Emergency livelihood support to El Niño-affected smallholder farmers in Amhara, Oromia, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNP), Tigray

The woredas selected for emergency seed support were severely affected by the drought and were not receiving any substantial support from other humanitarian partners. The intervention sought to increase agricultural production at the household level so as to enhance food security  and nutrition. The outcome of the project was time-critical seed being available to households to meet the upcoming meher agricultural season that would subsequently help households to resume crop production.

• Output 1: Drought-affected smallholder farmers and agropastoralists supported in crop production through seed provision to improve their livelihood, food security and nutrition.
• Output 2: Smallholder farmers and agropastoral households supported in production and use of fast growing forage crops to preserve their breeding stock.
• Output 3: Capacity of 60 experts strengthened through tailor made training on improved crop and feed production.

The planned activities included the following:

• establishment of beneficiary selection committees, including female-headed households, extension workers, women and kebele (rural administration unit) representatives;
• procurement and distribution of seed and hand tools to beneficiary households;
• technical backstopping, training, support and monitoring; and
• evaluation of agricultural production/harvest on households’ livelihoods.

Lessons learned – elements of success:

• Continuous close dialogue and collaboration took place between the country and field offices and the Regional Bureaus of Agriculture. This contributed to the ownership of the project and its outcome at all levels and ensured there was no duplication of efforts from different organizations.
• The beneficiary selection workshops, which targeted the poorest and most vulnerable farming households, led to important buy-in from the community. Soliciting the community members’ views on variety of seed and/or feed to be distributed also contributed to the project’s success.
• Providing diversified seed types to include vegetable as well as cereal is important to improving household production and nutrition.
• The timeliness of the emergency seed support, along with the ability to substitute the type of assistance provided, were key factors in the intervention’s success.

Lessons learned – impediments/constraints:

The majority of project activities were implemented without impediments or constraints. However, some minor impediments were encountered and overcome during the project. These included:

• Delay in delivery of some purchased seed by some transporters. This was overcome by discussions with transport companies, using alternative transporter companies and close collaboration with partners and suppliers.
• The security situation in some woredas brought about some delays. This was a key consideration for project staff when planning activities including seed distribution, training and monitoring. While the security situation resulted in some minor delays, project staff are adept at facilitating and monitoring activities remotely and flexible in scheduling activities to ensure the safety and security of staff and stakeholders at all times.
• To have the greatest impact, projects need to have flexibility in delivery. Being able to listen to requests from the woredas and make changes to what products are supplied greatly enhances the project outcomes.