Shifting Sands: The Commercialization of Camels in Mid-altitude Ethiopia and Beyond

Although pastoralists in Ethiopia are often characterized as unresponsive to market opportunities, the bulk of Ethiopia’s growing formal and informal livestock and meat exports are supplied from pastoralist areas of the country. This report describes a relatively new trend in pastoralist livestock marketing, being a dynamic response to increasing demand for camels in mid-altitude areas of Ethiopia, and in neighboring Sudan. In response, a camel trade network has evolved that covers about 2000km, involves more than six ethnic groups, and is served by 24 markets. Within Ethiopia, the rising demand for camels by mid-altitude farmers is associated with the drought-tolerant nature of camels and their multiple uses as pack animals, and reflects an important cultural shift among Orthodox Christians. Emerging in the absence of aid or government programs, the camel trade shows how economic synergies between pastoralist and non-pastoralist areas can develop, and provides further evidence of the market responsiveness of pastoralists, even when faced by drought and other constraints.

ASSOCIATED PROJECT

SUBJECTS

PUBLICATION TYPE

LOCATION

RELATED PUBLICATIONS

Thumbnail image of report cover

This study examines how anticipatory action was perceived and experienced among Ethiopians living with drought alongside other crises.

Thumbnail image of cover

This learning brief explores the continuity and changes to livelihoods in select sites in Isiolo and Marsabit Counties, Kenya, and reviews the implications of the continuity and the changes on the drivers of child acute malnutrition.

Thumbnail image of cover

This learning brief presents preliminary findings on strategic mobility and its nutritional benefits to pastoral and agropastoral communities in select sites in Isiolo and Marsabit Counties, Kenya.

Cover of Report "Sex, age (and more) still matter"

This report reviews progress, outlines barriers to further progress, and makes recommendations to advance gender equality in the humanitarian system.

Thumbnail of Famine Prevention Report Cover

This study reviews what we have learned regarding policies and interventions to prevent famine, and how these can be scaled up more rapidly.

Thumbnail of brief cover: Experiences of young women in four districts of Karamoja, Uganda

This brief investigates the perceptions and experiences of young women related to wealth, livelihoods, and aspirations in Uganda’s Karamoja sub-region.

Load more