Eastern Tigray) in May-June 2004

Università Iuav di Venezia Dipartimento di pianificazione Master PVS QUADERNI IUAV 47 QUADERNI IUAV 47 MASTER PVS A.A. 2003/2004 PROGETTI URBANI Saggi di Mara Adamo, Jacopo Arrigotti, Maria Cristina Longo, Stefania Gatti, Silvia Guerzoni, Giorgia Tornieri tratti dai documenti finali del master in Pianificazione urbana e territoriale nei paesi in via di sviluppo a.a. 2003-2004 indirizzo “Territorio e sicurezza alimentare “, responsabile Paolo Santacroce direttore del master Marcello Balbo progetto grafico CODEsign editing testi e immagini dipartimento di pianificazione servizio comunicazione ed editoria editing copertina servizio comunicazione Iuav carattere Fago Off Sans Foundry Journal stampa Grafiche Veneziane srl Laboratorio Riprografico Iuav ISBN 88- finito di stampare 2006 ©Università Iuav di Venezia 2006 Università Iuav di Venezia Dipartimento di Pianificazione Santa Croce 1957 Venezia [email protected] www.iuav.it/dp MASTER PVS A.A. 2003/2004 REGIONAL PLANNING AND FOOD SECURITY 06 FORWARD Paolo Santacroce 07 SUMMARY Marta Adamo, Jacopo Arrigotti, Stefania Gatti, Silvia Guerzoni, Maria Cristina Longo, Giorgia Tornieri 11 SECTION 1 DESCRIPTION OF THE SITES Stefania Gatti, Silvia Guerzoni, Giorgia Tornieri Introduction to Tigray Overview over the Sampled Area Cropping Systems 31 SECTION 2 ACCESS TO LAND AND WATER Stefania Gatti, Silvia Guerzoni, Maria Cristina Longo Access to Land Water Harvesting 49 SECTION 3 ASSESSMENT OF NUTRITIONAL AND HEALTH STATUS Marta Adamo Demographic Profile The Nutritional Assessment Health 63 SECTION 4 LIVELIHOOD Jacopo Arrigotti Structure of the Villages Importance of Draft Animals as Productive Resource Farming Systems Income Generation Activities 81 SECTION 5 RECOMMENDATIONS Marta Adamo, Jacopo Arrigotti, Stefania Gatti, Silvia Guerzoni, Maria Cristina Longo, Giorgia Tornieri 3 91 ANNEXES Fieldwork documents Measurements Clinical data Validation documents Checklist HH level interview School Land tenure documents Prices Ethiopian Calendar Crop Information Dictionary 166 Bibliography MASTER PVS 2003/2004 REGIONAL PLANNING AND FOOD SECURITY FORWARD Paolo Santacroce The report contains the final outcomes of a third survey carried out in Ethiopia (Eastern Tigray) in May-June 2004. In line with the previous surveys, whose reports has been already published, the present one aimed at: – identifying and analysing the environmental and socio-economic components of seasonal food insecurity among rural households, – learning from coping mechanisms and income generation strategies developed locally to face current stresses, – providing recommendations on how to strengthen the above mentioned coping mechanisms and strategies and suggesting development actions to improve food security at household level in rural areas characterised by similar environmental and socio-economic conditions, and – as an additional issue, improving targeting methodology. In this case too, the survey has been conducted in strict and fruitful collaboration with Local Authorities (Atsbi Wenberta Wereda MOA Office), and under the responsibility of the Mekele University College (Ethiopia). The fieldwork has been conceived as a guideline experience, with the aim of providing local experts - either during training sessions or in the fieldwork - with practical skills and knowledge regarding food security issues. Since the beginning of the collaboration with the Local Authorities, a full agreement has been reached on the fact that the “Household food insecurity approach” put in practice by the team should had been easily repeatable; similar surveys – making use of local human and economic resources – should be carried out under the supervision of a well trained local staff. The fieldwork took about four weeks, beginning on May 25th, 2004. The team, led by Professor Paolo Santacroce (responsible of the “Food Security module”, Master PVS, Department of Planning, Università Iuav di Venezia, Venice, Italy) assisted by Professor Anna Goglio, has been composed by the following six students of the Master’s Programme on Urban and Regional Planning in Developing Countries – Università Iuav di Venezia: Marta Adamo, Jacopo Arrigotti, Stefania Gatti, Silvia Guerzoni, Maria Cristina Longo e Giorgia Tornieri, in strict collaboration with four local experts: Abeba Gelday, Teklebrhan Welday, Abrha Gebremedhin and Brhan Gebrenedhin. The counterpart pre- cious overall assistance and coordination was kindly provided on a daily basis by Mr. Mehari G. Medhin, Head of Wereda MOA, Atsbi Wenberta Wereda. A particular acknowledgment goes to Prof. Mitiku Haile (Ph. D), President of the Mekele University College, Ethiopia who supported the mission since the beginning. Venice, June 2007 6 SUMMARY Marta Adamo, Jacopo Arrigotti, Stefania Gatti, Silvia