The Ministry of Federal and Pastorals Affairs has started the preparation of Pastoralist Development Policy and Strategy as part of its effort to exploit the untapped potential of the sector.
To this end , The Ethiopian Herald approached two scholars on issues that should be considered for the effective implementation of the Policy to achieve its intended goals.
Dr. Samuel Tefera, Assistant Professor of African and Oriental Studies at Addis Ababa University says that Pastoralist development is one of the sectors which has received less attention for long time due to various reason.
The geographic location of the pastoralists and their distance from the center has made it difficult for the provision of basic services. In addition to these, the usual movement of pastoralists and their cattle around the border have created security problems, he mentions.
Regions with significant number of pastoralist’s collectively cover 60-65 percent of the country’s total land, he says, adding that it comprises about 40 percent of the total livestock population; the sector contributes 90% of all livestock export.
Major river basins that are suitable to grow cereals and forage through irrigation flow in these regions as well, according to him. There are energy resources especially of renewable energy such as solar and geothermal.
"But still, the people and the nation have not yet unleashed the potential and this is ascribable to lack of specific policy on pastoral development," he points out.
"Clear policy that guide the sector is so crucial to harmonize development projects and increase the community’s socio-economic benefits."
But in order to obtain the maximum outputs, the policy needs to address certain issues, says Samuel. One is unlike the other sectors in Ethiopia; pastoral development has not been well represented in the education system.
"Talking in terms of higher levels of studies and researches, this sector is almost unreached. The only institute that is dedicated to dealing with pastorals and agro pastorals concerns is the recently opened Jigjiga University.
Inadequate access of education especially on the part of the pastoralist region inhabitants can have an effect on the inclusiveness and protection of the very community the policy is formulated for, he argues.
So priority needs to be given for the construction of infrastructures especially of education in the pastoralist areas. In addition to this, mainstreaming of pastoral related fields in higher education institutions enhance the sector by providing qualified human resources and be very substantial if prioritized in the policy, he notes.
The other point that needs a serious of direction from the policy is a ‘mismatch’ between the investments undertaken in the pastoral areas and the needs of the community. Both private and public investments are not closely designed in a way they improve the living conditions of the communities and help the government exploit benefits in the sectors, Samuel adds.
"The policy should discourage such investments and has to open the door for investment that consider the utilization of natural resources found in that area while meeting their social corporate responsibilities."
Muhyadin Mohammed, Director at Institute of Pastoral and Agro-Pastoral Development Studies at Jigjiga, rises that the outputs produced by relentless efforts of pastoralists traveling here and there face the problem of market accesses.
"This creates burden both on the community and the nation. Therefore, it would be much better for all if the government build reliable channels by which there will always be a transaction between the producer and market both here and abroad."
According to the Director, the other very important issue that policy has to reconsider is the gaps in the current land administration policy regarding the land in pastoral areas. He indicates that the land administration policy mostly suits highland areas where land holdings are highly divided usually in small unit. But, in lowland area, land is much abundant and usually belongs to a clan which makes it very difficult to directly apply the system especially with regard to certification of the owner.
Generally, both experts think that the initiation to formulate a pastoralist development policy and strategy is a very important move and will help the country get everything it deserves from its resources.
However, they stresses that infrastructural expansion in the pastoralist area are important in two ways. On one hand, they benefit the community from the social services and more interconnection with the center. On the other hand, it helps the government to effectively control the revenue. They also think the policy has to come up with land administration system and development projects that consider local realities.