Eritrea

Undernourishment is a continuing problem in Eritrea where the per capita daily caloric intake is 1 587, leaving 64 percent of the population underfed. The life expectancy at birth is 59, a reflection of the fact that 30 percent of Eritrean children are malnourished and underweight, while 48 percent suffer the malnourishment that results in stunting. Only seven percent of Eritrea is arable – this has increased since 2000, although permanent crops and pastures have decreased in hectares since then. Agricultural exports make up 13 percent of all the country’s exports. Datum on agricultural exports as a proportion of Gross Domestic Product, however, is unavailable.

FAO's main in-country programmes

Special Programme for Food Security
FAO has assisted Eritrea in the field of food security since 1995, when the SPFS became operational in the three agro-ecological zones of the country. The programme provided assistance to rain fed crop intensification and constraint analysis. The programme started with a total of 180 farmers, participating on 285 ha in the intensification component. The number increased to 375 in 1997 and 2000 in subsequent years. From 1997 to 2004, Italy funded a project for assistance in water control, intensification in new areas and constraints analysis. The project was evaluated positively in June 2000 and September 2003.

Regional Programme for Food Security (RPFS)
Eritrea is a member of two regional economic integration organisations, COMESA - The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (http://www.comesa.int/) and the SADC - Southern African Development Community (http://www.sadc.int/).

Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animals and Plant Pests and Diseases (EMPRES) Animal Health Component
Eritrea never reported Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) / H5N1 outbreaks. FAO jointly participated (in Feb-March 2008) with the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in a rapid assessment mission for the elaboration of the Integrated National Action Plan (INAP) for Eritrea, funded by the ALive partnership.

Eritrea experienced its last Rinderpest outbreak in 1995 and was accorded the OIE status of freedom from Rinderpest infection in May 2005, after completing the overall OIE Rinderpest pathway. FAO contributed to this result as one of the implementers of the Pan African Programme for the Control of Epizootics (EU PACE project).

EMPRES - Desert Locust Component
Eritrea participated in the EMPRES Programme (Desert Locust Component) in the Central Region since its inception in 1997. It hosted the coordination office until 2001 when the office was transferred to the regional office for the Near East in Cairo. Efforts to strengthen the National Locust Control Unit were continuing despite difficult conditions from 1998 to 2000. When the EMPRES programme ended in the CR, in December 2006, its activities were handed over to the FAO Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Central Region (CRC), of which Eritrea is a member since June 2006. Backstopping continues to be provided to this country through the CRC.

Emergency and Rehabilitation
Since 2000, with the establishment of the Emergency Coordination Unit, FAO has been providing technical assistance in quality seed production through the training of both farmers and personnel of the Ministry of Agriculture, and increasing agricultural and animal self-production capacities through the distribution of quality seeds, basic veterinary drugs, vaccines and tools to the most food insecure populations affected by drought and soaring food prices. Such actions are essential for providing vulnerable or affected populations with opportunities for improving self-sufficiency, enhancing the nutritional status and reducing dependency on food aid.
 

FAO’s current portfolio for emergency relief and recovery in Eritrea has a budget of approximately US$5 500 000. Key donors include the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the European Commission and the Government of Italy. Eritrea has also been part of regional and global interventions such as emergency assistance for the control and prevention of Avian Influenza and the Desert Locust outbreaks in the greater Horn of Africa.

Key activities will provide assistance to approximately 75 000 households which are prone to food insecurity, conflict and climatic hazards. Beneficiaries include Internally Displaced Persons, returnees, women-headed households, HIV affected families, small-land holders and other agro-pastoralist communities.

Major Areas of FAO Assistance in Eritrea
FAO Eritrea has been assisting the Government of Eritrea by providing technical assistance on the following major areas with the overarching goal in support the country to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) with special emphasis on achieving food security and reducing poverty. The major areas include:

1. Update Strategies, policies plans programmers and projects related to agriculture and fisheries.  In this context, various assessment reports project proposals were prepared.  This includes the preparation of rapid assessment report of Avian and human influenza dairy development project document as well as documents related to small-scale irrigation, seed multiplication and animal production. Six micro credit project proposals prepared inland fisheries development and test canning of pelagic fish project documents.
2. Technology transfer has been insured to improve the back ward production system, which remained a major bottleneck to achieve food security in the country.  In view of this, various Technical Cooperation Programmes (TCP) projects have been implemented aimed at introducing new technologies to improve the agriculture fisheries and forestry sectors.
3. Income generating activities and livelihood supported through micro credit financing: various telefood projects were implemented to improve the income level of the rural livelihood.
4. Land productivity increased through water harvesting and management, diversification and intensification of production. SPFS and TCP projects were operationalized to enhance the productivity of land through intensification, diversification and water harvesting technologies.
5. Pest and disease control assistance provided to improve post harvest losses.
6. Establish Early Warning and Food Information System (EWFIS). A FAO/Government Cooperative Programme and TCP project were implemented to strengthen the EWFIS for decision-making and generation of quality data and dissemination.
7. Assisting the country to improve the soaring of food prices. TCP project was implemented to distribute agricultural inputs to alleviate the soaring of food prices with a total budget of US$500 000 

last updated 7 July 2011