these two forms of assistance over recent years. It surveys implications that arise in relation to the question of how best to address persistent drought in the Horn of Africa. Interrogating mechanisms for enhancing aid efficiency and effectiveness including crisis modifiers and contingency planning, the paper examines what progress has been made in transitioning from reactive, short-term emergency response to long-term development and what barriers still exist. It also considers Community Managed Disaster Risk Reduction (CMDRR), a modality envisaged by many as a bridge for enhancing local ownership and thus sustainability of both kinds of intervention. In doing so, the paper argues that despite multiple policy shifts and the adoption of new frameworks (including, recently, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development's Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainability Initiative - IDDRSI), when it comes to practical implementation, there has been little progress. We suggest that this is due in part to the well documented complexity of the aid system, and the forms of bureaucracy and upward accountability that make change extremely difficult, and in part to a lack of meaningful community participation in planning and practice.
Collective tenure of pastoral land in Sudan: Evidence from North Kordofan
(Report, 2024-06) Sulieman, H.M.; Omar Adam, Y.; Naile, S.
This study focused on ‘perceived’ tenure security, i.e. how secure people feel. This recognised that perceived tenure security can be a function of formal (legal) recognition of access and use rights, as well as an individual or group’s experiences. Findings at community level include: a description of the pastoral community and collective land under study; the de facto tenure system at community level; the characteristics of the local tenure system, perceived tenure security and factors that affect community perceptions; and differences for individuals vis-à-vis the collective.
Characterising collective tenure security in pastoral systems in Burkina Faso
(Report, 2024-06-30) Sawadogo, Issa; Illy, Elie; Boubacar, Ly; Diallo, Safiatou; Badini, Ismael; Magnini, Jufferin; Nassef, Magda
This study focused on ‘perceived’ tenure security, i.e. how secure people feel. This recognised that perceived tenure security can be a function of formal (legal) recognition of access and use rights, as well as an individual or group’s experiences. Findings at community level include: a description of the pastoral community and collective land under study; the de facto tenure system at community level; the characteristics of the local tenure system, perceived tenure security and factors that affect community perceptions; and differences for individuals vis-à-vis the collective.
Breaking down silos: Towards effective integration of resilience and humanitarian aid in the Horn of Africa
(Brief, 2024-09-01) Mohamed, Tahira Shariff; Crane, Todd A.; Roba, Guyo Malicha; Derbyshire, Samuel F.; Banerjee, Rupsha R.
Perceptions of land tenure security in pastoral areas in Marsabit, Kenya
(Report, 2024-05-30) Otieno, Ken; Lumumba, Odenda; Odote, Collins; Akinyi, Lydia; Wari, Gayo; Ongesa, Laureen; Nassef, Magda
These studies acknowledge the complexity of collective (communal) tenure in pastoral areas, which encompasses a multifaceted system of rights. It analyses two layers of tenure security: the security of the entire community and the security of individual members within that community, including differences related to gender and age. Additionally, the study explores the role of pastoral mobility in the context of tenure rights and pastoralism. This study examines two dimensions of tenure security: the security of the community as a whole and the security of individual members within that community, taking into account factors such as gender and age. In addition, we examined the role of mobility within a functional pastoral system. We found that the measurement of tenure security, including individual perceptions and perceived tenure security, is considerably more challenging in pastoral contexts compared to farming or settled households, where there are clear individual land titles for specific demarcated areas. Consequently, pastoral tenure and its varying degrees of security are not adequately captured in global measurement frameworks like Prindex, LANDex and other monitoring platforms contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Understanding and characterising collective tenure and tenure security in pastoral systems: Consolidation of case studies in Burkina Faso, Sudan and Kenya
(Report, 2024-03-30) Nassef, Magda; Otieno, Ken; Sulieman, Hussein; Sawadogo, Issa; Locke, A.; Langdown, I.; Flintan, Fiona E.
Land tenure insecurity has been highlighted as a main factor in farmer–herder conflict (Flintan, 2012; Davies et al., 2016; Nassef et al., 2023). While tenure and tenure security for settled land users has been well documented, pastoral collective tenure and degrees of tenure security in pastoral systems are not as well understood. To explore this issue, we examined collective tenure systems in Burkina Faso, Sudan and Kenya. Two layers of tenure and tenure security were considered: that of the group and that of individuals within the group, recognising that groups are not homogenous. None of the pastoral communities in this study hold any formal documentation for their land but do consider themselves rightful landholders.
