Shepherd's eye in the sky

Available for over a year

Africa's 250 million nomadic herders, or pastoralists, are the invisible keystone of the continent's food system. They provide 50% of Africa's meat and 75% of its milk, moving livestock across vast rangelands in response to seasons, weather and grazing patterns that have sustained communities for millennia. Yet pastoralists are routinely dismissed as backwards, a relic in the way of progress and modernisation. Climate change, land grabs, and conflict force them off ancestral routes. Their knowledge is often ignored, their contribution unrecognised. But in the UN International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, a different story emerges - one where these herders are not obstacles to climate solutions but pioneers of them. Bola Mosuro speaks with pastoralists using informal collectives and cutting-edge digital technology like the Shepherd's Eye In The Sky satellite systems that track grazing, predict drought, and help communities adapt to a rapidly changing climate. These are not romantic traditions; they are living, evolving systems that could offer crucial lessons for sustainable food production worldwide. From Tanzania, Kenya and Nigeria, from tech innovators to elders, Bola discovers how pastoralists are reclaiming their narrative -not as problems to be solved but as custodians of knowledge the world desperately needs. With Sarli Sadu Nana, Dr Dorice Agol, Joshua Laizer, Tahira Mohamed, Mark Kaigwa and Aminu Nyako. Presenter: Bola Mosuro Producer: Alexandra Quinn and Freya Hellier Executive producer: Rami Tzabar A Loftus Media Production for BBC World Service Thanks to SPARC (Supporting Pastoralism and Agriculture in Recurrent and Protracted Crises) (Photo Joshua Laizer feeds his goats some leaves. Credit: Mathias Tooko)