We prioritize livestock, agriculture and water for drought recovery and resilience, Afar Region Officials say
Nordic countries' diplomatic missions in Ethiopia visit Afar region to learn about the drought impacts
6 June 2016, Addis Ababa - On behalf of the President of Afar Regional State, the Heads of Agriculture Bureau and relevant regional government offices say that livestock and agriculture especially fodder production and resilience building are the priority of the regional state for the drought recovery and long term development programmes.
The drought exacerbated by the El Nino has worst affected the livelihoods base of Afar pastoralists, said Mohamed Husein, the Head of the President’s Office to the membes of the Addis-based diplomatic missions of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden during an official visit to the region. Our focus during the recovery is agricultural sector and we need your support to be intensified to build the resilience of the pastoral communities, he added.
Afar’s 90 percent of the population rely on animals for a living, and the region accounts for significant portion of the livestock population of Ethiopia. Pasture and water are substantial components to ensure the protection and survival of the livestock of Afar pastoralists. Likewise, water provides irrigation opportunities to grow food and forage crops.
We would like our partnership to bring substantial transformation in the lives of the pastoral communities, said Deresa Ali, the Head of the Agriculture Bureau of the region. Animal production system is the lifeline of Afar pastoralists, and we need to ensure access to quality fodder production, water and animal health, he added.
Afar animals rely on grazing of naturally grown pastures. The breeders move their animals from one place to another looking for pasture and water when they deplete. However, complete depletion of pasture and water has caused death of livestock like the drought in this year.
“FAO’s strategy for drought prone areas of Afar, Somali and parts of Oromiya Regional States is to support the pastoral communities to better use the existing natural resources and promote water harvesting practices,” said Mr Amadou Allahoury, FAO Representative in Ethiopia. He added, “FAO also promotes production of fodder and multi-nutrient blocks to complement the existing animal feed resources, which are essential to improve animal productivity and save core breeding animals during drought situations.”
The diplomats from the Nordic countries visited a government-managed animal feed production programme in Dubti district. The government produces grass for animals and distributes the pastoralist communities as response to drought impact and support restocking programmes. The government has a plan to expand the project to agro-pastoralists to grow their own fodder and grass on a small scale.
The diplomats said that they have had first-hand observations of the impacts of the climate change and how the regional government managed the drought response and recovery programmes. They mentioned that they will continue supporting the recovery and resilience projects in the region.
In partnership with FAO, the Norwegian Government supported various income diversification and resilience building projects in Afar region including multi-nutrient animal feed and forage production, pond construction, date palm plantation, and dairy products marketing cooperatives.