The impact of forage condition on household food security in northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia
(Journal Article, 2024) Alulu, Vincent; Shikuku, Kelvin Mashisia; Lepariyo, Watson; Paliwal, Ambica; Galgallo, Diba; Gobu, Wako; Banerjee, Rupsha R.
We studied the causal link between forage condition and food security in northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia and probed the mechanisms through which the effects occur. The study utilized weekly panel survey data collected over a period of 94 weeks (March 2021–December 2022) from drought-prone pastoral regions and estimated two-stage least squares instrumental variables regression to assess causal impacts. We found that an increase in the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) – our proxy for forage condition – by 10% significantly reduced the likelihood of a household experiencing food insecurity by 12 percentage points. The main mechanisms through which improved forage condition increased food security were livestock productivity enhancement, reduced prices of basic food commodities (cereals, legumes, and vegetables), and utilization of better coping strategies by households. These findings suggest the need for interventions and initiatives aimed at boosting livestock productivity and reducing vulnerability to drought-induced poor forage conditions. Efforts focused on the monitoring of forage conditions and supporting market development for livestock feed are important for addressing the adverse impacts of drought and deteriorating forage conditions in the horn of Africa. Furthermore, the monitoring of drought conditions and shocks using high-frequency data has the potential for providing early warning and informing anticipatory action.
Crowdsourcing data can help monitor drought impacts on food security
(Brief, 2024-06) Shikuku, Kelvin Mashisia; Alulu, Vincent; Lepariyo, Watson; Banerjee, Rupsha R.
Uncertainty, pastoral knowledge and early warning: A review of drought management in the drylands, with insights from northern Kenya
(Journal Article, 2024-06) Derbyshire, Samuel F.; Banerjee, Rupsha R.; Mohamed, Tahira Shariff; Roba, Guyo Malicha
This article explores the recent history of early warning systems in Kenya, determining key features of the entangled political, technical and conceptual processes that prefigure contemporary drought management there. In doing so, it draws out wider implications regarding drought and anticipatory action across Africa’s drylands, considering the friction between the dynamics of disaster risk management that structure formal early warning systems and those that shape pastoralist engagements with the volatile and uncertain worlds they inhabit. Surveying recent literature on pastoralism’s unique relationship with uncertainty, and associated forms of networked, relational resilience, it reflects on some of the inherent limitations of current approaches to “local knowledge” in the humanitarian sphere. In doing so, it emphasises the need for new, creative approaches to early warning and anticipatory action, which are not merely established via the external synthesis of data but are rather oriented around local pastoralist drought preparation and mitigation strategies and comprise enough flexibility to adapt to a fast-shifting terrain of challenges and possibilities.
Anticipatory action in the drylands: steps toward centring pastoralist knowledge
(Brief, 2024-01) Derbyshire, Samuel F.; Mohamed, Tahira Shariff; Banerjee, Rupsha R.; Hassan, Rahma; Rogei, Daniel Salau
Scoping report for a farmer-herder conflict case study in Sudan
(Report, 2023-12-19) Sulieman, Hussein; Abdal Karem, S.M.
This scoping report combines findings from a scoping visit to the case study location with a review of the literature that describes salient features of the political economy in Sudan. The purpose of this report is to document findings as a contribution to and as preparation for fieldwork on farmer-herder conflicts. The report is produced by the CGIAR Research Initiative on Fragility, Conflict and Migration and the project Supporting Pastoralism and Agriculture in Recurrent and Protracted Crises (SPARC).
Food systems and the political economy: A lens for understanding farmer-herder conflicts
(Brief, 2023-12-19) Flintan, Fiona; Nassef, Magda; Domingo, Pilar
Conflict between farmers and livestock herders, normally pastoralists, has received heightened attention over the last two decades. However, primary research on the causes of these conflicts is scarce. Farming and pastoralism are two food production systems that are increasingly clashing as pressure for land rises in a context of poor tenure security and land use planning and development narratives that prioritize crop farming over livestock production despite a steadily growing demand for livestock products.This brief outlines a preliminary research framework developed by the CGIAR Research Initiative on Fragility, Conflict and Migration and the project Supporting Pastoralism and Agriculture in Recurrent and Protracted Crises (SPARC).