Guerzoni, Maria Cristina Longo, Giorgia Tornieri The following report contains the final outcomes of a survey carried out between May and July 2004 by a group of researchers attend the Master’s Programme for Urban and Regional Planning at IUAV University – Venice, Italy. The mission focused on two villages of the Eastern Tigray Region (Ethiopia) in collaboration with the Mekelle University College and the Agricultural Office Department of Atsbi Wemberta Wereda. The survey had the following objectives: – to identify and to analyse the environmental and socio-economic components of seasonal food insecurity among rural households; – to learn from local coping mechanisms and locally adopted food security strategies; – to provide recommendations in order to strengthen and disseminate the observed coping mechanisms, when suitable and to suggest development actions for food security; –to suggest how to improve targeting procedures, contributing to a better implementation of appropriate food security policies. The mission has also been conceived as a guideline experience, aiming at providing local experts – either during training sessions on in the fieldwork – with practical skills and knowledge regarding food security issues. Food insecurity components have been identified at village and household level through a set of appropriate techniques such as sophisticated data pro- cessing of NDVI (Normalised Difference Vegetation Index) remotely sensed images, an attentive understanding of the current cropping systems, a recon- struction of the agricultural performances during the most recent years, including the identification of the main constraints to the improvement of agricultural production; finally an assessment of the main factors limiting access to land and water has been carried out. Cropping Systems. An analysis of agro-ecological zones, previously carried out with a NVDI-based classification, has been verified on the field and compared to local cropping systems. In both villages, the planting season mainly starts right after the kremti rains (big rains), even if belg rains (little rains) occur. In general, cropping patterns are based on wheat, barley and teff, which can accept a generally short growing season. Belg rains may occur locally and farmers may undergo the risk of planting maize, relying on the prolonged availability of moisture, rather than on two separate harvests. Legumes and home gardening are also practiced and they more likely to be used for self- consumption rather than as cash-crops. 7 MASTER PVS A.A 2003/2004 FOOD SECURITY Agricultural performances in recent years. Since rainfed agriculture is the main form of subsistence for the inhabitants of the Wereda, the causes of low pro- ductivity of land have been investigated. Poor soil fertility and erratic rainfall are highly responsible for the discontinuity of crop performances. Constraints to agricultural production can be linked to the combination of constraints in the natural environment and to constraints related to the scarcity of productive assets. The former aspect can be seen in rugged relief, steep slopes and emphasised erosion (to some extent limited by modelled sites in one of the two surveyed villages) and low soil fertility. Furthermore, from 2000 to 2002 the kremti season has been shorter and shorter, with the occurrence of crop failures. 2003 has been reported to be slightly in countertendency, with the occurrence of belg rains while kremti season was expected to be late at the time of the research. Access to land and water. The study of the Regional Normative Framework reveals that, beside natural constraints, demographic pressure and current land tenure system concur in households’ vulnerability, limiting access to land and thus preventing households from raising adequate yields to guarantee- self-sufficiency during the year. Attempts to improve access to water can be seen in the Regional Water Harvesting Policy, which led in 2002-2003 to the design of a project of water harvesting at household and village level by the construction of numerous ponds, wells and micro-dams in the whole Wereda. The implementation of this project, which has been carried out mainly through Food for Work programmes, has been verified n the field, with a specific focus on private farm ponds. The survey has been carried out through a preliminary anthropometric assessment, in order to rank households in categories of worse-off, average and better-off on the basis of their nutritional status. This assessment has been dis- cussed and compared to local perception by key informants, therefore adding a socio-economic perspective to the team’s nutritional assessment. A restricted household sample including the above three categories have been selected

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