Encouragement of Non-Pastoral Employment

Even with optimal policies to develop pastoralism as an environmentally sustainable production system, it is unlikely that it will be able to provide livelihoods for the increasing human populations of pastoralist societies. Pastoralist societies have often in the past combined livestock production with a variety of non-pastoral occupations (trading, wage labour, collection of rangeland products and farming). These occupations have been integrated at an individual, household or community level, or have been the recourse of those forced to exit pastoralism.

Some possible policy directions are:

- equipping pastoralists and ex-pastoralists for urban employment through training
- promoting handicrafts
- promoting collection and trade in rangeland products (gums, resins, herbs and medicinal plants)
- promoting pastoralist involvement at a higher level in the trade and transport sectors
- promoting fishing by pastoralists on sea or lake coasts (although this sort of project has a poor record)

Click here for general principles of promoting non-farm employment.

With pastoralists similar design criteria apply. Programme or policy design needs to be based on:

- a realistic appraisal of current livelihood strategies of pastoralists and those forced to leave pastoralism
- an analysis of the motives behind livelihood diversification (meeting immediate consumption needs, rebuilding herds, or accumulation)
- integration with child and adult education policies and projects
- a sound market analysis of the goods or service promoted.

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