This study investigates pastoralists’ perceptions of the risks they face and how this influences adoption of innovations.
Humanitarian and development often encourage pastoralists to adopt innovations they believe will benefit pastoralists. Despite a multitude of innovations being introduced each year, sustained adoption by pastoralists is limited. Introduced innovations often reflect limited understanding of adaptations used by pastoralists. Innovations that include feedback mechanisms and iteration during the design and testing phase experience greater adoption when introduced in new areas.
SPARC researchers have carried out 23 studies on innovations. We reviewed these studies and interviewed research leads to identify common findings on pastoralists’ perceptions of risk.