Traditional local institutions were studied in the highlands of Ethiopia and Tanzania to understand their role in natural resource management. Focus group discussions as well as individual interviews were conducted to identify the existing local institutions and their roles. Historical trend analyses were done to determine how the importance of local institutions has changed over the years. Results show that several local institutions with diverse objectives and varying levels of importance exist in the study sites. The article suggests ways in which local institutions can contribute to effective natural resource management for sustainable social and economic development of highland communities in eastern Africa.

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There is an increasing recognition of the role of climate change adaptation among smallholder farmers in rain-fed agriculture in Africa. Collective action among smallholder farmers has been suggested as influencing local adaptation processes hence the need to evaluate its impact in different contexts. This paper provides evidence of collective action in enhancing local adaptation to climate variability. It determines the importance of different forms of collective action for enhancing adaptation. Through simple random sampling, a survey of 240 households in Embu County in Kenya and 200 households from Kapchorwa district of Uganda was undertaken. Focus-group discussions involving farmer groups and local government representatives were performed to triangulate information collected through the surveys. The results show a positive relationship between membership in farmer groups and adaptation to climate variability in both sites. Four main components of collective action were identified in Embu and these included the development of internal group capacities, assets mobilization and management, collective marketing, and management of human and natural capital. In Kapchorwa, the development of internal group capacities, risk spreading, and financial resources were significant. We argue that locallevel governance and institutional arrangements for collective action are critical for successful adaptation to climate variability.

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Farmer groups are important socioeconomic safety nets for rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa. They provide mutual support to farmers through collective action to enhance improvement of livelihoods. These groups have been increasing in number in the post liberalization period in East Africa. However, it is not clear how these groups' organizational arrangements have been changing over time, and the contribution of these changes on effectiveness of collective action. This study, therefore investigates the various organizational changes in groups and how these changes influence effectiveness of collective action of farmer groups in East Africa. Data were collected from 195 farmer groups in Kenya and Uganda through a structured questionnaire survey, supplemented by focus group discussions. Results show that changes in leadership and governance structures were more important in influencing effectiveness of groups. These include having a considerable number of leadership positions, introducing clear leadership tenure, having committees in groups, holding frequent committee meetings and putting in place more enforcement mechanisms for regulating group conduct. This study proposes adoption of effective leadership and governance structures by farmer groups to enhance effectiveness of collective action.

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