Livelihood Profile Amhara Region, Ethiopia

Transcription

1 Livelihood Profile Amhara Region, Ethiopia South Wollo & Oromia Eastern Lowland Sorghum and Cattle Livelihood Zone July, Zone Description The South Wollo and Oromia Eastern Lowland Sorghum and Cattle livelihood zone is situated in the extreme eastern lowland part of Amhara region adjacent to the south western part of Afar Region. The woredas fully or partially covered by the zone are Artuma Fursi, Dewa Chefa, Jille Timuga, Bati and Dewa Harewa woredas in Oromia zone and Argoba, Kalu and Werebabu. The major towns Bati and Harubu and the main rivers include the Borkenna and Chefa. Agro ecologically it is predominantly kola, with some woina dega. The topography is mountainous and hilly with plains in some places. It is largely deforested with a vegetation of bushes and shrubs. Kalu and Artuma Fursi woredas are sparsely populated while Dewachefa and Bati are more densely populated. The economy is based on crop production but livestock rearing has a special importance amongst wealthier farmers. Crop production is highly dependent on rainfall and the main rain is received in the kremt (July-September). On average the area receives the lowest rainfall of all the livelihood zones in Amhara, with a long-term mean of 726 mm per annum. But it is the frequency of irregular precipitation and rain shortage that helps to make the zone chronically food insecure. The soil is sandy, sandy clay and sandy loam with moderate fertility. The main cereals grown are sorghum, teff and maize, and vetch is the main pulse. Land preparation is done by oxen plough. Men do the plowing while both men and women participate in weeding and harvesting. Important inputs in this zone are home-produced compost as fertilizer and improved maize seed from BoARD. As in other areas stalk borer, bollworm and grasshoppers are the main crop pests affecting the cereals. Cattle, goats and sheep are the major livestock in order of importance, but there are also a few camels kept by wealthier people for burden. The zone is particularly known for its cattle population, due to favourable pasture quality but supplemented by crop residues grazing still limits numbers. Both cattle and small stock are sold, but mostly the latter for slaughter particularly in January and April for Christmas (Genna) and Epiphany (Timket) and for the Muslim holidays Eid ul Adra and Eid ul Fitr which shift in date each year. Only cows are milked in the area. The milk is turned into butter mainly for sale. The poorer group replaces both cows and oxen from within the herd while the middle and better off can also afford to purchase animals if necessary. Men are responsible for looking after cattle while women keep the small stock and children help with both. Anthrax, black leg and internal and external parasite are the main livestock diseases affecting the livestock. Whilst crop and livestock sales bring the wealthier farmers most of their cash, the poorer rely heavily on paid work, mostly on local fields, as well as on Safety Net cash and selling firewood. Some people seek work in the main towns - Kemissie, Bati and Kombolcha; a modest number go into Afar region for work on the irrigated plantations, and a few travel as far as Djibouti or Saudi Arabia. The firewood is from the natural bush and tree cover and is collected by the both men and women and taken to the nearest towns for sale. The Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) is designed to protect the assets of chronically food insecure households through the provision of food aid and/or cash. In this zone the help is in cash, at 6 ETB per person per day after participating in public works activities for five days in a month. Those who are not able bodied are entitled for free provision of food. 1 Field work for the current profile was undertaken in June-July The information presented refers to Oct Sept (EC Tikimt 1998 to Meskerem 1999), a good year by local standards. Provided there are no fundamental and rapid shifts in the economy, the information in this profile is expected to remain valid for approximately five years (i.e. until 2012). ). The exchange rate January USD = 8.676ETB.

