Combating ‘green famine’ in ‘happy Ethiopia’
Despite an annual 10% growth in GDP of, Ethiopia is still confronted with the challenge of providing enough food for its population, particularly in the Ogaden region which has been threatened by famine since the beginning of September. According to Tim Clarke, the EU delegate in Addis Ababa, the country could become self-sufficient; however, sharp increases in the population have reduced the amount of land available for cultivation in rural areas where there are six or seven children per family. As a result of this, food aid is still necessary. In 2006, the European Commission and the Member States of the European Union provided 30% of total food aid received by Ethiopia – 90,000 tonnes of which went to the most vulnerable and a portion of the aid was purchased within Ethiopia to ensure that the price of local foodstuffs did not fall.
Anti-erosion mounds, an effective way of breaking slopes.
© François Misser
Development measures are increasingly being used to tackle the problem. These measures primarily in food supply but also for product diversification and commercialisation of other products (coffee, flowers, spices) as well as the creation of an infrastructure to improve the management of water resources support government initiatives. The Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Ato Mekonnen Manyazewal, said: “We are introducing at household level water harvesting techniques, the preparation of ponds ensuring that they can plough during dry years and that they can produce diversified crops such as fruits and vegetables through small irrigation projects”.
In 2005, a programme designed jointly by the government and aid providers created social ‘safety nets’, making available both food and money to people in trouble in exchange for their contribution to public work schemes. In 2006, 7 million people benefited from this €220 million programme, 60% of which was funded by the EU and its Member States.
The paradox is that there are still pockets of malnutrition in Ethiopia, even in the most productive areas. This is the case in the southern region where, thanks to EU funding (€817,760), the French NGO Inter Aide is supporting an integrated development programme in the woredas (districts) of Damot Gale and Kacha Bira. Sometimes referred to as ‘happy Ethiopia’, this fertile, well-irrigated region, where hillside terraces are farmed, still suffers from what is known as ‘green famine’. Although settlements are scattered the density of the population is very high (300–600 inhabitants/hectare) and the cramped smallholdings (0.5 hectares on average) are not productive enough to ensure there is sufficient food. Half of the families in Damot Gale have total annual incomes of between €30–100. In this area, which is at an altitude of 2,000 metres, agriculture is traditionally based on the cultivation of ‘false banana trees’. This is considered a miracle plant and is relied upon as a major food source for humans and animals alike. Cereals and vegetables are the main cash crops; however, combining cultivation with cattle rearing – indispensable for ensuring long-term success – is made difficult today by scarce availability of fodder. The practice of leaving land fallow has disappeared, due to population pressures and agricultural techniques are archaic in their application.
Farmers find themselves in extremely precarious situations and several families share an ox or a donkey. They hire their labour to each other and in times of food shortages have to sell their capital (their cattle). Today, the mortality rate of cattle has now reached 40% in the first year. The landownership regime (as the land belongs to the state, farmers only have use of it) is a handicap because the farmers can only use their future harvest or livestock as a guarantee to obtain loans, often made at exorbitant rates.
In view of this situation, Inter Aide has implemented an integrated programme. Firstly, 1,800 families benefit from the agricultural part of the project, which is based on cooperation with the iddirs, the traditional farmers’ co-operatives. The NGO helps the farmers to dig ditches and to build up the sides of the basins to reduce the slope and prevent fertile land being swept away by the rains. They cultivate vetiver (a perennial grass) to stabilise the defences. This enables food to be provided for the livestock in the dry season and assists in reducing debt levels and increases dairy and manure production. The project encourages the use of new seeds and the introduction of better seeds. The results have proven decisive. According to Christophe Humbert, project leader, the yield has doubled in the first year alone in Damot Gale.
The project also involves improving rural hydraulic systems. Since the beginning of April 2007, more than 14,000 people and 5,000 cattle have benefited from the installation of new hydraulic systems. Thirty-one water points are managed by committees, which become self-reliant after two years. The target is an improvement in the health of both people and livestock.
Finally, the programme also covers family planning in line with the national strategy on sexual health. The aim is to reduce the ratio of population to resources and to give women – key players in development – control of their own destinies. Initially, the programme provided support mainly for older mothers wanting to prevent further pregnancies, but it now involves more and more young women. In April 2007 1500 new beneficiaries were registered. The method used is an injection of Depo Provera, which provokes less opposition from the region’s priests, pastors and imams than the use of condoms.
1 Comment
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#1 Kelly wrote at 08.08.2008 00:29:
Eu acho muito triste tudo isso acontecer pois são tantos os que muito tem, e poucos os que nada tem deveriamos mudar isso!