Community-based Rangeland & Livestock Management Reader, 2nd Edition

The Namibia Community Based Rangeland and Livestock Management (CBRLM) Project, which produced this Reader in 2011, is a sub-activity of the Agriculture Support Programme under the Millennium Challenge Account Namibia. The objective is to improve the incomes of cattle owners in the northern communal areas in Namibia through interventions in rangeland management, livestock improvement and marketing. It is a 4 year project which commenced in March 2010 and will end in July 2014. Namibian people love their livestock not only because of the food they provide but also because of the traditional form of security and wealth status they create. Generally, livestock has been blamed for the overgrazing and the destruction of the rangelands on privately owned land as well as in communal areas, resulting in severe loss of carrying capacity and increase in bush encroachment. Recognizing that the strategy of reducing animals number alone has not addressed the root causes of land degradation, the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry has requested farmers organisations, scientists, researchers and other stakeholders to develop a National Rangeland Management Policy and Strategy. The collaboration of these stakeholders led to a significant change in understanding what is needed to bring back the perennial grasses that once covered the land during the eras of our forebears. Farmers and scientists all over the world have learnt that livestock, when managed well, could help to regenerate the grass land. Featured May, 2013.