Identifying livestock-based risk management and coping options to reduce vulnerability to droughts in agro-pastoral and pastoral systems in East and West Africa: CGIAR Systemwide Livestock Programme, Project Final Progress Report

Abstract

This report provides a summary of project activities, achievements and the implications of project outputs for future research on vulnerability to climate change in pastoral and agro-pastoral systems in East and West Africa. The first year of the project was spent on stakeholders’ consultation, development of survey instruments and training of the enumerators. The second year of the project was spent in conducting and completing the surveys, data entry and analysis, and report writing. In the last few months of the project (November 2008 to March 2009), project activities focused on completion of different reports from the surveys, preparation for the end of project workshop and the conduct of the workshop. All project activities were completed as planned largely due to commitment of the different investigators. From the group and household surveys, pastoralists and agro-pastoralists in the study sites unanimously affirmed the reality of climate change and variability, and its impacts on their livelihood. From our findings, livestock are particularly important for increasing the resilience of vulnerable poor people, subject to climatic, market and disease shocks through diversifying risk and increasing assets. Measures and interventions that secure livestock assets are necessary to reduce the vulnerability of pastoralists and agro-pastoralists to climatic shocks. Details of the project activities and achievements are contained in the different reports submitted by the investigators which have been sent to the SLP coordination office.