The importance of the sector

The importance of the livestock sector cannot be overstated in relation to Somaliland for without it the majority of the people would be destitute. It is and will remain for the foreseeable future the major contributor to the national income. It provides the vast bulk of the government revenue earned from export taxes on the livestock trade through the port of Berbera. It is the sole means of support for the pastoral community comprising around 60% of the population. The agro-pastoral community eats most of their crop production, depending on livestock and livestock products to provide the majority of their cash income for the purchase of commodities. The remaining 20% of the people are indirectly dependant on the livestock sector and this was brought home to them during the period of the fifteen month long livestock trade ban imposed by Saudi Arabia 1998- 99. During this time of hardship everyone suffered, including people who thought that they had nothing to do with livestock.

It is often said that livestock are the backbone of the country, they are more than that, they are the whole skeleton, muscles and skin and brain! As matters stand today Somaliland could not exist without its livestock.

The relative prosperity and food security provided by the livestock sector over the years since 1991 has contributed greatly to the established peace in Somaliland. The ability to obtain funds from the sale of animals has enabled the population to overcome personal hardships and to feed themselves. I think everyone will agree that a well-fed man is happier than a hungry man. To extrapolate this, a well-fed nation is happier (more peaceful) than a hungry nation.

Livestock utilise the countries natural resources to provide meat, milk and other products .for the benefit of their owners. This use of the resources has carried on for the 600 years that the Somali people have inhabited the Horn of Africa. The export trade with Yemen has been carried out for centuries and the need for a supply of meat to the British interest in Aden brought the first contact with Britain which eventually declared Somaliland a British protectorate to prevent it falling under the power of Britain's less than friendly neighbours. Throughout the era of colonialism the trade continued to provide revenue for the running of the country and post independence export revenue continually provided government funds, finance to exporters and income to producers.

Under the colonial government some ftmding was returned to the sector. Under the Siaad Barre regime approximately one percent of government revenue was returned to the sector, which provided 90% of Government fimds through the ministry of livestock. The majority of this went in staff salaries and little to the well being of the producers and their animals. Over the years successive governments have mined this resource base to the detriment of the ecology. The nomadic lifestyle of the pastoralists in former times held a relatively harmless near balance in terms of resource use. Times of drought and stock losses was compensated for by times of plenty, after drought periods reduced animal numbers allowed the resource base to regenerate, lack of grazing pressure enabled grasses to seed and other plants to re-establish themselves. This cycle was broken when drought relief measures managed to prevent stock losses and thereby preserved the herds of animals on which the pastoralist is so dependent. For the pastoralist this was a marvelous innovation, for the environment it was a disaster. The resultant lack of a period of reduced grazing pressure did not allow grasses to seed nor recovery of other plant

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This practice of water carting together with population increases and the subsequent need for more animals to support more people have seen a recent, rapid decline in the quality and quantity of the natural feedstuffis that supports this vital industry. The environment is continuing to be "mined" and this is exacerbated by the recent phenomenon of "illegal" enclosures of land. These enclosures are usually the best areas in the locality for who would bother to enclose the worst? They deprive the pastoralist of prime grazing lands and because these enclosures are so numerous and adjacent are blocking traditional migratory routes. The reduced mobility of the nomad also increases the localized grazing nressure- the land does not aet anv resDite as forrnerlv harmened under unrestricted

This land alienation which is rapidly gaining momentum is the reason for a large degree of ill feeing in the pastoral areas and could well become more serious over time. Thus shattering the current peace in the country. Since the wars clan cooperation toward the sharing of grazing lands has also suffered to a degree reducing the options for pastoralists;

Somaliland is almost entirely dependent upon the livestock trade for the national well being. The security of this trade should be a priority to enable the country to continue to benefit as they have done in the past. The preservation of the industry needs to be tackled now while there is anything to preserve. However as related above, the Siaade Barre .regime virtually neglected the sector and today the aid agencies seem to be doing likewise. Neglect of this sector has accelerated the urban drift. Strong labor is leaving the rural areas and no longer tend to the "backbone of the nation", livestock care is left in the

There is one main purchaser of live animals from Somaliland. The whole trade is dependent upon the taste and demand of the people of Saudi Arabia. If this taste changes or a "better" supplier is found by Saudia Arabia then Somaliland will very quickly be in dire straits. It is never good business practice to be tied to one buyer as this buyer can dictate purchase prices, supply dates, quality, numbers etc. etc. you are literally at his/her The livestock sector is continuing to be mined, there is minimal input. For example in the "Plan of Action for Repatriation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration7 from the workshop held in July last year in Hargeisa there were some 21 proposals exploiting this sector but only three with any semblance of input and of these two had a profit motive. It is a mind- set, the industry is there to be exploited.

Some answers?

The reliance on a single buyer needs to be eliminated. Diversification in the export market is needed. This can only be obtained by diversification of the product and by filling the health and disease control requirements of other importers.

The pastoralist needs to be brought into the market economy, rather than keeping animals for the sake of keeping animals he should be keeping animals for sale. Animals sold at the prime time are worth more than animals sold as forced sales when the producer is in need. More money could be raised from less animals with proper livestock management and timely selling. This would result in less pressure on the environment and an improvement in the resource base.

Animal health care and a reduction in debilitating problems such as internal parasites would maximize the return from ingested feeds and so boost the weights of meat exported and hence value. The cost to the industry of internal parasites could well be in the region of $1,000,000 per annum (my estimate).

Removal of illegal enclosures would permit freer travel for nomads and allow the former efficient usage of the nation's rangelands. This removal can only come via a decision by clans rather than imposed from outside. It is a clan problem and can only be solved by a clan decision.

There is a great need to educate the pastoralist, not just in matters appertaining to livestock but also in life skills, in the benefits and obligations of being a Somalilander, in topics to improve living standards and to reduce child mortality. There is a need to change the old practice of trying to keep as many animals as possible for the sake of keeping numbers. Pastoralists comprise the majority of the population but they are almost disenfranchised, aid programmes to this crucial sector are negligible and government concern cannot be translated into action due to funding problems. It is appreciated that it is not an easy sector to work in but is this sufficient reason to ignore it?

Livestock are the main concern of much of the great majority of the population, they are the "bank" for any savings, they are the first and usually only buffer against famine, they are the only asset for "food security", to a pastoralist they are often more important than family, they are the source of the major portion of government revenue, they are the sole support of 60% of the people, they are the main source of protein for 80% of the population. Livestock have contributed greatly to the prosperity of the nation and hence to peace and stability. They provide a livelihood for the people, a way of life for many, livestock are Somaliland.