• The diseases kill many animals. This forces the farmers to rear many such that they could remain
• with some when the diseases attack.
• Animals are highly valued with cultural attachments. The more animals one has, the more respect he commands in the area.
• The land is covered largely by natural grasslands. This enables the keeping of large herds.
• The animals provide the pastoralists with food in form of milk, blood, beef and fat.

The problems facing Nomads in Africa are classified into those of their own making and those not of their own making.
Human problems
1. Cattle rustling among Nomads.
2. Communal grazing which speeds up the spread of diseases.
3. The burning of grass with the hope of getting better grass leads to soil erosion and also leads to the development of stunted bushes in which tsetse flies hide.
4. Overstocking of the land with animals which causes overgrazing and hence soil erosion occurs.
5. High level of illiteracy that hinders the introduction of the scientific methods of farming.
6. The poor breeds of cattle which are slow in growth, produce little milk and poor quality meat.
7. Poor transport makes marketing very difficult since the animals move over long distances to the market centres, they reach when they have lost weight.
8. The remoteness of the areas where the pastrolists are located makes the distribution of the drugs difficult.
9. Lack of capital to improve on the farming methods. Farmers do not want to sell some of the animals.
10. Few veterinary services and officers to assist in fighting diseases and pests.
11. Long distances to water pots drains the animals’ energy.
12. Constant occurrence of famine since the pastrolists despise crop cultivation.
13. Tendency of getting blood from the animals which still makes animals very weak and prone to diseases.

14.    However, the problems which are beyond their control i.e the natural phenomena are:-
15.    The pests and diseases are wide spread in most of these areas leading to the loss of a large number of animals and people, for example the Tsetse fly carrying sleeping sickness to people and Nagana to animals.  The locusts which eat up the grass reducing the amount available for the animals.
16.    The low rainfall creates shortage of drinking water and good grass dries up and disappears such that the animals lack food and water and hence become thin and bony.
17.    The Natural pastures are usually of very poor quality being largely dominated by coarse grass which is only nutritious when it is young.
18.    The danger of fierce wild animals which attack their cattle.