Do you know what a pastoralist is? Here’s one definition: a grazier or land-holder raising sheep, cattle, etc, on a large scale. Kind of sounds like a rancher to me. Why do I bring it up? Because the FAO and partners announced an online Pastoralist Knowledge Hub today. Their hope is that this will provide a platform for these folks to have a bigger voice in international policy debates and share valuable information to strengthen their agricultural livelihoods.

The Pastoralist Knowledge Hub – launched today by FAO, the European Union, Germany and other partners – will enable mobile livestock keepers to connect, to meet and discuss issues like agricultural innovations or land regulations and find shared solutions to common challenges.

“Pastoralists are able to produce food where no crops can be grown. Yet, their concerns are poorly heard by the international community,” Helena Semedo, FAO Deputy Director-General, said on Monday. “This hub is an important platform to help them project their voices, share knowledge, and affect policy debates.”

The hub also offers a growing database of research on pastoralism, contacts for a worldwide network of pastoral representatives, and discussion forums for pastoralist networks and partnering institutions.

You can learn more about it by listening to this FAO interview with Pablo Manzano. He is the Coordinator of the Pastoralist Knowledge Hub. In the interview, conducted by Sandra Ferrari, he elaborates on some of the challenges facing pastoralists today and how the knowledge hub can potentially support them. Interview with Pablo Manzano