Pastoralism

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Pastoralism

• Dr. Roy Cole
• B-4-203 Mackinac Hall (MAK)
• Department of Geography and Planning
• Grand Valley State University

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PastoralismCharacteristics

• A form of agricultural activity that involves the
  raising of livestock.
• People in most cultures in Africa practice some
  form of animal husbandry.
• Pastoralists use land that cannot be used for
  other activities.
• In the arid and semi-arid parts of Africa,
  pastoralism is the principal use of the land.
• Many people described as herders also fish, hunt,
  and even grow a few crops.

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PastoralismCharacteristics importance

• Importance of livestock.
• Investment.
• High value.
• Reproduces itself.
• Often best (only?) investment for people with
  money to park somewhere.
• A measure of individual wealth and status.
• Exchange.
• Goats and sheep are used as currency in most
  parts of Africa.
• Most pastoral peoples depend on exchanges of
  livestock for cereals and other products from
  farm peoples.
• Bridewealth.

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PastoralismCharacteristics products

• Milk.
• Blood.
• Manure.
• Meat.
• Leather.

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Strategies of survivalHow pastoralism works in a
dryland economy

• Movement.
• Herd maximization.
• Herd diversification.
• Herd splitting.
• Dry season retreat.
• Systems of mutual support.

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Strategies of survival1. Movement

• Most important characteristic of pastoralism in a
  semi-arid environment.
• Spreads risk over space.
• Ensures that animals get fresh and protein-rich
  pasture.
• Avoids overgrazing.
• Can help avoid disease.
• Herder can flee drought-stricken areas.
• Two types of movement.
• Vertical.
• Horizontal.

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Strategies of survival1. Movement
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• Sudan
• Precipitation.
• Land use

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Strategies of survival2. Herd maximization

• Purpose.
• Risk avoidance.
• To maintain human subsistence.
• To provide surpluses for trade and social
  obligations.
• To obtain a return on investment capital.
• To achieve economies of scale.
• How it is done.

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Strategies of survival3. Herd diversification

• Camels.
• Most valuable.
• A capital investment.
• Pack animals and transportation.
• Milk production.
• Most drought-resistant.
• Cattle.
• Most valuable.
• Capital investment.
• Milk production.
• Least drought resistant.

• Goats.
• Least valuable.
• Milk production.
• Quick reproduction rate.
• Easily sold for cash.
• Drought resistant.
• Sheep.
• More valuable than goats.
• Quick reproduction rate.
• Less convertible to cash as goats.
• Less drought resistant than goats.

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Strategies of survival4. Herd splitting

• Three types.
• Dry (fallow) and milk cow split.
• Splitting homogeneous herd.
• Splitting heterogeneous herd.

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Strategies of survival5. Dry season retreat

• Each pastoral group has a traditional dry-season
  pasture area.
• Reserved for its exclusive use.
• Or used in rotation with other groups.
• Examples.
• Niger Inland Delta.
• Gash delta (El-Qash) in Eastern Sudan.

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Strategies of survival6. Systems of mutual
support

• Social linkages in pastoral societies provide
  support when disaster strikes.
• Intra and inter family mutual aid.
• Intra-clan mutual aid.
• Age group mutual aid.

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Changes that came with colonialism

• Farming.
• Peace and safety.
• Rapid transportation and export of farm products.
• Shrinking of the family food surplus kept to
  cushion family food crises.
• Increased area planted in cash crops.
• Marketing of food surpluses to meet urban demand.
• Population growth due to modern medicine.
• Change in local labor force in many parts of
  Africa from slave to free.
• Technological change that increased productivity.
• Animal traction.
• Wheeled vehicles.
• Inorganic fertilizers.

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Changes that came with colonialism

• Pastoralism.
• Increased off take from herds for the market.
• Loss of dry season retreat to farmers.
• Freedom for slaves and vassals undercut
  agricultural side of economy.
• Fulani and Rimaybe.
• Tuareg and Bella.