Describe the practice of pastoral nomadism in EastAfrica under the following headings: (a) Areas and people involved; (b) Methods (c) Problems (d) Economic ...

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Pastoral nomadism in East Africa

(a) Areas and people involved

Pastoral nomadism is practised in the drier savanna and semi-desert areas of East Africa where rainfall is low and unreliable. These include the plains of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Somalia and Ethiopia. The main peoples involved are the Masai (of Kenya and Tanzania), the Turkana, Karamojong, Somali and Fulani-related Nilotic groups. They keep herds of cattle, goats, sheep and camels.

(b) Methods

• The herdsmen move (migrate) from place to place with their animals in search of pasture and water, following the seasonal rains.
• Grazing is on natural, unimproved pasture; no fodder is cultivated and animals feed on communal open range.
• Herd sizes are kept as large as possible because cattle are a measure of wealth and social status rather than commercial output.
• They live in temporary settlements (e.g. the Masai manyatta) that are abandoned when the herd moves on.

(c) Problems

• Shortage of water and pasture during the long dry season, leading to the death of animals.
• Diseases and pests such as rinderpest, nagana (from the tsetse fly) and tick-borne diseases.
• Overgrazing of communal land, causing soil erosion and desertification.
• Poor quality stock of low milk and meat yield, and conflicts with settled farmers over land, plus difficulty of veterinary and marketing services because of constant movement.

(d) Economic importance

• It provides milk, meat, hides and skins for the people's food and for sale.
• It supports the leather and meat-processing industries and earns some income and foreign exchange.
• It makes productive use of marginal semi-arid land that is unsuitable for crop farming, and provides a livelihood and employment for the pastoral communities.