article · Climate and Development
Research on indigenous climate adaptation in Africa has largely concentrated on crop farming rather than livestock management. Qualitative evidence from Fulani cattle herders demonstrates that pastoralists utilise distinct traditional adaptation practices to safeguard their livestock. These techniques encompass mobility-based strategies, the diversification of feed sources, specialised labour division to meet the varying requirements of animals, and specific cattle stress management methods. Embedding this local knowledge into institutional adaptation planning is essential for crafting sustainable, socially acceptable adaptation measures. Successfully implementing these plans requires closing the divide between formal authorities and informal community members, primarily through establishing collaborative dialogue platforms across all operational levels in arid regions.
Pastoral communities possess practical, time-tested methods for sustaining cattle in harsh environments. Acknowledging their indigenous knowledge enables policymakers and development organisations to design climate interventions that are realistic, culturally grounded, and widely supported. Closing the communication gap between formal authorities and local herders strengthens climate resilience and supports rural livelihoods in vulnerable arid landscapes.
The abstract does not indicate a direct commercial application pathway or a marketable technology. The insights are positioned at the level of early-stage policy and programme design for public sector bodies, non-governmental organisations, and rural development planners seeking to incorporate indigenous practices into regional climate adaptation frameworks.
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The literature on indigenous adaptation strategies has generally focused on food crop farming with limited perspectives on livestock production, particularly in Africa. This study draws on qualitative data to identify and categorize the various indigenous adaptation strategies of herdsmen in cattle production. The results reveal multiple indigenous strategies of climate change adaptation in cattle herding among the Fulani. These include mobility-based strategies, diversification of sources of feed, labour division for meeting differentiated needs of cattle, and stress management in cattle. The results suggest that the integration of indigenous knowledge in climate change adaptation planning is imperative for developing socially acceptable and sustainable adaptation strategies. This will require a bridge of the differences between formal and informal stakeholders in adaptation planning by creating a common platform for dialogue at all levels in arid environments.
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DOI: 10.1080/17565529.2020.1746231
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