Conflicts between Farmers and Livestock Breeders in Mali: A Review of Dynamics and Issues in the Mopti Region
(Report, 2023-12-19) Ba, Baba
The central delta of the Niger is characterized by the coexistence of various production systems sharing water and land as common elements. These systems have long interacted, complementing and substituting one another through efficient socio-spatial organization. However, several factors have led to the emergence of challenges between users of natural resources, especially farmers and herders. This makes the central delta of the Niger one of the Sahelian regions where conflicts have taken alarming proportions. This literature review aims to highlight the issues characterizing conflicts between herders and farmers in Mali, particularly in the Mopti Region. After analysing studies on factors weakening the agropastoral context of the delta, we focus on climatic, environmental, socioeconomic, and politico-institutional aspects to identify the drivers and triggers of conflicts. We also examine the management and resolution modalities of these conflicts, as well as their impacts on food production systems. This study is part of the research activities supported by the CGIAR through the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). Our objective is to contribute to ongoing research on land and conflicts, especially within the framework of the Supporting Pastoralism and Agriculture in Recurrent and Protracted Crises (SPARC) project, with case studies in Sudan and Nigeria, along with a contextual study in Mali. It is also part of the CGIAR’s Fragility, Conflict, and Migration initiative. In light of this review, it becomes apparent that conflicts between farmers and herders are fueled by various factors, such as climate change, evolving governance modes, and ongoing transformations in agricultural production systems within the delta. These conflicts destabilize social relations between communities, leading them into increasingly complex dynamics. Moreover, it is evident that agropastoral conflicts are strongly influenced by a fragile political and security context, linking them to the emergence of jihadist or self-defence armed groups.
Climate change and transboundary risks in African rangelands
(Brief, 2023-12-19) Baker, Derek
This paper aligns current thinking on transboundary climate risk pathways with research on climate risk for pastoralists in African rangelands. Four pathways for transboundary transmission of climate risk were used as a framework for a narrative review of research literature on pastoralism and climate change. Selected cases were presented to highlight conclusions and recommendations. Pastoralism research reflects many aspects of risk management, particularly its relationship to mobility and the development of appropriate non-equilibrium models of pastoralist decision-making. However, the research contains limited probability-based analysis that aligns with formal risk pathways that link risk triggers to impact by way of interacting and cascading systemic risk. Impacts of climate change on pastoralists and rangeland functions have been extensively researched, but links to formal treatment of risk has been limited. Although international transboundary risk management has not been widely addressed with respect to rangelands, a number of related topics are suited to the risk analysis discussed. Research identified in the literature review primarily has adoption of technology and other interventions as its focus. Consistent results emerged from factors predisposing to adaptation behaviour and enhanced vulnerability of pastoralists. These were able to be linked to the five risk pathways identified but with limited formal treatment of risk. Research gaps were identified, primarily surrounding definitional and quantitative advances, and the opportunity to better inform policy and the design of interventions.
Climate change and transboundary risks in African rangelands
(Report, 2023-12-19) Baker, Derek
This paper aligns current thinking on transboundary climate risk pathways with research on climate risk for pastoralists in African rangelands. Four pathways for transboundary transmission of climate risk were used as a framework for a narrative review of research literature on pastoralism and climate change. Selected cases were presented to highlight conclusions and recommendations. Pastoralism research reflects many aspects of risk management, particularly its relationship to mobility and the development of appropriate non-equilibrium models of pastoralist decision-making. However, the research contains limited probability-based analysis that aligns with formal risk pathways that link risk triggers to impact by way of interacting and cascading systemic risk. Impacts of climate change on pastoralists and rangeland functions have been extensively researched, but links to formal treatment of risk has been limited. Although international transboundary risk management has not been widely addressed with respect to rangelands, a number of related topics are suited to the risk analysis discussed. Research identified in the literature review primarily has adoption of technology and other interventions as its focus. Consistent results emerged from factors predisposing to adaptation behaviour and enhanced vulnerability of pastoralists. These were able to be linked to the five risk pathways identified but with limited formal treatment of risk. Research gaps were identified, primarily surrounding definitional and quantitative advances, and the opportunity to better inform policy and the design of interventions.
