Livelihood Profile Oromiya Region, Ethiopia

Transcription

1 Livelihood Profile Oromiya Region, Ethiopia Sorghum, Maize and Chat (SMC) Livelihood Zone April Zone Description The topography of Sorghum, Maize and Chat LZ is undulating land, hills, mountains, valleys and plains. In this livelihood zone, people depend on a combination of agriculture, self-employment and local labor. Labor is of particularly importance for the poor and very poor. Its agro ecology is mainly wiona-dega (mid land) with some parts of the LZ being Kola (low land) and Dega (high land). This livelihood zone tends to have food deficits each year reflecting erratic rainfall and the small landholdings. This LZ stretches across East and West Haraghe including: Haramaya, Meta, Deder, Anchare, Boke, Kuni, Grawa, Kombolcha, Jarso, Doba, Goregutu, Meiso, Bedeno, Habro and Kersa Woredas of Oromiya region as well as Harar and Dire Dawa. The livelihood zone borders the old historic city of Harar in the East and it found along the main Addis Ababa to Djibouti road which goes via Dire Dawa. The Addis Ababa to Djibouti railway crosses the livelihood as well. The holy place of Kulibe Gabriel is found in this livelihood zone. Vegetation types of the LZ include natural forest, bush and shrubs and scattered trees like eucalyptus, hyginia, olive, cordia and juniper and cypress around the farmland. The major rivers in the LZ are Hawena river, Chulul river and Wedesa river. Ceramic and different construction stone are also found in the LZ. The major business towns found in the livelihood zone are Diredawa, Haramya, Gelemso, Chelenko, Aweday and Deder. The LZ is moderately dense and it receives annual rainfall in the range of 700mm-1100mm. Though an erratic it has bimodal rainy season, which ranges from March to May (Arfasa/ short rainy season) and June to August (Genna / long rainy season), which is the major one. The dominant soil types in the livelihood zone are Vertisol/ clay, sand loam and clay loam. The farm field size and available grazing lands are relatively limited and therefore households are 11 Fieldwork for the current profile was undertaken from 27 March 2008 to 11 May The information presented refers to November 2006 to October 2007 (EC 1999 to 2000), a normal 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 reference year exchange rate: 1USD = 8.83 ETB.

2 forced to intercrop. The defining activities of these food economy households combine the cultivation of cash crops with cereals and some livestock rearing. Households grow sorghum, maize and haricot bean for home consumption and Chat the perennial plant, a stimulant, as a cash crop. Haricot bean, maize and chat are often intercropped to increase yields and maximize land use. Land preparation is mainly done by hand. Ox plowing is less common as the land holdings are very small. Striga, stalk borer, aphids and armyworm are the pests and diseases affect crop production in the LZ. Medicine and treatments are available from MoARD and from the market. The very poor and poor households do not own plough ox. The very poor do not have cattle as well. All household own goats that are used as the source of income to support their expenditure. In most cases goats are sold at the age of 1-2 years old and cattle s are sold at about three years old. Animals sold are usually replaced from within the herd itself and sometimes though purchase. The main livestock diseases are pasteurolosis, anthrax, blackleg, lumpy skin disease, FMD and internal/external parasites affects all type of livestock. Treatment and vaccine are provided by the government for cash and/or on credit and are also available in the market. In most cases there are no payment for water to human consumption and livestock and both use the same source. Men and women of poor and very poor groups collect and sell firewood and do agricultural labor (weeding and harvesting). The very poor and poor cover their food gap through Productive Safety Net Program food (wheat) distribution for six months. Markets Most woreda towns have good access to all weather roads and hence good access to market. Some of the localities are accessible to the big markets of Hareri and Dire Dawa towns. The main markets for the sale of livestock (cattle and goat) and cash crops ( Chat ) are Dire Dawa and Awaday in the LZ and Metahara, Hareri, Addis Ababa and Jijiga outside the towns. Months of peak sale for livestock is from June to September and for Chat it runs from June to September and from March to April. The main cereals purchased are sorghum and maize comes to the local markets from woredas in the same livelihood like Gelmso, Mechara, Wachu, Chiro, and Boke and from Shashemene and Nekemte outside the LZ. Staple foods are usually bought during the months of March to August when household stocks run out. Chat the main cash crop is traded in Gode, Jijiga, Addis Ababa and in Adama. Although chat can be harvested throughout the year, production and trade peaks in March to April and June to September. Chat is also exported to Hargeisa and Djibouti on a daily basis. Cattle and goats are the main types of livestock traded in the LZ. They are traded from local markets to Adama, Metahara and Hareri and Addis Ababa outside the LZ Seasonal Calendar The agricultural year starts in March with the clearing and preparation of fields ready for planting sorghum and maize crops. Genna (June-August) the main rainy season, bira (September- November), bona (December-February), arfasa or badhesa (March-May) the short rainy season are the four local seasons. The consumption year starts from November and ends in October. The short cycle crops are haricot bean grown from July to October while long cycle sorghum and maize crops are grown from March to January. The arfasa rain is useful for sorghum and maize planting. The land preparation, planting and weeding of sorghum and maize are in the month of February, March to April and June to July respectively. The harvesting period both for sorghum and maize plants are in the month of December to January. The in-heat period for the cattle extends from September to November when water availability, pasture conditions and the availability of crop residue improves. Births take place during the

