When Pastoralists become Farmers: Economy-wide Effects of Sedentarisation

Pastoral livestock activities are highly extensive thereby resulting in pastoralists occupying large land areas and much of the land under pastoral control is less suitable for crop farming. Traditional pastoralism is often considered highly inefficient with respect to land-productivity. In an attempt to address these challenges, some countries have embarked on sedentarisation policies, aiming at nomadic households settling in one location or community. Sedentarisation is often aims at reducing the size of the land area under the control of pastoralists, thereby making land available for other economic activities such as crop production. Besides government intervention, pastoralists have also been known to willingly settle in or close to towns for numerous reasons such as higher political and economic security. Sedentarisation affects the entire economy via the production, income and expenditure patterns of the newly settled households as well as government. Hence the need to access the impact of the practice on the entire economy. This study uses a modified version of the STAGE 2 CGE model with some of the modifications including household mobility and differentiation between extensive (pastoral) and intensive livestock production. The study also uses Ethiopia as a case study where sedentarisation policies are being pursued. The results indicate that sedentarisation leads to an increase in pastoral wages and a reduction in pastoral livestock production due to the fall in factor supply. However, there are increases in intensive livestock and crop productions. Total cattle supply as well as the GDP of the economy reduces. Household groups also lose from this policy with a decline in income and welfare. The economy however benefits significantly when the sedentarisation policy is accompanied by irrigation agriculture. With such a supplementary policy all household groups except the pastoral household group experience increase in both income and welfare.