Livelihood Profile Oromiya Region, Ethiopia

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Dwight Oliver
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1 Livelihood Profile Oromiya Region, Ethiopia Bale Pastoral (BPA) Livelihood Zone April, Zone Description The Bale Pastoral (BPA) livelihood zone includes Rayitu, Sawena, Lege-hidha, Guradhamole, Mede-welabu, Delo-Mena, Harenabuluk, Dawe-kachen and Dawe-serer woredas. The topography of the area is dominantly plains, with some hills and undulating areas. Its agro ecology is characterized by kola or lowlands and its temperature ranges from a minimum of o C (March-November) to a maximum of o C (December-February). Bushes and scrubs are types of vegetation found. Grasslands are rarely found in the area. The Genale and Wabe-shebelle rivers pass through the zone. Natural resources such as sand, incense and gum arabic, and wildlife and salt are also found in this sparsely populated area. Crop production is completely rain fed. In normal years the zone receives annual rainfall in the range of mm. The area is marginal for agriculture production and suffers a food deficit every year. Its soil types are mainly sand and sandy clay soil. There are four seasons: Ganna the long rainy season (March-May), Adolesa the short dry season (September-November), Hageya the short rainy season (June - August) and Bona the long dry season (December- February). Households depend on both livestock and crop production. The main types of livestock are cattle, sheep, goats and camels. The crops grown are sorghum, maize and teff. There are limited crops sales in the zone. Other important economic activities are collection of honey, gum and incense. A credit package is available for very poor and poor households. Fields are prepared using ox-plows and by hand digging. Agricultural activities that require the most labor are weeding, harvesting and threshing. These are activities done by men. There is no payment for agricultural labor in the zone. All wealth groups own goats, sheep, chickens, beehives and cattle. All livestock and their products are important income sources. Better-off and middle households own camels and mules. The very poor do not posses oxen must prepare their land by hand digging. Camel, cattle and goats are milked. This milk is mainly consumed by the household, but the middle and better-off will sell some milk as well. Poor, middle and better-off households usually slaughter goats and sheep during the Eid holiday. Better-off households will also slaughter cattle in rare cases. Camels are sold at the age of 3-5 years, cattle at 2-3 year and shoats at the age of 6-12 months. Cattle, sheep and goats are replaced from within the herd. Women and children are responsible for looking after cattle in the surrounding grasslands. Grasshoppers, army worm and stalk borer and cutworm are pests affecting teff, maize and sorghum crops. Trypanosomes, blackleg and CCPP are the main diseases affecting cattle and shoats. To mitigate the impact of these diseases, households apply vaccination and treatments that are available through the government or by purchase. There is always seasonal livestock migration during long dry season (Bona) to the major rivers and to major rivers during bad years to seek pasture and water. The market access is said to be poor and inaccessible during rainy season. Maize is bought into the zone from Shashemene and Negele Arsi. Sorghum is bought locally. Income from labor migration is important activity. During bad years, very poor and poor households migrate to collect coffee beans in Dello and Berbere woredas and to harvest barley and oats in highlands of Bale outside the livelihood zone. The chronic hazards that affect the area are drought, crop pest and livestock disease (LSD). The BPA livelihood zone 1 Field work for the current profile was undertaken in March The information presented refers to April 2006 to March 2007 (EC 1998 to 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 has been targeted by the PSNP program and very poor and poor households access food and income through this program. Markets The market conditions are generally said to be poor because of bad roads and the distance of PAs from urban centers. Road access during the rainy season is even worse. Maize is bought to the zone from Shashemene and Negelle-borena towns. Sorghum is purchased from the local market. The potential for the livestock rearing and the opportunity to sale animals are high. Cattle, sheep, goats and camels are sold in the local market and taken to different parts of the country. Sheep and goats are transported from local markets to Mojo, Adama and Addis Ababa. Cattle are traded from local markets to Adama and then to Harer. Camels are traded from local towns to Harer and then to Djibouti. Livestock sales peak during the months of January to March. Seasonal Calendar There are four seasons namely Ganna, Adolesa, Hageya and Bona. Ganna is the long rainy season (March -May), Adolesa the short dry season (September-November), Hageya the short rainy season (June - August) and Bona the long dry season (December- February). Both sorghum and maize are harvested from September to November depending on the varieties of the crops. The planting time for both extends from May to June. Times for the livestock sale are in the months of January to March, which coincide with food purchase. The milking period for camels is the whole year while that of the cattle runs from March to August. The very poor and poor are engaged in local labor activities during the harvesting time from September to November. As the livelihood zone is a food deficit area, the household purchase food for about five months starting with January. Food purchase gets its peak during Bona the long dry season. All animals during drought period (January through May) migrate to other place in search of water and pasture. The birth period for camels runs from April to May and for cattle it runs from March to April.

Wealth Breakdown Wealth is primarily determined by the ownership of livestock, plow oxen, camels and mules. Other important wealth indicators are land holdings and family size.

