This activity focuses on crop-farming.

This activity consists of:

• ‘establishing small and medium agro-processing plants that can add value to pastoralists’ agricultural produces [sic] with the participation of the private sector’;
• establishing cooperatives and unions to protect pastoralists from poor terms of trade;
• shortening the market chain of pastoralists and strengthening market information; linking the produce of pastoralists with agro-processing industries;
• creating institutional arrangements and linkages with neighboring countries so that pastoralists can export their fruit and vegetable products to other countries.

The description of this activity also states that ‘Mega government or private projects working in pastoral areas shall establish mechanisms that enable pastoralists to participate in the project through different schemes, like out-grower scheme, input suppliers or as shareholders which could ensure individual or communal strategic cooperation’ (p.46).

COMMENTARY

1. No mention of livestock? This is an activity specifically dedicated to creating market linkages for pastoralists and that mentions facilitating the export of fruit and vegetables and their participation in government mega projects as out-growers. There appears to be no mention of ‘livestock’.
2. A confusing use of the term ‘pastoralists’. The description of this implementation activity (157 words) uses the word ‘pastoralists’ seven times: as suppliers of agro-processing industries, as out-growers in government mega schemes, as producers and exporters of fruit and vegetables. Not once are they mentioned in relation to livestock. This activity refers to ‘pastoralists’ as crop farmers, not as pastoralists.

h. Strengthen implementation capacity (p.46) »