In pastoralist and agro-pastoralist households in East Africa, livestock not cash are usually the main financial asset. Animals are sold to buy grain and to meet other domestic needs, and animals also provide food, especially milk, for direct human consumption. Although often viewed by central policy makers as irrational or backward, the ownership of large herds in dryland areas has a sound economic basis.
This analysis used raw data from a recent livestock population survey to analyze livestock ownership in Karamoja, and measure poverty against a livestock threshold. The survey did not collect information on the ownership of camels, donkeys or poultry, and so overall, the livestock ownership results in the analysis are an under-estimate of actual ownership.
The analysis covered the six main livestock-rearing districts of Karamoja viz. Napak, Nakapiripirit, Moroto, Kaabong, Kotido, and Amudat.