3 months of June to August and milk production continues through June to December. The hunger season the period from July to September, when cereal stocks are generally low and households have to rely on other means for obtaining food, coincides with the time when most animals are sold, to purchase food until the next harvest is due. The income derived from local agricultural labor: harvesting performed in December to January and weeding from June to July are significant for the very poor and poor. There is limited labor migration from June to July during weeding and from December to January in harvesting time to urban centers (Jijiga, Hargeisa and Djibouti). In the LZ grain purchasing starts in June through October until short cycle haricot bean is harvested. The hunger season is the period when stocks run out coincide with the purchase time. Malaria is also a case in point during the hunger season. Wealth Breakdown Wealth is mainly linked land hold, number of oxen and other livestock. The land holding increases across the wealth groups. Generally the land holding in this LZ is relatively small and hence there is no experience of land rent in/ out. The household size tends to increase with across the wealth groups. The very poor and poor households are constrained by their small household size whereas the middle and better off groups usually have more working family members. In addition the better off and middle households hire labor on their fields. Except the very poor all the other households own donkey the most important pack animal by the rural people. Goat and chicken ownership increases from very poor to better off. The better off and middle households posses oxen as determinant factor for being classified as wealthy. Although the areas of land utilized for cultivation of crops differs all wealth groups cultivate sorghum, maize, haricot bean and irish potatoes intercropped with chat. Main constraints facing the poor are small land holdings, the high price of inputs, inadequate access to credit and the lack of plough oxen. Lack of land in the area prevents the middle and better-off from renting in additional land.

4 Sources of Food A normal year ( ). 120% 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 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. Sources of Cash A normal year ( ) 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% V.Poor Poor Middle Better-off V.Poor Poor Middle Better-off other gifts, other food aid purchase payment in kind livestock products crops petty trade self-employment employment & remittances livestock sales l/stock prod. sales crop sales The graph provides a breakdown of total cash income according to income source. Annual income (ETB) The middle and better off households produce more than half of their annual food in their fields. An additional small percentage comes from own livestock product as well. The very poor and poor households produce over a third of their own food requirements. Although the amount of the purchased food differs across the wealth groups all households depend on the market to purchase additional staple food maize and sorghum. The poor and very poor get a quarter of their food need through food aid. Chat sales provide crop income for all wealth groups. The quality of chat sold improves with wealth. Chat provides the greatest proportion of annual incomes both for better off and middle group followed by livestock sales. Very poor and poor households depend heavily on the better off and middle households for their income by working on their field, harvesting and packing chat.

5 Livestock s product sales are minimal for all wealth groups because households owned relatively small milking animals. The other important income for the poorer households comes from firewood sale (ie self-employment) in local towns. Expenditure Patterns A normal year ( ) The staple food in this case sorghum and maize purchase declines from the very poor to the better off wealth groups. This is largely because of the relative small land holding of the poorer wealth groups hence less production. The better off is the only household that observes the non-staple food purchase. The expenditure on inputs increase with the wealth. The middle and better off households expend more on the agricultural inputs like fertilizer, The graph provides a breakdown of total cash expenditure according to category of expenditure. medicine and fodder for their animals. Expenditure on social services and cloths for the family members increases across the wealth group. Expenditure on household items is increasing from the very poor toward the better off as well. All wealth groups committed to the expense for social services with slight differences. Other expenses include the purchase of soft drink, chat and cigarette. Hazards Crop Pest and Disease: Striga, Parthenium, stalk borer, aphids affects both Sorghum and maize while Downey mildew affects Maize crops every year. Moisture stress: is affecting the crops in the LZ every year either due to inadequate rainfall in terms of total volume or in the distribution of showers over the growing season. With this rainfall pattern, farmers risk losing their crops. Livestock Disease: The major diseases affect this LZ is: Pasteurolosis affects cattle and goats, anthrax and internal and external livestock diseases affect all type of livestock every year. Indicators of imminent Crisis Rains starting late, finishing early and erratic distribution Unsustainable / Increased sale of livestock at low prices Unusual migration of active household members (usually men) to urban centers or to neighboring countries of Djibouti and Hargeisa Rates of daily labor decrease 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% Increase in the number of people engaged in self-employment 0% V.Poor Poor Middle Betteroff other clothes social serv. inputs water HH items non-staple food staple food Coping Strategies When the crops has failed due to those hazards this in turn affects poor households in particular, whom do not have many other options to relay on. Usually there is an increase in activities already practiced. There is an increase in the sale of firewood in near by towns. There is also an increase in search for casual employment by the poor, and some middle households as well. If there is no enough work available locally then the more active members (usually men) of the households

6 temporarily migrate to urban centers to look for work. The better off and middle households increase the animals they usually used to sale. All wealth groups practice switch expenditure from less important items to buy the staple foods. During the bad year, active household members migrate to Jijiga, Hargeisa and to Djibouti. Summary SMC livelihood zone is rain-fed agriculture. Land preparation is mostly undertaken using hand digging and ox plough. Chat a stimulant, perennial plant is the main source of income for all wealth groups. The agro ecology of the area mainly Woina dega (middle land), Kolla (low land) and Dega (high land). Sorghum, maize and haricot bear are the food crops that are widely cultivated and consumed. The middle and better off households produce more than half of their annual food needs in their field. The LZ is moderately productive for agriculture though soil degradation, erratic rainfall and farm land fragmentation contributed to the low productivity of the area. Because of these factors the LZ is known as food deficit every year. The income from livestock for the middle and better off is significant compared to those of the poorer households. On the other hand, self-employment and local labor for very poor and poor households have got paramount importance for the household income generation. Productive Safety Net Program is also one of the food sources for the very poor and poor households. The market access in the LZ is good. The route is usually known for its business interaction. Livestock are traded in inland and to Djibouti and Hargeisa as well. Moisture stress, Crop pests and Livestock disease are hazards that hamper the productivity of the LZ. The increase in the labor, sale of livestock, sale of cash crops, firewood, switching expenditure and buying the cheaper item are the main coping strategies applied by respective wealth groups.