1.1 Vision

Since its inception, CORDS developed and sharpened its vision of a desired futuree. CORDS envisages a pastoral society that has a strong voice and a wide range of choices over its own development and destiny. CORDS believes in a society in which people are governing, self-defining, self-representing, self-developing, and self-determining; a society in which all persons have legal recognition of ownership of their own natural resources, a society in which its members have the right to development and live long, healthy, productive and dignified lives and sustaining livelihoodss of their own choice; that their social, economic, political and spiritual rights be enshrined in the constitution and other governing legal instruments.

1.2 Mission

The mission of CORDS or the fundamental purpose of CORDS is to enhance sustainable pastoral livelihoods. CORDS Mission is:- To work for holistic social development and to fight against all forms of injustices, oppression, gender imbalances, poverty, hunger, ignorance and disease.

Map Location

Programme background

Although Livestock keeping is the major occupation in the pastoralists areas, its related services have for long not being receiving the gravity it deserves. This has resulted into a diminished animal population to the extent that some families have been subjected to a state of destitute and permanent hunger-pangs. The situation has been exacerbated by the cutting off of the veterinary and extension services by the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development .The enzootic diseases for livestock therefore flared up sporadically without control and treatment causing high mortalities which have immensely destocked the animal Population. Because of land alienation the livestock carrying capacity by the range land has been affected due to many uses such as large scale crop farming, game reserves, and mining and military training arena .Unreliable water supply forces the pastoralists to practice transhumance since the water supply facilities and structures like boreholes pumps, dams and charcoals are dysfunctional.

Community Research and Development Services (CORDS) has therefore initiated a Livestock Programme designed to incorporate pastoralists to find out strategies to be used in improving their livelihoodss since, recent experience have shown that the only way to improve the livestock desired standards, ways must be sought out to curb up the flaring up of livestock diseases, provision of extension services, land tenure security, other necessary veterinary services, market outlets for livestock and livestock products and introduction of highly potential breeds through cross-breeding.

Target Population and Geographical coverage:

The progrmmme is implemented in Longido (Kimokouwa, Engikaret, Eworendeke, Kiserian, Sinonik and Mairowa) and Kiteto (Kimana, Orpopong'I, Amei, Ndaleta, Lesoit, Loolera, Orkitikiti, Laalala, Mtikira, Lembapuli, Katikati, and Makame) districts respectively.

Objectives:

Among other things the aims of Livestock Development Programme are:-

• To improve the quantity and quality of livestock and livestock products.

• To reduce poverty and improve the living standards among the poor pastoral communities in Kiteto, Monduli, Longido and Simanjiro in the Northern part of Tanzania.

• To enhance animal health and provide technical advice to livestock keepers in the target areas.

• To improve the security of pastoral livelihoodss.

• To improve sustainable household crop production.

• To promote market outlets for livestock and agricultural products.