Informations et ressources scientifiques
sur le développement des zones arides et semi-arides

Titre : Marketing’s contribution of the sustainability of pastoralism : evidence from Ethiopia

Auteur : Tessema, W.K.

Université de soutenance : Wageningen University

Grade : Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) 2012

Résumé partiel
Pastoralists are people who, for their livelihood, depend on livestock raising using the natural pasture. Sustainability of pastoralist production is important for their livelihood as well as to the supply of animal-based protein. However, concerns with the pastoralist production system have also been voiced, particularly, on the ecological implications of the system. As a consequence, sustainability of the pastoral system and pastoralists that operate therein is a central issue in many debates among development practitioners, academics, and policy makers). Central to this debate is whether pastoralists can be expected to adapt their livestock production strategies to the varying availability of natural resources (i.e., pasture and water). Thus, herd size management in terms of stocking and destocking of livestock by pastoralists has become a central issue in the debate. The stocking and destocking decision in anticipation of changing external conditions can be conceived of as a marketing challenge to pastoralists, not only contributing to their livelihood and profit, but also to the sustainability of the system. As such, markets (and therefore, marketing) relates not only to economic and social aspects of sustainability, but also to the ecological aspects. This study investigates whether and how marketing can contribute to the sustainability of pastoralists. For this purpose, four lines of research are explored : (1) Is pastoralism in principle a sustainable production system ? ; If so under which conditions is such system sustainable ?, (2) How does marketing relate to the conditions under which pastoralism is sustainable ?, (3) Which concepts from the marketing literature can generate insights that potentially contribute to the sustainability of pastoralism ?, and (4) How do these concepts empirically relate to the social and economic aspects of sustainability and to the resource dilemma that characterizes the ecological aspect of pastoralists’ sustainability ?

Mots Clés : marketing - pastoralism - animal husbandry - sustainability - livestock - herds - sustainable animal husbandry - ethiopia - africa

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