By Makeda Yohannes, ECS Coordinator Communications and PR Department MISEREOR has presented its future ‘Orientation Framework’ for working with small-scale producers in pastoral systems in Ethiopia, which was launched concurrently with the Ethiopian Catholic Church endorsing it for its own development work with pastoralists. This has happened on 24th September 2019 during the Ethiopian Catholic Church Partner’s Coordination in Addis Ababa.
MISEREOR supports the development processes in Ethiopia since 1960s. The organization’s engagement with pastoralists in Ethiopia which started in the 1960s became a distinct focus during the drought of 2011/12 as it supported the work of both Church-based development agencies and civil society organisations.
The Orientation Frame work is a result of over three years of dialogue, involving the partners and pastoralists, as well as many other actors concerned with pastoralists’ development in Ethiopia.
Theframeworkacknowledges that the scientific understanding of pastoralism has undergone a veritable U-Turn from the principles that directed pastoral development in the past. While acknowledges the mistakes of the past, it engages seeks to engage with pastoralists’ so as to learn from their experiential knowledge and support the understanding of mobility as key strategy to increase livestock productivity.
The Orientation Frame work sketches the way forward in an explorative and participatory way whereby the core principle is to strengthen the pastoral systems by building on the pastoralists’ own specialisation. The document is organised in three parts: the first part concerns the understanding of pastoral systems in general and the context of pastoral development; the second part focuses on the experience of pastoral development in Ethiopia; the third part combines these lessons in light of MISEREOR’s approach to development in order to define six axes of activity to strengthen pastoral systems in Ethiopia.
The axes are outlined as recognising and supporting the pastoralists’ specialisation to use dry land variability for food production; increasing the pastoralists’ options for targeting pasture resources; creating appropriate water supplies in strategic locations; improving access to well-adapted services; supporting the understanding and visibility of pastoralism; and promoting dialogue in support of people-led pastoral development.
MISEREOR stands for German Catholic Bishops’ Organisation for Development Cooperation. For over 60 years, MISEREOR has been committed to combating poverty in Africa, the Near East, Asia, Oceania and Latin America.
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