Brief

Accounting for pastoralists in Kenya

Jacob Barasa Wanyama / League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development / 2020

Kenya has some 8.8 million people (1.73 million households) who identify as pastoralists. Of these, 4.0 million individuals (0.8 million households) depend directly on livestock. They manage about 70% of the country’s cattle, 87% of its sheep and 81% of its goats, 100% of its camels, 88% of its donkeys and 74% of the beehives. Their products include milk, meat, honey, beeswax, and skins. The pastoral sector was worth $1.13 billion in 2019: 92% from livestock and 8% from other products and services.

Kenya’s tourism industry is highly dependent on pastoralism as it helps to conserve wildlife and unique cultures. Pastoralism’s support to tourism was worth $29 million out of a total industry value of $2.5 billion.

Official surveys do not use a “pastoralism” category, but by comparing county-level data for production systems and populations it is possible to estimate numbers of pastoralists. Bodies mandated with data collection should segregate data between pastoralists, agropastoralists and farmers.

  • Title: Accounting for pastoralists in Kenya
  • Author: Jacob Barasa Wanyama
  • Description: Information brief
  • Format: Pdf
  • Pages: 6

    • Download document

    Accounting for pastoralists in India

    Kamal Kishore and Ilse Köhler-Rollefson / League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development / 2020

    Estimates of the number of pastoralists in India vary widely, but they probably total around 13 million people. Official data on livestock do not reflect the management system used. Both farmers and pastoralists rely on common-pool resources to maintain their animals. Around 77% of the country’s livestock are kept in extensive systems. Such systems produce an estimated 53% of India’s milk and 74% of its meat. The animals’ manure is a vital source of fertilizer for crop farmers; for many pastoralists manure is their main source of income.

    A wide range of pastoralist systems exist, from fully mobile to transhumant and sedentary. Species maintained in mobile systems include camels, cattle, ducks, donkeys, goats, pigs, sheep and yaks. Many pastoralists are members of traditional castes, but other groups, known as “non-traditional pastoralists”, are also taking up mobile herding.

  • Title: Accounting for pastoralists in India
  • Author: Kamal Kishore and Ilse Köhler-Rollefson
  • Description: Information brief
  • Format: Pdf
  • Pages: 6

    • Download document

    Accounting for pastoralists in Germany

    Günther Czerkus, Evelyn Mathias and Andreas Schenk / League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development / 2020

    Pastoralists are a tiny minority in Germany. The around 2,800 herders make up 1% or less of the country’s farmers. They manage up to 70% of the sheep (1.2 million animals), less than 0.5% of the cattle (55,000 animals), and some goats. They manage also 4.2% of Germany’s per­manent grassland.
    The 1,000 largest shepherds generate a net value of around €93 million in the form of meat, milk, cheese, wool and dung. While Germany has a wealth of agricultural statistics, spe­cific data on pastoralists are hard to find. The figures given in this paper are estimates.
    There is no generally accepted definition of pastoralists in Germany. Three broad categories exist:

    • Transhumant shepherds move their flocks of sheep, sometimes mixed with goats, over long distances between their winter and summer pastures; these may be over 200 km apart. This form of pastoralism occurs mainly south of the River Main.
    • Location-bound herding prevails on the permanent grasslands of northern and eastern Germany, but is also found in other regions. Flocks of sheep, mixed flocks, or sometimes herds of goats, are herded in a more or less wide radius around the homestead; in winter they often graze on harvested fields.
    • Alpine or mountain farming occurs in the far south of Bavaria. In late spring or the beginning of summer, animals are driven together up to alpine pastures, where they stay during the summer. They are brought down again in the autumn. Despite their small numbers, pastoralists play an outsized role in main­taining landscapes and the ecology in Germany. Their environmental services are worth €260–435 million per year. In addition, grazed land­scapes attract tourists and offer habitats for pollinating insects.
  • Title: Accounting for pastoralists in Germany
  • Author: Günther Czerkus, Evelyn Mathias and Andreas Schenk
  • Description: Information brief
  • Format: Pdf
  • Pages: 6

    • Download document