Each year, rural areas lose a promising share of their workforce, as youth leave their homes and migrate to cities or move abroad in search of a better future. By addressing the links between distress migration and rural development, FAO is making a difference in Ethiopia.

To amplify the development impact of the African Agriculture Fund, the International Fund for Agricultural Development actively promoted a Technical Assistance Facility to work alongside its investments. Blending development finance with technical assistance can be a powerful tool to achieve business growth and development outcomes. After five years of implementation,...

The present study is a gender assessment of the dairy value chain in selected sites in Ethiopia: North Shoa Shewa (Degem woreda), East Gojam (Dejen woreda) and Gamu Gofa Arba Minch (Arba Minch Zuria woreda). It relies on evidence gathered through fieldwork complemented by a review of specialized background documentation....

In Ethiopia, smallholder farmers’ commercialization and integration into the market has been one of the policy directions to ensure households’ progress out of poverty and maintain the sustainable development trajectory. A lot of progress has been made in this endeavor over the past couple of decades. However, market participation and...

Forest cover in sub-Saharan Africa declined by nearly 10 per cent between 2000 and 2010. Of this loss, 75 per cent was caused by the conversion of forest to agriculture, largely for food production to serve rapidly growing domestic food demand. Focusing on Ethiopia, Ghana and Tanzania, this study examines...

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) partnered with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ethiopian Ministry for Livestock and Fishery to hold the first Africa Sustainable Livestock 2050 (ASL2050) Technical Consultation on the 21st and 23rd of February 2017 and the ASL2050...

This publication was initiated by the FAO Sub-regional Office for Eastern Africa to identify, analyse and document existing watershed management practices in the Eastern Africa sub-region that contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation. There is opportunity to use this information to inform agriculture and watershed management-related policies, programmes and...

One of the most devastating El Niño events on record continues to affect the lives and livelihoods of farmers and herders in Ethiopia. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is begun providing assistance through a destocking programme, aimed at assisting the most vulnerable communities in parts of Somali Region.

This climate-smart agriculture scoping study for Ethiopia was produced by the FAO. The study is aimed at identifying and documenting existing climate-smart agriculture practices in Ethiopia that enable stakeholders to understand the opportunities and constraints to adopting particular climate-smart agriculture technologies or practices.

Inclusive agribusiness umbrella organisations (which ideally are vertically integrated down to the level of smallholder farmers’ organisations) could be key institutions to contribute to policy dialogue and design from the perspective of the private sector. Furthermore, they have the potential to carry forward the implementation of such policies on the...

The strongest El Niño weather episode in the last several decades has caused repeated crop failure, decimated livestock herds and driven some 10.2 million people across Ethiopia into food insecurity, FAO reported as it presented its emergency response plan to urgently protect livestock and rebuild crop production in the Horn...

El Niño has had an extremely heavy impact on livestock and agriculture in Ethiopia. Shukri Ahmed gives dramatic figures on the consequences of the drought. He also illustrates FAO Response Plan 2016, underlining the need for urgent action and the importance of building resilience.

Soil loss in Ethiopia is an expensive problem, adding up to more than US$100 million every year. The country is locked in a cycle of land degradation and poverty, costing it not just money, but soil and crop harvests as well.

The aims of this paper are to share experiences and lessons learned from advocating pastoralism and improving the voice of pastoralists in policy-making processes in Ethiopia through a specific activity and process – namely the Ethiopian Pastoralist Day. The paper has been developed through a self- and peer-reflective process by...

As countries design climate change adaptation policies, it is important to understand how workers alter behavior in response to changes in temperature. Nonetheless, the impact of temperature on labor markets is poorly documented, especially in Africa. We address this gap by analyzing panel surveys of labor choices by sector, contractual...

Ethiopia lacks knowledge and skills pertaining to CSA and conservation agriculture in particular. For purposes of knowledge dissemination, a comprehensive capacity development approach that builds on the sound assessment of the needs of all stakeholders is required. Within diversified extension service delivery there is a need to build the capacity...

The economic contributions of forests in Eastern African countries have not received the desired attention in terms of policy and budgetary allocation needed for sustained growth of these forests. This, among other reasons, has led to the reduction of forest zones and an increase in the import of forest-related products,...

Close to 12 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are in need of food assistance, as farming families struggle with the knock-on effects of multiple droughts that hit the region. Shukri Ahmed, FAO Senior Economist, illustrates the food insecurity situation, most affected sectors, the support needed and FAO’s response....

The Regional Initiative seeks to strengthen the programmes, mechanisms, capacity and delivery of actions needed to operationalize commitments to end hunger by 2025, and to support mapping exercises that identify gaps and determine requisite interventions to enhance policy dialogue on food security and nutrition, both at regional and country levels....

The Africa Solidarity Trust Fund (ASTF) is an innovative Africa-led fund to support Africa for African development initiatives. Its main goal is to strengthen food security across the continent by assisting countries and their regional organizations to eradicate hunger and malnutrition, eliminate rural poverty and manage natural resources in a...