3 Wealth Breakdown Wealth is primarily determined by the ownership of livestock, plow oxen, camels and mules. Other important wealth indicators are land holdings and family size. There is no land rented in or rent out in the zone and all households cultivate the same crops (sorghum, maize and teff) for home consumption. Livestock holdings are relatively large. All households possess goats, cattle, beehives and chickens. Only the very poor do not have plow-oxen. The better-off and middle households own mules for transportation and camels as source of food and income. Sources of Food A good year ( ) All households meet their annual food 12 needs through crops, livestock products, and purchase. The better off and middle 10 households meet more than half of their annual food through consumption of 8 their own crops. The food contribution from livestock products ranges from and 25-35% for middle and betteroff households respectively. Livestock 4 products contribution to food needs for the poorer households is minimal. Food 2 purchase, mainly sorghum and maize, is most important for the poorer households. The middle and better-off purchase wheat in addition to sorghum and maize. As the zone suffers from a. food deficit, V.Poor Poor Middle Better-off gifts, other food aid purchase payment in kind livestock prod. In the graph, food access is expressed as a percentage of minimum food requirements, taken as an average food energy intake of 2100 kcals per person per day. food aid is contributes 5-15% of annual food requirements for very poor and poor households. Gifts of milk from the middle and better-off are another food source for the poorer households through which their needs are covered crops

4 Sources of Cash A good year ( ) The graph provides a breakdown of total cash income according to income source Annual income (ETB) V.Poor Poor Middle Better-off other petty trade/safety nets self-employment employment & remittances liv estock sales l/stock prod. sales crop sales The most significant amount of annual income for better-off and middle households comes from livestock, livestock products and crop sales. All households sell cattle, sheep and goats. The middle and better-off also sell camels. Livestock products sold by the middle and better-off refers to cow, goat and camel s milk. The poor and very poor on the other hand sell only eggs. All wealth groups sell honey. Households in this livelihood zone do not sell butter or crops. The very poor and poor receive income for labor performed through the Productive Safety Net Program. The very poor also earn some cash through the sale of gum Arabic and incense. Expenditure Patterns A good year ( ) Sorghum is the staple food purchased by all wealth groups. This is because the livelihood zone is marginal to agriculture and hence production is low. Although different in amount, every wealth group purchase nonstaple food items (sugar) but only the better-off purchase oil. The better-off and middle expend more in absolute terms on non-staple food purchase. The middle and better-off households expend more on the agricultural inputs such as animal drugs and vaccines for their animals. These households also invest in animal restocking. Social services, cloths and household item expenditure increases along with the wealth groups. The better off and middle households allocate more in absolute terms to the other miscellaneous expenditures. Hazards The graph provides a breakdown of total cash expenditure according to category of expenditure. The major hazards in the BPA livelihood zone include drought, livestock disease and crop pests. One year in three, farmers risk losing their harvest to drought, specifically through inadequate rainfall either in terms or total rain or in the pattern. Pests such as army worm and grasshopper attack teff crops. Stalk borer and cut worms affect maize and sorghum. The major diseases affecting livestock include among others trypanosomaisis and blackleg (affecting cattle) and CCPP, which affects sheep and goats every year. Coping Strategies V.Poor Poor Middle Betteroff Drought, livestock disease and insect pests are the intermittent hazards affecting the BPA livelihood zone. During drought both livestock and crop production are affected. To cope, the poorer households search for labor, migrate with their livestock and increase livestock sales. The better-off households increase livestock sales and migration to other areas and also purchase animal drugs. If the stress on the household is too great, then the some members of the household will temporarily migrate outside of the livelihood zone. other clothes social serv. inputs water HH items non-staple

5 Summary Geographically BPA livelihood zone is found in the southeast part of the Oromiya region. The lowland or the eastern region of this zone boarders the Somali region. The main economic activities are livestock rearing. The topography of the area is dominantly plains, with some hills and undulating areas. Genale river and Wabe-shebelle are the two major rivers found in the zone. The zone possesses different natural resources such as sand, incense and gum Arabic, which have an economic importance to the local people. Cattle, sheep, goats, camels and mules are the types of animals found in the zone. All wealth groups possess cattle, sheep, goats, beehives and chickens whereas camels and mules in most cases are owned only by the better-off and middle households. Crop production system is based on rain fed agriculture and production once a year. Sorghum, maize and teff are three main types of crops cultivated, although the area is marginal for agriculture and is food deficit zone. The methods used to cultivate the land are by ox-plow and hand digging using hoes. Very poor households prepare their land using hand digging as they lack oxen. In this livelihood zone, the wealth differences are seen through the amount of livestock owned. All the households have goats, cattle, chickens and beehives but of differing amounts. The number of livestock increases with the wealth. Cattle and goats are crucial for their food contribution and the income derived from them is substantial as well. The better-off and middle households get more than half of their food requirement from crops they produce. The poorer households produce crops on their own fields as well. The food that comes from livestock products and purchase are very important for all wealth groups to differing degrees. Food aid from the PSNP program contributes to very poor and poor household needs. Households are dependent on livestock and the income derived from livestock sales is the greatest income source followed by livestock products sale. All households expend substantial amounts of money on purchases of staple, non- staple, social service and on clothes. The market condition of the area is relatively poor largely due to poor road access. During bad years all households migrate in search of water and pasture for their animals. Drought, livestock disease and insect pest are the chronic hazards that affect the livelihood zone. Households mitigate the effects of these hazards through treatment and vaccination of animals.

Livelihood Profile Oromiya Region, Ethiopia

Livelihood Profile Oromiya Region, Ethiopia 1 April 2008 Zone Description The Bale Agro-pastoral livelihood zone is located Goro, Ginir, Sawena, Legahida, Berbere, Guradamole and Meda- Aelabu woredas of