Formal and Informal Governance: Powerful Policy Option
for Harnessing Synergies to Secure Livestock Systems &
Environment in Marsabit, Northern Kenya
by
Dr. George J. Wamwere-Njoroge, BVM, MSc, MA
Pastoral Policy Advisor – USAID Kenya
Resilience and Economic Growth in the Arid Lands – Accelerated Growth
(REGAL-AG)
E-Mail:
g.njoroge@regal-ag.org, gwjnjoroge@yahoo.com,
wamwere.njoroge@gmail.com
1

Presentation Outline
• Introduction
• Quote & Objectives of The Presentation
• Consequences of Changes in Pastoral Livestock
Systems & Environment in Northern Kenya
• Experiences/Lessons Learnt thro’ Formal and
Informal Management Structures of Pastoral
Livestock Systems And Environment
• Leverage on Emerging Policy/Legislative
Opportunities
• Research Opportunities and Way Forward 2

Quote
"Development will bring food security only
-if it is people-centred,
-if it is environmentally sound,
-if it is participatory, and
-if it builds local and national capacity for self-reliance.
These are the basic characteristics of
sustainable human development."
- James Gustave Speltz (UNDP, 1994)
3

Objectives of this presentation
• To share experiences/lessons learnt accrued
from integration of formal and informal
management structures of livestock systems
and environment in Marsabit, Northern Kenya
• To enumerate the emerging innovative policy &
legislative options created by the devolution
structures, especially the county Assembly
• To highlight possible cutting-edge research
opportunities 4

Consequences of Changing Livestock System and Environment in Northern Kenya
5

Key Facts – Marsabit County
Area: 70,961 sq. km (about 11.2% of the total
landmass of Kenya)
Livestock Pop: Cattle (424,603), Sheep (960,004),
Goats (1,143,480), and Camels (203,320), donkeys
63,861 & Poultry 50,690.
Livelihoods: All Pastoral Livelihood Zone (81%), Agro-pastoral
Livelihood Zone (16%), Others (4%) - formal
employment, casual waged labour, petty trade and
fishing along Lake Turkana (3%)
Political: 4 Constituencies - Moyale, North horr, Saku
and Laisamis
Human Pop: Projected population: 316,200 - 2012
(164,100 males and 152,100 females)
Annual growth rate: 2.75 percent
Note: Approximately 80% landmass - arid and semi-arid
lands (ASALs )
(Marsabit, CIDP, 2013) & Republic of Kenya, Human
Population and Housing Census (2009)
6

Pastoralism & Nomadic pastoralism
Pastoralism
• Pastoralism refers to a livelihood approach that
makes use of domesticated animals - for example,
sheep, goats, cattle, camels - to provide a variety of
products such as milk, skins, cash and occasionally
and meat
• It is also defined as a model of production where
livestock makes up to 50 percent or more of
economic portfolio of a pastoral household
(UNEP & IUCN, 2013) 7

Pastoralism & Nomadic pastoralism Cont’d
Nomadic pastoralism
• A model of production where over 80
percent of household income is generated
through regular movement of livestock
across a well-defined wet and dry season
grazing areas
(UNEP & IUCN, 2013)
8

Why pastoralism is so important
• Pastoralism systems provides valuable ecosystem
services, namely:-
– Maintains high levels of biodiversity, increase vegetation
soil cover, reduce erosion, prevents wildfires, maintains
infrastructures, disperse seeds, allocate nutrients,
defragmenting landscapes, etc.
• Pastoralism produces necessary goods (meat, dairy,
leather, manure…), extracted sustainably from low
productive ecosystems
• Pastoral culture constitutes a highly valuable cultural
and intangible living heritage (IFAD, 2009) 9

Why pastoralism is so important
• Pastoralism systems provides valuable ecosystem
services
– Maintains high levels of biodiversity, increase vegetation
soil cover, reduce erosion, prevents wildfires, maintains
infrastructures, disperse seeds, allocate nutrients,
defragmenting landscapes, etc.
• Pastoralism produces necessary goods (meat, dairy,
leather, manure…), extracted sustainably from low
productive ecosystems
• Pastoral culture constitutes a highly valuable cultural
and intangible living heritage (IFAD, 2009) 10