2 Markets Market access is good the dry season, but movement is limited during the rains by a lack of all-weather roads. Sorghum, maize and teff are the major crops traded out of the zone, moving from local markets into Afar, and to the markets of Dessie, Kombolcha and sometimes to Addis Ababa. Cattle and goats mainly go via main-road collection markets to be finally sold Addis Ababa, while sheep from Bati and Kemissie markets are traded to Dessie and Kombolcha. The staple cereals maize and sorghum are brought from local market, but as local supplies fade during the year supplies reach local markets from as far as Nekemti in western Oromia. The main local labor market accounts for 75-85% of all casual employment found by the zone s people. Seasonal Calendar May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr Rainy Seasons Kiremet Meher Bega ` Legend planting cons. green harvest weeding 2 Land preparation Sorghum Teff Maize Livestock sales Milk production Livestock births Honey sales Other Local labor Labour migration Food purchase Hunger season Malaria cattle shoats cattle and shoats Rainfall Pattern There are three main seasons in the LZ. These are kremt/long rains (July-September), Meher/ harvest (October- December) and bega/summer (January-June). Rainfall is unimodal and there is a single harvest of both short and long and short cycle crops. The land preparation extends from January to June and sowing of the long cycle crops maize and sorghum is in May while the main short cycle crop, teff is sown in July. The harvesting period runs from October December. Weeding is done for all crops especially during June-August. Cattle are in-heat after the main rains and births are mostly in June-August, when the young can benefit from their mother s peak milk production due to the new pastures. The cows are milked for four months (August September). The sale of cattle is mainly in April-June and is associated with the demand for animals for land preparation. Small stock are sold in number before the religious holidays. Local employment is linked with the period of weeding and harvesting. Migratory labor mainly occurs in July-August and February-March. Food purchase is mainly in April-September and the peak hunger season is from July - September. Malaria is prevalent in the zone and peaks in November to December following the cessation of the kremt rains. South Wollo & Oromia Eastern Lowland Sorghum and Cattle Livelihood Zone

3 Wealth Breakdown V e ry P o o r H H s iz e W e a lth G ro u p s C h a ra c te ris tic s L a n d a re a C ro p s c u ltiv a te d L iv e s to c k /A s s e t H o ld in g c u ltiv a te d tim a d S o rg h u m 3-5 h e n s P o o r tim a d S o rg h u m, T e ff M id d le tim a d T e ff,s o rg h u m, v e tc h B e tte r- o ff 0 % 2 0 % 4 0 % % of households tim a d T e ff, S o rg h u m, V e tc h, M a iz e 4 tim a d s = 1 h e c ta re 1-2 c a ttle, 3-4 g o a t, 4-6 h e n s 4-7 c a ttle, 1-3 o x e n, 5-9 s h o a ts, 0-2 c a m e l, 0-1 d o n k e y, 3-5 h e n s c a ttle, 2-4 o x e n, s h o a ts, 1-3 c a m e l, 0-2 d o n k e y, 4-6 h e n s Wealth in the zone is determined by the possession of livestock (cattle, small stock and camels) and cultivated land. The very poor only have chickens and some are landless. The middle and better off do own higher numbers of livestock including transport animals - camel and donkey. The very poor only grow sorghum while the other groups also grow variously teff, vetch and maize. Lack of oxen, money and therefore the ability to cultivate properly even the modest land they have are the major problems faced by the poor households in crop production. For the wealthier who own oxen there is a shortage of land in relation to their productive capacity, and also a lack of improved seed and poor market access during the rainy season. Wealthier farmers overcome the problem of access to land by renting from the poorer households in return for half of the crop i.e. a crop sharing agreement. Farmers who have no oxen rent them from those who do and usually pay one day labor for one day of oxen use. With regard to keeping livestock, the poor are limited by shortage of animal feed and shortage of money to buy it and to purchase new animals, whilst wealthier people must consider how much of their budgets can go on sometimes paying for watering, and on veterinary services and hiring herding labor from among their poorer kin or neighbours. No other major income generating activity is found by any wealth group. Sources of Food A good year ( ) The contribution of own harvest to the 1 family s food increases in big steps from the very poor to better off wealth groups. It 10 accounts for 55-65% and 70- of the two wealthier groups respectively, but less Payment in Kind than for the others. Purchase of food Food aid is therefore particularly important for the Purchase poor and very poor households and covers livestock prod of requirements most of their crops purchase is sorghum and maize, whilst wealthier people purchase some teff as well. Other food sources are minimal and include a little contribution from livestock products (skimmed milk, butter extraction and meat) for the middle and better-off households and payment in kind (i.e. food In the graph, food access is expressed as a percentage of minimum food received from employers during migratory requirements, taken as an average food energy intake of 2100 kcals per labor) for the very poor and poor person per day. households. South Wollo & Oromia Eastern Low Land Sorghum & Cattle Livelihood Zone

