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sur le développement des zones arides et semi-arides

Livestock Interventions Can Protect Lives, Livelihoods

ScienceDaily (April 27, 2007)

Livestock are often a crucial livelihoods asset for communities in Africa, but livestock are vulnerable to drought. Researchers report that counterintuitive measures — selling livestock — tested in Ethiopia during droughts supported communities and sustained the livelihoods of livestock farmers.

Pastoralist communities in dryland areas of Africa are reliant on livestock as sources of food, income and social support. However drought is common in sub-Saharan Africa, making these communities vulnerable to loss of livestock when rains fail.

The Feinstein International Center (FIC), part of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, in partnership with United States Agency for International Development Ethiopia (USAID Ethiopia), CARE, and Save the Children USA, describes non-traditional drought-relief interventions involving livestock in Ethiopia in a report entitled "Impact Assessments of Livelihoods-based Drought Interventions in Moyale and Dire Woredas." Seemingly counterintuitive, these interventions enabled families to reduce livestock assets during droughts, but ultimately helped feed families, support communities, and sustain pastoralist livelihoods.

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The above story is based on materials provided by Tufts University.

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