Farming after fighting: Agricultural recovery after conflict: a review of evidence and practice
(Report, 2023-06) Wiggins, Steve; Banerjee, Rupsha R.; Patel, Neema; Shikuku, Kelvin Mashisia
Causes of farmer–herder conflicts in Africa: A systematic scoping review
(Report, 2023-06-30) Nassef, Magda; Eba, Bedasa; Islam, Kishmala; Djohy, Georges; Flintan, Fiona E.
Digital innovations for high-frequency ground truthing and monitoring of household welfare in pastoral communities
(Brief, 2022-09-15) Lepariyo, Watson; Banerjee, Rupsha R.; Alulu, Vincent; Shikuku, Kelvin Mashisia
Can formalisation of pastoral land tenure overcome its paradoxes? Reflections from East Africa
(Journal Article, 2022-08-23) Robinson, Lance W.; Flintan, Fiona E.
Legal frameworks for communal land rights in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania are now gaining momentum. Questions can be raised as to whether, how, and to what extent these frameworks take into account the disadvantages of formalising tenure and the complexities of pastoral resources. In this paper, we consider the impact of these challenges on the formalisation of communal ownership, beginning with an overview of how commons theory has influenced land governance policies and how it is applied to pastoral systems. We identify the main challenges that land policy interventions in East Africa face and ways in which the conceptual models of shared property rights embodied in current land tenure regimes are not well adapted to the socio-ecological characteristics of some rangeland landscapes. We argue that policy interventions capable of overcoming the paradox of pastoral tenure and strengthening tenure security while addressing herders’ needs for mobility and flexibility will often involve the progressive recognition of layers of sometimes overlapping rights, rather than attempts to subdivide landscapes into simple mosaics of discrete communal territories. This paper is based on an analysis of the legal frameworks for land tenure in the three countries and a review of the literature on pastoralism and land governance in the region.
KAZNET: An open-source, micro-tasking platform for remote locations
(Journal Article, 2022-03-25) Chelanga, Philemon; Fava, Francesco P.; Alulu, Vincent; Banerjee, Rupsha R.; Naibei, Oscar; Taye, Masresha; Berg, M.; Galgallo, Diba; Gobu, Wako; Lepariyo, Watson; Muendo, K.; Jensen, Nathaniel D.
Field surveys are the workhorse of social and environmental research, but conventional collection through monitors or enumerators are cost prohibitive in many remote or otherwise difficult settings, which can lead to a poor understanding of those environments and an underrepresentation of the people living in them. In such cases, micro-tasking can offer a promising alternative. By activating in-situ data collectors, micro-tasking avoids many of the large expenses related to conventional field survey processes. In addition to relaxing resource constraints, crowd-sourcing can be flexible and employ data quality protocols unheard-of for conventional methods. This study assesses the potential of using micro-tasking to monitor socioeconomic and environmental indicators in remote settings using a new platform called KAZNET. KAZNET leverages the network of people with smartphones, which are becoming ubiquitous even in the remote rural settings, to execute both long-term and short-term data collection activities, with flexibility to adjust or add tasks in real-time. It also allows for multiple projects, requiring different data types, to be rolled out in the same platform simultaneously. For the data-collector, KAZNET is effectively a wrapper for the commonly used and open source, Open Data Kit (ODK) software, which specializes in offline data collection. A web interface allows administrators to calibrate, deploy, and validate tasks performed by contributors. KAZNET has been used in several projects to collect data in remote pastoral regions of East Africa since its inception in 2017. KAZNET has shown to be effective for collecting high frequency and repeated measures from markets, households and rangelands in remote regions at relatively low cost compared to traditional survey methods. While the successes of micro-tasking are promising, there are clear trade-offs and complementarities between micro-tasking and standard surveys methods, which researchers and practitioners need to consider when implementing either approach.

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