Mr Hussein Tadicha Wario

Director, Centre for Research & Development in Drylands, Kenya

Hussein Tadicha Wario has a Bachelor of Science degree from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, an MSc in Natural Resource Management and Sustainable Agriculture from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and a PhD in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Kassel (Germany). He is currently Executive Director of the Centre for Research and Development in Drylands (CRDD), a non-profit research and development organization created by scientists originating from northern Kenya and trained in transdisciplinary and social-ecological research. His main areas of research interest are in the socio-ecological systems in the drylands of Africa. He currently leads implementation of a number of ongoing research projects that include enhancing women’s agency in navigating changing food environments to improve child nutrition in African drylands, local constructs of resilience in the phase of chronic uncertainty and increasing efficiency in rangeland-based livestock value chains through machine learning and digital technologies.

ABSTRACT

Challenging dominant narratives on development approaches in the drylands

The drylands of the horn of Africa, home to millions of mainly pastoralists communities has remained on the margins of development with unacceptably low levels development indicators and high poverty levels. This partly resulted from development narratives, which disregarded the potentials of the drylands designating it as an area not worthy of investment. Additionally, pastoral production system, the main livelihood system, not recognised as a viable, but rather branded as environmentally destructive and inherently vulnerable to the impacts of the changing climate. Consequently, the main theme of development in the region centered on diversification out of pastoralism. Recently, however, there is shift in the narrative with increased recognition of the pastoral production system as the most viable livelihood in the drylands and local communities’ knowledge appreciated in development sphere. There is also recognition that communities are not just passive victims of the impacts of the changing climate but are active first line responders where local actors working in networks make significant contribution to averting disasters. In this regard, Center for Research and Development in Drylands (CRDD) with funding from the Australian Centre for international Agricultural Research (ACIAR) is implementing a research project, “Exploring local constructs of ‘Resilience’ in the face of chronic uncertainty in the Drylands” that aims to create a deeper understanding of the role of local actors applying ‘high reliability management’ in order to influence the framing and practice of resilience in development projects. The expected outcome being grounded, locally relevant perspective on the opportunities for resilience building and climate adaptation.