4 4 Sources of Cash a good year ( ) 10 Self Employment prod.safety nets agr.labour livestock sales l/stock prod. sales crop sales The graph provides a breakdown of total cash income according to income source. Annual income (ETB) ,000-6,000 Cash income increases two to threefold from the very poor to the better-off households, but income levels all round are only moderate by Amhara standards. Livestock sales are an especially important source of income for the middle and better off households contributing 20-3 and 40-5 of the annual cash income respectively. The contribution of crops to incomes is negligible for poor and very poor but particularly important for the middle who do not have the numbers of animals for sale that the better off can manage to put on the market. The better-off consume more of their teff whereas the middle sell most of theirs. The poor and the very poor have a similar income overall, but the poor have more varied sources including livestock and crop sales, whilst the very poor get a little from their chicken and egg sales but otherwise act more as workers than farmers. Both groups are heavily supported by the Safety Net programme and even middle households have some benefit, underlining the food insecurity of the zone. The self employment income refers to the income from the sales of firewood Expenditure Patterns a good year ( ) Expenditure on staple food declines sharply from the poorer to the wealthier groups. Non-staple food purchases are vetch (poor/very poor), field beans (all wealth groups), oil (middle and better-off) and sugar (better-off). In absolute cash terms spending on the non staple food and household items increases considerably as the wealth status increases. This is true too of spending on social services (education/health) and clothes. The graph provides a breakdown of total cash expenditure according to category of expenditure. The input expenditure includes tools, labor payment, livestock drugs and for the better-off buying new livestock. Hazards 10 Shortage of rain: Unusually low or erratic rainfall hits one or other part of the zone virtually every year. Crop Pest and Disease: Stalk borer, boll worm and grasshoppers on maize, sorghum and teff. Livestock Disease: Anthrax, black leg and internal and external parasites are the main livestock afflictions. Flood: Dewa Chefa woreda in particular has suffered flooding during the past few years. other gifts tax clothes social sev. inputs water HH items non-staple food staple food South Wollo & Oromia Eastern Lowland Sorghum and Cattle Livelihood Zone

5 Coping Strategies Increased sale of Livestock: The better off households sell more livestock to cope with bad times. Sale of More Labor: The house holds of poor wealth group try to generate more income from paid work by either extending the length of employment or deploying more household members to look for work. Sale of More Firewood: This is an option taken by poorer households. Increased remittances from Saudi Arabia and Djibouti: a minority of households have members living and working abroad mainly in Saudi Arabia and Djibouti. Summary The South Wollo and Oromia Eastern Lowland Sorghum and Cattle livelihood zone a chronically food insecure are with low and erratic rainfall. The economy is based on a balance crop production and livestock rearing which favours the latter amongst wealthier farmers. The main crops grown are sorghum, teff and maize. Livestock production is constrained by lack of grazing and access to fodder. Local agricultural labor, migration labor and firewood sales are important income generating activities for poorer households. The livelihood zone is in the Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) and there are also rural credit packages offered for the zone. Market access is reasonable in the dry season but poor in the rainy season. Poor and very poor households are dependant on staple food purchase to meet their food requirements. PSNP, labor and firewood sales are the main source of income for these groups. Shortage of rain, crop pest, livestock disease and localised flooding are the major hazards affecting the crop and livestock on a yearly basis. High staple food prices will also impact on poorer households. The sale of more livestock and labor, sale of more fire wood and increased remittances from Saudi Arabia and Djibouti are the main coping strategies employed by the households of different wealth groups. South Wollo & Oromia Eastern Low Land Sorghum & Cattle Livelihood Zone