Overview

In an era of rapidly shifting socioeconomic landscapes and mounting climate challenges, understanding and improving the welfare of pastoralist societies in Africa’s fragile drylands is more critical than ever. This book offers an evidence-based contribution to that effort. Drawing on two decades of research and repeated household surveys in the Borana region of southern Ethiopia, the study explores the major challenges faced by peripheral pastoralist communities amid environmental change and socioeconomic transition. Using both quantitative and qualitative data from seven systematically selected sites, the book builds a robust panel dataset collected over three survey rounds since 2002, with detailed analyses based on the most recent 2012 and 2021 surveys. The core objective is to empirically trace long-term trends in pastoral well-being—allowing the data to speak for itself. Beyond academic discourse, this work serves as a practical resource for policy analysis and development programming, offering insights for students, researchers, planners, and aid practitioners committed to sustainable development in Africa’s pastoral peripheries. The book is organized into two parts: Part One provides a conceptual foundation and reviews key debates on pastoralism and development. Part Two presents empirical analyses on household economies, climate adaptation, poverty and vulnerability, food security, and resilience to shocks.

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9783032210647

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Wassie Berhanu is a Professor in the Department of Economics at Addis Ababa University. He earned his PhD in Economics from the University of Manchester, UK, in 2005. His research spans Development Microeconomics, Agricultural Development Economics, and the interplay between Environment and Development. For over two decades, he has focused on pastoralist livelihoods in dryland ecosystems, contributing extensive research and publications on the pastoralist mode of production. His work has appeared in leading refereed journals, particularly on agricultural development and environmental issues in drylands. He previously served as Editor-in-Chief of the Ethiopian Journal of Business and Economics and actively supports capacity-building initiatives through the African Economic Research Consortium, where he teaches PhD and MSc elective courses as a visiting lecturer.

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