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Drought portal - Knowledge resources on integrated drought management

Drought recovery response

Tags
Country Ethiopia
Start date 31/03/2013
End date 02/09/2015
Status Completed
Donor Japan
Recipient / Target Areas Ethiopia
Budget 6 000 000 USD
Project Code OSRO/ETH/302/JPN
Objective / Goal The objective of the project was to improve the resilience of drought-affected smallholder farmers living in the belg/ meher agro-ecological zones of the eastern highlands of Ethiopia and pastoral communities in Afar and Somali regions through improved crop and livestock production and natural resource management.
Beneficiaries
2 502 672
Activities

The project helped improving the resilience of drought-affected smallholder farmers living in the belg/ meher agro-ecological zones of the eastern highlands of Ethiopia and pastoral communities in Afar and Somali Regions through improved crop and livestock production and natural resource management. FAO also piloted a hunger free schools approach with the objective to increase school enrolment and reduce school dropout.  FAO worked in partnership with Ministry of Agriculture core programmes, including the Sustainable Land Management and Productive Safety Net Programme. 

The drought recovery response project had three planned outcomes:

  • Outcome 1: improved smallholder farmers production.
    • Component A:  improved crop production, which includes provision of seed and planting materials to drought affected smallholder farmers; support to the micro and Informal seed and planting material sector; support to the formal seed and planting material sector; policy support.
    • Component B:  improved livestock production, which includes animal health activities; livestock feed activities.
  • Outcome 2: improved watershed and water management.
    • natural resource management focused training and capacity building for 40 development agents, woreda and zonal experts and 80 Kebele Administrators and community members;
    • provision of hand tools to support integrated watershed management work;
    • improve 6 watersheds in four woredas including innovative flood protection work in four sites; and
    • improve catchment protection around four water points, with special emphasis to protect ponds and elas/birkads against flood damage and siltation.
  • Outcome 3: hunger free schools’ pilot.
    • School feeding programme in Habru woreda of Amhara region, Hintalo Wajirat woreda of Tigray region and Assayita woreda of Afar region. Trainings were conducted to enhance the capacity of woreda experts, school teachers, cooks and the feeding committee. These training focused on the hunger-free schools initiative, key aspects of hunger and its magnitude, basic concepts of nutrition, food safety and safe food handling techniques, those most at risk of hunger, and the four pillars of food security.
    • Integrated agriculture and nutrition interventions in Hintalo Wajirat woreda, Tigray region and Assayita woreda of Afar Region. The project also contributed to drought recovery and response in Ethiopia by piloting an integrated agriculture and nutrition intervention in support of the hunger-free schools initiative. The programme sought to facilitate an enabling environment for markets to improve livelihoods and rural development and to improve food security and nutrition.