Pastoral livestock production systems Classification
• Pastoral livestock production systems
– Falls under Solely Livestock Systems (SLS) which is a
livestock systems in which
– More than 90% of dry matter fed to animals comes
from rangelands, pastures, annual forages and
purchased feeds (very rare in normal conds – my
own insertion) and
– Less than 10% of the total value of production comes
from non-livestock farming activities
(Sere´ and Steinfeld,1996) 11

System and Livestock Production System (LPS)
• LPS is considered to be a subset of farming
systems
• Systems - regularly interacting or interdependent
group of items forming a unified whole
• Forage-livestock systems - productive groupings
that consider and utilize animals, plants, and soil
characteristics within an environmental
perspective (Oregon State University, 2008)
12

System and Livestock Production System (LPS)
• Need to understand (Human influences –My
Own insertion-) on how the animals interact
with the plants growing in soil
• Proper management of the plant-animal-soil
continuum (by Human –My Own insertion-) will
improve the economics and ecology of the
unified whole - Human-Livestock-Pasture
Continuum (Sere´ and Steinfeld,1996)
13

Formal Rules & Structures in pastoral livestock system
management
• Provincial
administrators - chiefs
and assistant chiefs
•
• National Government
14
COUNTY
COMMISSIONER
SUB-COUNTY
COMMISSIONER
CHIEF
ASSISTANT CHIEF
VILLAGE ELDER

Formal Rules & Structures In Pastoral Livestock System
Management
• Laisamis Location
chief in a land
use/grazing
management
seminar
15

Informal Rules & Structures In Pastoral Livestock System
Management
• Indigenous justice
systems are based on
a holistic philosophy.
Law is a way of life and
justice is a part of life
process.
(Ada Pecos Melton,
1995)
Photo: Borana Elder in
traditional regalia 16

Traditional
Management
Set Up in
Borana
17

Harnessing Synergy
Synergy
• According to Evans (1996), the term synergy refers to the
developmental multiplier effects of collaboration between
state and society, or between formal and informal
arrangements
• The Author stipulated that synergy requires a combination of
complementarity and embeddedness between state (formal –
my insertion) and society (informal – my insertion)
• Both complementary capacities & relations of trust and mutual
interest must coincide in order to produce the mutual gains
associated with synergy
18

19

Harnessed Synergy Cont’d
Harnessed energy gives resilience to
Pastoralists to a confront:
Four Types Uncertainties
• Ecological uncertainties
• Livelihood uncertainties
• Knowledge uncertainties
• Social and political uncertainties
(Mehta et al.1999) 20

Policy and Legislation needs
• Livestock production and marketing
• Animal health Care delivery System
• Disease Control and Prevention
• Livestock movement
• Branding and Traceability of livestock
• Farm-to-Fork Concept
21

Policy and Legislation Priorities
• Meat Control and Hygiene
• Branding of livestock products – Niche Markets
• Promotion of public-private-partnership (PPP)
• Organic livestock production
• Livestock System and Grazing management
22

Research Opportunities
• Counties are willing and have some resources to pilot
innovations in:-
– Climate smart technologies
– Improved breeds
– Product development/Abattoir development
– Branding
• Many counties Kajiado, Marsabit etc. – proposing
establishment of abattoirs
– Disease control and livestock movement – e.g. Digital pen
• Upscale and/or Outscale Community conservancy model, to
integrate livestock marketing/business enterprises
23

Acknowledgement
• USAID Kenya Resilience and Economic growth in the Arid
Lands – Accelerated Growth (REGAL-AG)
• International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
24

References
• County Integrated Development Program
Marsabit,, 2013)
• Mehta, L., Leach, M., Newell, P., Scoones, I.,
Silvaramakrishnana, K., AND Sally-Ann Way
(1999)
• Melton, Ada Pecos (1995). Indigenous justice
systems and tribal society Judicature 79
(December). Reprinted online by Tribal Court
Clearinghouse. 25

References Cont’d
• Peter Evans (1996): Social Capital - Conceptual
Frameworks and Empirical Evidence - An Annotated
Bibliography, Tine Rossing Feldman and Susan
Assaf. Social Development Family - Environmentally
and Socially. Sustainable Development Network.
• Republic of Kenya (2009) - Human Population and
Housing Census
• Steinfeld, H and J. Mäki-Hokkonen (2013): Animal
Production and Health Division, FAO, Rome, Italy.
26