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Provision of seeds to drought affected farmers in Amhara regional state for mid and late Meher 2008 cropping season (funded by Norway)

Tags
Countries Ethiopia
Start date 14/07/2008
End date 15/10/2009
Status Completed
Donor Norway
Recipient / Target Areas Ethiopia
Budget 785 057 USD
Project Code OSRO/ETH/806/NOR
Objective / Goal To contribute to the improvement of the livelihood of about 30 578 drought affected households in nine woredas of Amhara through provision of seeds.
Beneficiaries 92 135
Activities

The overall objective of the project was to improve the livelihoods of drought-affected households in South Wollo, North Wollo, North Shewa and Oromiya zones of Amhara Region through the provision of seeds. Specifically, the project planned to assist beneficiaries in resuming agricultural activities; increasing crop production and therefore household food supply and nutrition; and reducing their dependence on external food aid.

The project enabled beneficiaries to resume normal agricultural activity and rebuild their assets through improved crop production. Livestock productivity is also expected to improve from crop residues generated as a result of the intervention. In future, multiplication and distribution of frost- and drought-resistant and locally adaptable planting materials should be encouraged to reduce crop failure. The use of diversified planting materials (root and tuber crops, fruit and forage trees) should also be encouraged as an alternative to cereals and pulses, which are highly dependent on rain.

The specific objectives involved:

  • A resumption of agricultural activities: the project sought to enable the cultivation and planting of 7 645 ha of land. It was expected that, on average, each beneficiary would sow 0.25 ha of land with seeds distributed under the project.
  • Increased crop production: the project planned to contribute to increasing overall production in the target areas. The project would contributed to a total production of about 14 043 tonnes of cereal and pulse crops, if rainfall was good.
  • Increased household food supplies and nutrition: given normal rainfall, the project would contribute to increase household productivity in the target area. Each farming household would be able to produce about 459 kg of cereals and/or pulse crops, which would enable them to obtain a steady supply of food and improve their nutritional status.
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Challenges and lessons learned

Despite challenges experienced in Dewa Cheffa woreda (late distribution of teff crop) and Menz Gera Midir woreda (frost attack), the project has been largely successful in reaching its objectives. Sensitization visits and discussions with stakeholders before the start of project implementation greatly assisted in initiating early engagement of staff and communities in the project activities. Quality and locally adapted seed assured higher germination rates and purity and overall crop performance was good in all project woredas except Menz Gera Midir woreda. The training of trainer (ToT) in good agricultural practices (GAP), conservation agriculture (CA) and integrated pest management (IPM) increased the capacity of beneficiary farmers, DAs and agricultural experts in terms of sustainable agricultural productivity and reduced vulnerability to disasters.