About Us

The Pastoral Resolve (PARE) is a nongovernmental, non profit making, non ethnic and non political organisation incorporated in April 1999 in Nigeria, working in all parts of the country, particularly in those areas with higher levels of pastoralists concentrations. It is a membership organisation with a nine member Board of Trustees headed by a President with 138 members and about 200 registered Local Pastoral Associations.

Our Vision
The vision is to be a leading NGO devoted to nurture the Pastoralists peoples’ aspirations for change, from their life of subsistence to that of a truly fulfilling, peaceful, pleasant one that manifest the beauty and greatness of nature.

Our Mission 

• The Mission is to guide and assist Pastoralists in acquiring adequate understanding of their roles and opportunities available to them for a more fulfilling life and enable them to exploit these opportunities.
• to promote the actualisation of a new found desire for the Pastoralists, to develop and grow positively for the attainment of a happier existence by participating more in the nation’s development.
• This should be attained without undue interference with their day-to-day living pattern

The Pastoralists

The target group for PARE's activities are pastoralists and other rural communities with whom they live and interact with. Key characteristics of the pastoralists in Nigeria include:

• Population of over 10 million (estimated from the 1991 Population Census)
• Found in 28 States of Nigeria and FCT Abuja
• Key socio-economic activity is traditional livestock breeding, often integrated with production of subsistence cereal crops
• Live in remote rural areas often at the outskirt of towns and villages with very poor infrastructure and social services
• Have the lowest literacy level estimated at about 0.2% (the lowest in the country)
• The population of school age children is currently between 3.6 to 3.8 million, with only about 300,000 enrolled in schools (by 2005). Thus there are over 3million out of school nomadic children in Nigeria (the highest among any socio-economic group in the country)

Aim and Objectives
PARE works to influence, encourage and assist in promoting the interest of and welfare of pastoralists and preserve their tradition and cultural value systems.

To attain these objectives, PARE shall:

1. mobilize its members, components and partners to build alliances for action in conformity with its objectives;
2. strengthen the institutional capacity of its nomadic pastoralist association members to enhance cooperation between government, communities and other citizens in the areas they live;
3. encourage, study, conserve, preserve, record and support all educational, cultural, traditional and historical activities, projects of pastoralists and pastoral life;
4. provide a forum for discussion of nomadic pastoralists issues, including their scientific, educational, legal economic, social and political dimension, at local, national, regional and global levels;
5. develop expert networks and information systems to support its members, components and objectives;
6. make representations to foreign and international agencies so as to influence relevant policies, collaborate and/or affiliate with them in furtherance of its objective;
7. assist in the development of mechanisms for debating, handling and resolving conflicts of any cause and in any way for peaceful harmonious co-existence between the pastoralists and other groups;
8. negotiate and cooperate with government, public bodies, private institutions and individuals in the interest of conservation of natural resources;
9. take any other appropriate action, which will promote the interest of the pastoralists within the framework of the conservation of nature, natural resources and the environment.

Key priorities of PARE over the years are in promoting education, management of pastoralists - farmers conflicts, advocacy on behalf of the pastoralists and promoting cooperation and unity, including the formation of cooperative societies as platforms for improving livestock productivity and improved livelihoods.

Mode of Operations
With a functional Secretariat, The Pastoral Resolve (PARE) adopts a grassroots bottom – up participatory approach that recognizes the skill, culture, value systems and environment of the pastoralists. PARE promotes the conservation and proper management of environmental resources in both the short and long-term periods. In implementation, the beneficiaries are seen as the main ‘actors’, undertaking initiatives themselves.
Stakeholders participate in project initiatives from planning to implementation. Target groups/communities define objectives and key activities and contribute financially and/or materially to projects implementation. Thus, design and implementation enshrines fundamental activities that guarantees sustainability of projects and programmes, such that benefits to community will not lead to depletion of the resource base or decline in levels of productivity over time and space.
PARE mobilizes pastoralists and organizes them into viable Local Pastoral Association (LPAs) and cooperative societies. A number of LPAs form a ZONAL FORUM that is represented on the PARE Executive Council. Participatory and integrated projects are then initiated and resources are mobilized to facilitate implementation of designed initiatives.

The main organs of PARE are the Board of Trustees, the National Executive Council, the Secretariat, the Zonal Forum of Members (State Chapters) and the General Assembly. The Secretariat headed by an Executive Director coordinates and implement the activities of PARE.

ActivitiesIn view of the diverse problems facing pastoralists in Nigeria, PARE sets out five priority areas:

• carry out advocacy and through it, mobilize policy makers, policy implementers and international development organisations to provide support and assistance to the pastoral communities;
• undertake mobilization and sensitization of nomadic pastoralists to form Local Pastoral Associations and cooperatives through which they can address some of the problems confronting them;
• support the improvement of livestock production through extension and training in core areas of livestock breeding (feeds and pasture, breeds improvement, herd health management, dairy development, etc) which introduce the pastoralists to new information and knowledge beneficial to their socio-economic activities;
• promote the provision of education to the pastoralists on importance of education at one end, and advocacy to States and Local Governments to establish additional nomadic schools, provide teachers and functional school structures at the other end;
• support the improvement of livelihoods of pastoralists and facilitate delivery of essential services including reproductive health, developing skills for alternative income generating activities, women empowerment and other livelihoods improvement activities.

The results of these initiatives are envisaged to lead to an improved livelihood for the pastoralists, mitigate pastoralists – farmers’ conflicts and increase integration of the nomadic pastoralists into the mainstream of the national economic development.
PARE work with diverse partners and donors at local, national and international levels in designing and executing activities related to its objectives. PARE also draws professional and expert resources from volunteer members, partner institutions and periodic engagement of resource persons where need be.
In all its activities, PARE mainstream gender, education and environmental management with a view to creating sustainable impacts and building communities and community institutions that respects gender and undertake sound environmental management practices.

Participation in Policy Issues and National Initiatives
PARE was:

• A member of the Presidential Initiative on Livestock Development from 2001 to 2003.
• Convener of the National Conference on Pastoralism and Nation Building in 2003.
• Member of the Pastoralists – farmers conflicts Resolution Committee in Benue State from 2007 to 2009.
• Participant at the Stakeholder Meeting for the drafting of the Bill for the establishment of the Grazing Reserves Commission in 2008.
• Convener of the National Conference on Security, Conflicts, Peace Building and Settlement of Pastoralists in 2012 which addressed policies relating to conflicts, security, settling of pastoralists and improving livestock productivity, among other.
• Defending the Bill for the establishment of Grazing Reserves and Grazing Routes Commission before the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2013.