Prospects for Livestock-Based Livelihoods in Africa's Drylands examines the challenges and opportunities facing the livestock sector and the people who depend on livestock in the dryland regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. It presents a novel way of thinking about pastoral development, grounded in a conceptual framework that focuses on the multiple shocks that drylands livestock keepers face and how those shocks can be addressed, drawing on a state-of-the-art literature review carried out by scientists of leading research institutes and development organizations, and integrating the results of an innovative approach to modeling development options for the drylands livestock sector. Looking to the future, the picture is mixed. On the positive side, demand for red meat is expected to strengthen in domestic and regional markets, suggesting that livestock keepers will have good market opportunities. On the negative side, a large majority of livestock keepers are classifi ed as poor, and the natural (feed) resource base is likely to be suffi cient to enable improved meat and milk production for the growing human population. Prospects for the livestock sector through 2030 vary by aridity zone. In arid and semi-arid zones, a reasonable goal for 2030 is to have land use, training, and microfi nance systems established that promote an appropriate balance between human and livestock carrying capacities, featuring mainly grassland/pastoral systems that reliably and sustainably satisfy the minimum income needs of herder households, produce at least a signifi cant part of the demand in local markets for animal source food, and provide environmental services for which livestock keepers receive compensation. The goal includes signifi cant employment generation outside the sector. In the higher rainfall zones of the semi-arid areas, and in the subhumid zones, a reasonable goal for 2030 is to have intensifi ed production systems established, featuring mainly mixed livestock/arable farming or agro-pastoral systems that are closely linked to nearby grassland/pastoral systems and that consistently generate marketable surpluses of differentiated red meat and livestock products that can compete not only in the expanding domestic market but also in selected regional markets.

Once again, the Horn of Africa has been in the headlines. And once again the news has been bad: drought, famine, conflict, hunger, suffering and death. The finger of blame has been pointed in numerous directions: to the changing climate, to environmental degradation, to overpopulation, to geopolitics and conflict, to aid agency failures, and more. But it is not all disaster and catastrophe. Many successful development efforts at ‘the margins’ often remain hidden, informal, sometimes illegal; and rarely in line with standard development prescriptions. If we shift our gaze from the capital cities to the regional centres and their hinterlands, then a very different perspective emerges. These are the places where pastoralists live. They have for centuries struggled with drought, conflict and famine. They are resourceful, entrepreneurial and innovative peoples. Yet they have been ignored and marginalised by the states that control their territory and the development agencies who are supposed to help them. This book argues that, while we should not ignore the profound difficulties of creating secure livelihoods in the Greater Horn of Africa, there is much to be learned from development successes, large and small. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars with an interest in development studies and human geography, with a particular emphasis on Africa. It will also appeal to development policy-makers and practitioners.

Drylands are at the core of Africa’s development challenge. Drylands make up about 43 percent of the region’s land surface, account for about 75 percent of the area used for agriculture, and are home to about 50 percent of the population, including a disproportionate share of the poor. Due to complex interactions among many factors, vulnerability in drylands is high and rising, jeopardizing the long-term livelihood prospects for hundreds of millions of people. Climate change, which is expected to increase the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, will exacerbate this challenge. African governments and their partners in the international development community stand ready to tackle the challenges confronting drylands, but important questions remain unanswered about how the task should be undertaken. Do dryland environments contain enough resources to generate the food, jobs, and income needed to support sustainable livelihoods for a fast growing population? If not, can injections of external resources make up the deficit? Or is the carrying capacity of drylands so limited that outmigration should be encouraged? Based on analysis of current and projected future drivers of vulnerability and resilience, the report uses an original modeling framework to identify promising interventions, quantify their likely costs and benefits, and describe the policy trade-offs that will need to be addressed. By 2030, economic growth leading to structural change will allow some of the people living in drylands to transition to non-agriculture based livelihood strategies, reducing their vulnerability. Many others will continue to rely on livestock keeping and crop farming. For the latter group, a number of “best bet†? interventions have the potential to make a significant difference in reducing vulnerability and increasing resilience. This report evaluates the opportunities and challenges associated with these interventions, and it draws a number of conclusions that have important implications for policy making.

Drylands cover 41 percent of the earth' s terrestrial surface. The urgency of and international response to climate change have given a new place to drylands in terms both of their vulnerability to predicted climate change impacts and their potential contribution to climate change mitigation. This book aims to apply the new scientific insights on complex dryland systems to practical options for development. A new dryland paradigm is built on the resources and capacities of dryland peoples, on new and emergent economic opportunities, on inward investment, and on the best support that dryland science can offer.

Sustainable Development Goal 1, ending poverty in all its forms, everywhere, is the most ambitious goal set by the 2030 Agenda. This Goal includes eradicating extreme poverty in the next 12 years, which will require more focused actions in addition to broad-based interventions. The question is: How can we achieve target 1.1 and overcome the many challenges that lie ahead? By gaining a deeper understanding of poverty, and the characteristics of the extreme rural poor in particular, the right policies can be put in place to reach those most in need. This report presents the contribution that agriculture, food systems and the sustainable use of natural resources can make to securing the livelihoods of the millions of poor people who struggle in our world.

The Encyclopedia of Food Security and Sustainability, Three Volume Set covers the hottest topics in the science of food sustainability, providing a synopsis of the path society is on to secure food for a growing population. It investigates the focal issue of sustainable food production in relation to the effects of global change on food resources, biodiversity and global food security. This collection of methodological approaches and knowledge derived from expert authors around the world offers the research community, food industry, scientists and students with the knowledge to relate to, and report on, the novel challenges of food production and sustainability. This comprehensive encyclopedia will act as a platform to show how an interdisciplinary approach and closer collaboration between the scientific and industrial communities is necessary to strengthen our existing capacity to generate and share research data. Offers readers a ‘one-stop’ resource on the topic of food security and sustainability Contains articles split into sections based on the various dimensions of Food Security and Food Sustainability Written by academics and practitioners from various fields and regions with a “farm to fork understanding Includes concise and accessible chapters, providing an authoritative introduction for non-specialists and readers from undergraduate level upwards, as well as up-to-date foundational content for those familiar with the field

Examines the new challenges facing Africa's pastoral drylands from large-scale investments and how this might affect the economic and political landscape for the regions affected and their peoples.

This book highlights the approaches for achieving trans-disciplinary research integration for “semi-arid dryland agriculture systems” under changing climates, while also identifying the elements of a collaborative research agenda that are needed to advance global food security. The book emphasizes climate change being a reality and how drylands are bearing the brunt in diverse ways. The major impact of dryland agriculture is on communities that need to: avoid the short- and long-term impacts of the changing climate; adapt strategies that can minimize these impacts; and be able to mitigate climate change, for which they need climate smart interventions. These interventions are only realized through knowledge and experience sharing among stakeholders from different sectors and backgrounds. It is in this context that the publication was seen as a necessity in order to bring together ideas that will transform lives and build adaptation capacities, thereby providing the much-needed products in communities leading to development