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Urgent provision of seeds to drought affected farmers in Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Region (SNNPR) for 2008 Meher cropping season

Tags
Countries Ethiopia
Start date 04/06/2008
End date 21/10/2009
Status Completed
Recipient / Target Areas Ethiopia
Budget 694 234 USD
Project Code OSRO/ETH/810/CHA
Objective / Goal The main objective of the project was to improve the livelihood of 33 500 drought affected people in Southern Nations, Nationalities And Peoples Region (SNNPR) through provision of suitable crop seeds.
Beneficiaries 129 650
Activities

The main objectives of the project were to:

  • increase overall crop production by 11 098 tonnes by the end of October/November 2008;
  • increase the food supply of targeted households by 450 kg; and
  • increased food security through the reduction of food aid beneficiaries by 33 500 households after the harvest.

Main activities:

  • Procurement and distribution of inputs. Two commercial seed suppliers were involved in seed supply. One supplied sweet potato cuttings and wheat seeds and the second supplied teff and haricot bean seeds. All varieties were commonly grown in the targeted woredas and were recommended by the woredas during the seed needs assessment
  • Crop production. Overall, 22 080 beneficiaries cultivated approximately 4 255 hectares of cereal crops and achieved an estimated yield of approximately 5 412 tonnes. A further 3 244 households cultivated 88 hectares of sweet potatoes and, although the goal of this particular plant was to produce planting materials for the next season, 14 62 tonnes was harvested due to the favorable weather conditions and suitability of the planting material (improved variety as well as fresh material).
  • Training.  The project conducted training of trainers (ToT) courses for woreda- and DA-level experts on conservation agriculture (CA), integrated pest management (IPM) and good agricultural practices. Nineteen experts (14 DAs and five woreda experts) from five of the eight woredas were trained as ToTs in Yirgalem town from 22 to 25 April 2009. These in turn trained 237 model farmers from 20 kebeles in the five beneficiary woredas. Farmers were trained during May 2009 and of the total 237 farmers trained, 10.1 percent were female.
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Challenges and lessons learned

Bad weather and the consequent negative impact on seedling and crop performance represented a significant challenge and required a no-cost extension. In parts of West Abaya woreda, dry spells at sowing time and below-average rainfall during September caused moisture stress, which negatively affected the performance of young seedlings. In Kindo-Koisha woreda, five kebeles were hit by hailstorms twice in a month, resulting in damage to crops and affecting an estimated 2 300 households. Owing to the no-cost extension, FAO could respond to these challenges adequately. Among other things, it allowed for an additional 2 120 beneficiary farmers, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to 28 050 households and for the remaining16.9 percent of the seeds and 9.4 percent of the sweet potato cuttings to be purchased.

Throughout project implementation, the drought situation worsened and, as a result, FAO was able to support a larger number of beneficiaries than originally planned. This was mainly due to the selection and distribution of the right type of materials, a pertinent and well-executed training component and technical assistance given by FAO staff. Arranging an inception workshop and leaving major responsibilities to Regional Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development (BoARD) and the target woredas together with an operational budget created feelings of ownership and accountability. On the other hand, NGOs administered their projects through their own structure which caused the duplication of some activities. For example, SOS Sahel delivered 300 quintals of wheat seeds to Sankura and Lanfuro woredas, as did FAO. This kind of duplication of efforts should be addressed with better communication processes.