Corralling: A Solution for Improving Livestock Productivity in Pasture Lands Affected by Termites
Abstract
The completely degraded and desertified pasture land of Nakosongola, Uganda had been the subject of repeated rehabilitation efforts that failed when large termite populations destroyed young grass seedlings. Soil erosion resulting from this degradation caused nearby water sources to become heavily silted and impaired. A simple solution ended up being a breakthrough on a problem that had eluded ecologists and put livestock keepers under scrutiny for their role in accelerating land degradation. Cattle were corralled every night over a two-week period, and this corralling provided a source of manure for the termites to feast on, allowing the degraded grassland to recover.
This intervention demonstrates the importance of taking an ecosystems approach to understanding ecological shifts. Upon seeing the results, pastoralists were inspired to take collective action to restore grassland, and this collective action has spilled over to other initiatives that require community engagement and cooperation
Citation
Anon. Corralling: A Solution for Improving Livestock Productivity in Pasture LandsAffected by Termites. The CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food, Sri Lanka (2013) 3 pp.
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