Event Information

In East Africa’s semi-arid regions, low and unreliable returns leave many herders in poverty while degrading the natural resource base for future production. Recent research examines how improved management practices can improve outcomes for livestock and land productivity while reducing climate impacts. These affect both pastoralists—nomadic livestock grazers without settled farms—and agro-pastoralists, who have settled farms while also doing extensive grazing on other lands.

In late 2018, the Climate Economic Analysis for Development, Investment, and Resilience (CEADIR) Activity and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) analyzed the costs and benefits of three improved management practices—deferred-rotation grazing, restoration of degraded rangeland, and fodder cultivation or supplementation—for cattle and small ruminants in the semi-arid Oromia State of Ethiopia. This report built on a 2018 feasibility study by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) of low-emissions development interventions for livestock management in Kenya and Ethiopia. In 2020, ILRI also examined how different social groups respond to climate adaptation measures among herders in central Kenya.

Please join the Climatelinks and CEADIR teams for a joint event on October 29, 2020 to discuss how this research and other findings can inform future initiatives for improved livelihoods for pastoralists and agro-pastoralists as well as for natural resource management.

This event will be the fourth in a series highlighting research products from CEADIR’s final year.

Agenda

• Dr. Polly Erickson (International Livestock Research Institute, ILRI) will present foundational findings from an analysis of livestock management alternatives in Ethiopia and Kenya. 
• Dr. Stanley Karanja (International Center for Tropical Agriculture, CIAT) will present results from CEADIR’s livestock management cost-benefit analysis in Ethiopia, including the financial value of baseline practices and the incremental value of improved practices.
• Dr. Gordon Smith (CEADIR) will delve into further findings from CEADIR’s study, including the financial value of carbon sequestration, as well as implementation challenges. 
• Dr. Todd Crane (ILRI) will present a recent analysis of social differentiation of adaptation pathways for semi-arid livestock management among Maasai herders in central Kenya. 
• Laurie Ashley (USAID Bureau for Resilience and Food Security) will moderate the discussion.