<P> The Afar pastoralists in Ethiopia uses an indigenous communication method called dagu for information . This helps them in getting crucial information about climate and availability of pastures at various locations . </P> <P> Pastoralists have mental maps of the value of specific environments at different times of year . Pastoralists have an understanding of ecological processes and the environment . Information sharing is vital for creating knowledge through the networks of linked societies . </P> <P> Pastoralists produce food in the world's harshest environments, and pastoral production supports the livelihoods of rural populations on almost half of the world's land . Several hundred million people are pastoralists, mostly in Africa and Asia . Pastoralists manage rangelands covering about a third of the Earth's terrestrial surface and are able to produce food where crop production is not possible . </P> <P> Pastoralism has been shown, "based on a review of many studies, to be between 2 and 10 times more productive per unit of land than the capital intensive alternatives that have been put forward". However, many of these benefits go unmeasured and are frequently squandered by policies and investments that seek to replace pastoralism with more capital intensive modes of production . They have traditionally suffered from poor understanding, marginalization and exclusion from dialogue . The Pastoralist Knowledge Hub, managed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN serves as a knowledge repository on technical excellence on pastoralism as well as "a neutral forum for exchange and alliance building among pastoralists and stakeholders working on pastoralist issues". </P>

What functions did pastoralists provide between settled communities