The arid and semi-arid lowland areas of Ethiopia have high potential water resources, animal resources and agricultural land among others.Pastoralist and agro-pastoralist of Ethiopiais characterized by a heavy dependence on livestock.
Pastoral and agro-pastoral areas experienced frequent occurrence of drought incidents due to climate change, natural resource and environmental degradation, bush encroachment, and livestock diseases.
In order to address the vulnerability of pastoralists and agro-pastoralist populations to disasters, Ethiopia and African Development Bank designed Pastoral Drought Resilience and Sustainable Livelihood Programme (DRSLP I and DRSLPII) that funded by African Development Bank.
DRSLP I has being implemented in 75 pastoral and agro-pastoral Kebeles selected from 15 districts (nine from Ethio-Somali and six from Afar) starting from 2015 whereas the DRSLP II implementation started in 2016 targeting 89 kebeles from 15 districts (eight from Oromia and seven from SNNPR).
Impoverished water resources, poor marketing infrastructures, animal health facilities, rangeland degradation, poor management and under-developed pasture lands, absence of alternative sources of livelihoods are among the major challenges.
The overall objective of the pastoral drought resilience and sustainable livelihood programme is to ensure sustainable improving livelihoods, resilience and shield them from the negative consequences of drought.
The programme has incorporated interventions such as water resource developments, rehabilitation and management of community-based rangelands, forage seed multiplication, and fodder development. It also encompasses thedevelopment of animal health and market infrastructures, the establishment of sustainable community-based income generating alternatives, and the development of institutional capacity.
For this reason, the projectis beingimplemented in the following States like Afar, Ethiopian Somali, Oromia and SNNP. It couldconstruct 176 water infrastructures that improved access to water for nearly 444 thousand people (45 percent of them are females) and rehabilitate over one million livestock. It also focused on increasingcommunity resilience to drought, reducing burden on women and improvingcommunity health and productivity of livestock.
The project rehabilitated nearly 16 thousand hectares of degraded rangeland by enclosing from human and animals, clearing weed, thorny bushes and shrubs and replanting improved grasses and implementing soil and water conservation measures. From the rehabilitated rangelands, more than 62 thousand bales of hay harvested.
Besides, sustainable managed fodder banks established on 493 hectares and over 165 thousand bales of fodder are so far produced. The produced hay and fodders distributed for over 20 thousandhouseholds (41 percent of them are females) that feed over 786 thousand animals during drought seasons.
In order to ensure sustainable production of fodders, youths are organized to obtain skills training in fodder production that helps them to generate their income. Thus, it improves quality and availability of pastures for livestock.
The project equipped with 12 livestock market centers that improved access to market services for nearly 201 thousand households (45 percent of them are females) including from adjacent kebeles.
The project constructed and furnished about 42 animal health facilities, and also trained 419 community animal health workers and supplied veterinary kits and start up veterinary drugs for them. So far, 353 thousand animals treated and 72 thousand animals vaccinated by the community animal health workers. Thus, about 63 thousand households (40 percent of them are females) benefited from improved access to animal health services with relatively less price in nearby areas.
Besides, about five thousand destitute community members (76 percent of them are females ) who lost their livestock assets due to reoccurrence of drought are organized into cooperatives and obtained in kind credits and engaging in productive investment that enabled them to diversify livelihood activities (from one to three income generating activities).
Ethiopian Somali State, Mohamed Abdulah, who is resident of Sankadhane kebele in Brkote woreda said the community were previously facing severe water problem. He used to travel more than 80km with livestock in search of water. He lost 50 percent of the livestock due to recurrent drought. With the support of the project, one borehole drilled and no more shortage of water since the borehole provides enough water sustainably for human and livestock, he expressed his happiness.
No more traveling long distance for water, no death of livestock hereafter and access to clean water improves community health. Abdurahman Xahir is living in Birkot 02 kebele in Birkote woreda in Somali state. Due to absence of livestock market center in nearby locality, he used to travel more than 80 km to get livestock market center. Some traders used to travel to rural village and buy livestock with fewer prices.
Traveling long distance also resulted in loss of weight of animals and hence, he forced to sale animal with less price. He added that the livestock market center constructed by the project open up market opportunity for local pastoralist because many traders are coming to this market to buy livestock. Market linkage has been created that is now benefiting the community. And the livestock market off take also increased on average more than four truck transport per day for this market.
The Ethiopian Herald Saturday 28 September 2019
BY KEBEDE LAKEW
