Ethiopia

Food security is a delicate issue in Ethiopia, where 41 percent of a population of 85 million suffers from undernourishment. Although 82 percent of Ethiopians are rural dwellers, and Ethiopia's agricultural labour force stands at 77 percent, malnutrition in both adults and children, as well as poor life expectancy and child mortality rate indicate that food security issues are still being resolved. 

FAO's main in-country programmes

Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS)
The Special Programme on Food Security (SPFS) in Ethiopia became operational in the Tigray and Amhara regions in 1995 (with the intensification and constraints analysis components) which was followed by funding from Italy in 1998 that included water control. The SPFS was implemented in 29 sites in these two regions, with 4 062 participating households (24 500 beneficiaries). A project to improve nutrition and household food security in Northern Shoa and the Southern zone of Tigray has been in practice since 2001. Belgium gives almost US$7 million to the former activity. Another food security project based on the SPFS approach and funded by Italy was started in the Oromyia Region and benefited directly 1 520 farm households, of which 600 were headed by women.

National Programme for Food Security (NPFS)
The National Food Security Programme NFSP focuses on three components, namely: Productive Safety Nets (PSN), Household Asset Building (HAB) and Voluntary Resettlement. The HAB subprogramme is highly complementary to the PSN, which provides temporary food or cash support to households in building communal assets. However, for vulnerable households to escape food insecurity, household asset building is equally essential. FAO’s support to the NFSP focuses on: (i) the review of past and ongoing experiences related to HAB in Amhara, Tigray, Oromiya, and Southern nations, nationalities and people’s regions; (ii) a review of the micro-finance/cooperative development aspects of the NFSP; and (iii) the development of a proposal for up-scaling HAB activities in the second phase of the NSFP that will run from 2010 to 2015.

Regional Programme for Food Security (RPFS)
Ethiopia is a member of two regional economic 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
Ethiopia has never reported Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), despite the presence of the disease in neighboring Djibouti and Sudan. FAO assisted Ethiopia through regional projects and the carrying out of a rapid assessment mission in 2009 for the elaboration of an integrated national action plan. FAO could also assist Ethiopia through its global projects on HPAI, should outbreaks be occurring.

Ethiopia did not report Rift Valley Fever (RVF) outbreaks during the regional 2006-2007 RFV crisis and was one of the recipient countries of the sub-regional project aiming to control RVF and other climate related animal diseases. The country also receives assistance from FAO for the control of Tsetse and Trypanosomosis and the establishment of disease free zones. 

EMPRES Desert Locust Component
Ethiopia participated actively in the EMPRES Programme (Desert Locust Component) in the Central Region (CR) since its inception in 1997. It thoroughly carried out locust surveys and adopted new technologies of preventive control including RAMSES (locust data management system). It hosted a German associate professional officer for nine months in 2000 while a research and development expert from Ethiopia joined the EMPRES team for four years (1998-2002) funded by the Dutch contribution to the programme. When the EMPRES Programme in the CR ended in December 2006, its activities were handed over to the FAO commission for controlling the Desert Locust in the CR, of which Ethiopia is a member since 2004. Ethiopia mentioned its wish to extend the EMPRES Programme to other migratory pests on several occasions, including Quelea birds and Armyworm. 

Emergency and Rehabilitation
Complex emergencies and natural disasters have affected Ethopia for many years. Drought, flooding, human and livestock diseases as well as resource based and ethnic conflicts significantly contribute to increased vulnerability for many families who are constantly at risk of falling into extreme poverty.

The global financial crisis puts the economy at considerable risk, particularly given Ethiopia’s dependence on external resource flows from exports (coffee and horticulture) remittances and aid. The economy continues to be racked by high inflation (33 percent in February, led by food price inflation, still up by 30 percent from a year ago), which has led to a foreign currency shortage due to the imbalance of its export and import trade. 

Ongoing activities
The FAO Emergency Coordination Unit (ECU) engages in the coordination of humanitarian interventions in the agriculture sector with a view to enhancing information sharing, as well as coordinated planning. FAO, as the secretariat, as well as one members of the Ethiopian Federal Agricultural Task Force (ATF) plays role in the country’s agricultural interventions as an external agricultural advisor.

The FAO ECU in Ethiopia is implementing an emergency and rehabilitation programme with an overall budget of more than US$8 772 455 million for ongoing projects to help rebuild food and livelihood security benefiting over 400 000 households.

FAO’s activities include (i) support to the livestock sector through activities aimed at reducing the vulnerability of pastoralists and agro-pastoralists by the provision of veterinary services, surveillance of animal health, the rehabilitation of water infrastructures and the capacity building of regional government staff to establish community-based animal health workers; (ii) agricultural rehabilitation and diversification through strengthening the livelihoods of farmers, protection of natural resources, watershed management, appropriate provision of seeds and rehabilitation of irrigation infrastructure; and (iii) strengthening government’s capacity to rapidly detect any introduction of highly pathogenic avian influenza, support the establishment of adequate laboratory infrastructure, reporting on trans-boundary animal diseases and the development of an interactive dynamic database management system.  

Major engagement of FAO’s country office in Ethiopia in support of the agricultural community FAO’s Ethiopia country office is supporting a number of projects focusing on the areas of natural resource, agricultural marketing and agribusiness, nutrition, fruit crops, seed production, livestock development and small-scale irrigation, among others. In addition to this, FAO works with the government on agricultural polices and strategies. 

FAO participated in the implementation of United Nations Development Assistance Framework in Ethiopia and its mid-term review process, which was conducted this year. FAO also engaged in the preparation and implementation of the Millennium Development Goal fund projects jointly with other agencies and the government. FAO is also working with other UN agencies to prepare and implement joint programmes in Ethiopia.

During the implementation process, FAO ensures the participation and involvement of major stakeholders in the agricultural development and food security sector. The stakeholders involved include: government, private sector, NGOs, farmers and other UN agencies in the country. The projects are implemented in all of Ethopia’s regional states. Financial resources for project implementation are obtained through FAO trust funds and its Technical Cooperation Programme.

Most projects have objectives of achieving food security, reducing poverty, increasing farmers incomes, improving agricultural marketing systems and the capacity of the countries’ agricultural development sector.

The following are some activities implemented by the government and farmers through the support of FAO technical and financial support: 

• Rehabilitation of small-scale irrigation schemes for horticulture production by small-scale farmers.
• Introduction of drip Irrigation technology to small-scale farmers
• Watershed management
• Framers based seed production and multiplication
• Market centre establishment for the sale of horticulture products
• Dairy and fattening development at smallholder level and establishment of cooperatives.
• Establishment of rural milk collection units
• Establishment of farm business school
• Establishment and strengthening of highland lowland fruit crop nurseries
• Identification of local fruit plant cultivators and introduction of superior cultivators
• Improve agricultural information system and data management
• Harmonize agricultural yield estimation and agro-meteorological data
• Improve agricultural products market price information
• Improve food security and nutrition level in the farming community
• Community empowerment
• Gender mainstreaming
• Strengthening of multi-purpose farmer cooperatives.

last updated: 7 July 2011