Development and the ecology of Maasai pastoralist food and nutrition

Development programmes for pastoralist communities in sub‐Saharan Africa have concentrated on livestock development as a means to improve economic, nutritional and other standards of living. This paper looks at the outcomes of two decades of development inputs (1960–1980) among Maasai communities in socialist Tanzania and capitalist Kenya. Despite major differences in national economies, infrastructures and inputs, there are few significant differences in measures of livestock production, wealth holdings, dietary energy intake and child nutritional status for Tanzanian and Kenyan Maasai. Where data exist for comparison it is clear that food production and consumption show little change from the 1960s and earlier. Reasons for the failure of development inputs and the apparent lack of change in Maasai pastoralist ecology are examined, as are the implications for currently planned development inputs in Tanzania Maasailand. Results are discussed in the wider context of sub‐Saharan Africa.

Key words:

• Maasai
• development programmes
• pastoralists
• livestock production
• human ecology
• diet
• nutritional status
• Africa