Sustaining Food Security
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DEVELOPMENT FOOD SECURITY ACTIVITY NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2018 IMPROVING AND SUSTAINING ETHIOPIA FOOD SECURITY IN ETHIOPIA Overview The CRS DFSA in Ethiopia is funded by the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Office of Food for Peace to sustain and build on the previous food security improvements achieved under the Productive Safety Net Programme, or PSNP, the Government of Ethiopia’s rural safety net for food-insecure households. Now in its fourth phase, the PSNP has expanded from its traditional emphasis on food and cash transfers for work and maternal and child health and nutrition, to include gender, Umer Mohamed, a model farmer, explains how he taught others to adopt agroforestry practices using youth and economic livelihoods his farm as an example. Farms are fed by water captured from a community-constructed sediment (on-farm, off-farm and wage storage dam. Read more on Page 3. Photo by CRS staff employment pathways). The The CRS Development Food Security Activity is running from September 30, goal of the CRS DFSA is: Food, 2016, through September 29, 2021, and has three purposes—PSNP systems nutrition and livelihoods security strengthening, economic livelihoods, and maternal and child health and of households and communities nutrition, including water, sanitation and hygiene—with gender and youth as a improved and sustained. cross-cutting purpose; as outlined below: Women and youth have increased access to and control of community and In this edition household resources (cross-cutting purpose) Success stories ........................................3 The Government of Ethiopia, or GoE, and community systems respond to Community-built infrastructure ........3 reduce communities’ and households’ vulnerability to shocks (Purpose I) Couple communication .......................4 Households improve their sustainable livelihood and economic wellbeing Adult literacy classes ...........................5 (Purpose II) Off-farm youth careers ........................6 Improved nutrition ................................6 Pregnant and lactating women, and children under 5 years, have improved Youth volunteerism ...............................7 nutritional status (Purpose III) Key activities and highlights ...............8 Monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning .............................................10 ETHIOPIA Message from the Chief of Party On behalf of the Development Food Security Activity team, I am delighted to present Development Food Security Activity operational area the first DFSA newsletter, to Arsi be published twice a year to 1 Ziway Dugda highlight achievements and key 9 West Arsi lessons learned from activities. 5 2 Heben Arsi 6 The last 2 years have been a 3 Arsi Negele 7 EAST HARARGHE busy time of startup, planning, 4 Shala WEST ARSI 8 assessments and trainings, East Hararghe as we geared up to provide 1 5 Deder ARSI services to DFSA participants, 6 Babile 2 and then began implementation. 7 Malka Balo 4 3 I would like to acknowledge 8 Midega Tola the dedication of CRS and 9 Dire Dawa partner colleagues for their The activity is implemented in the zones of Arsi, West Arsi and East role and support in the design, Hararghe in Oromia region and Dire Dawa city in nine districts, or preparation and implementation woredas: Ziway Dugda, Arsi Negele, Heben Arsi, Shala, Deder, Malka of the activity, and their Balo, Midega Tola, Babile and Dire Dawa. The DFSA operates in four readiness to serve the rural poor livelihoods zones and plans to serve 240,525 PSNP households. in Ethiopia. CRS is also grateful to USAID’s The activity is managed and implemented by a consortium led by CRS as Office of Food for Peace for its the grant holder, with implementing partners Mercy Corps, the Ethiopian continued funding and support, Catholic Church Social & Development Commissions of Harar and which has enabled us to fulfil Meki Catholic Secretariats (HCS and MCS) and the Center for Creative our commitment to helping our Leadership. CRS also works closely with Save the Children on improving program participants realize the nutrition of women and children in four woredas, as a complement to their potential. With solidarity its USAID-funded Growth through Nutrition program. and support from all engaged in this activity—the households we work with and support, the NUMBER OF PSNP Government of Ethiopia and HOUSEHOLDS THE CRS USAID—we will continue moving DEVELOPMENT FOOD SECURITY toward more resilient and food ACTIVITY AIMS TO SERVE 240,525 secure communities. Stay tuned for the next edition This publication was made possible thanks to the generous support to be published in April 2019! of the people of the United States of America, through the United Thank you States Agency for International Development. The contents are the Shane Lennon responsibility of Catholic Relief Services and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. SUCCESS STORY 1 Community-built dam improves farmers’ livelihoods The dam (above) enables increased groundwater discharge (above right) even when the river runs dry. Photo by CRS staff Like much of rural Ethiopia, the residents PSNP clients were also organized into of Kurtu kebele in Dire Dawa experience livelihood groups and received training low agricultural productivity, soil erosion on marketing and natural resource and water shortages. The DFSA aims to management, or NRM. Trainings are run support the construction and rehabilitation by government field extension workers of structures to strengthen community and community members trained by CRS watersheds, and promote water and soil and partners. conservation practices that farmers can use to increase productivity. In one such group, Umer learned about growing nutritious foods and the benefits PSNP client Umer Mohamed lives in Kurtu of NRM techniques to boost production with his family and is an active participant and conserve soil quality. He diversified in the DFSA. The community has helped his production by intercropping fruit trees “ Getting water in this construct check dams, hillside terraces, with staple crops, and uses cow dung sandy river bed was soil bunds and other structures. Kurtu as organic fertilizer. In the first harvest very difficult, especially residents built a sediment storage dam after applying these techniques, he was during the dry season. that slowed runoff, increased silt deposits able to earn an additional US$550 from After constructing the upstream, improved water infiltration, 2,500 kgs of tomatoes. He has now built dam, there is now more raised the water table and increased embankments to protect his land from water and I am using groundwater discharge. runoff and is well known locally for his it for irrigation. I am adoption of soil conservation practices. also growing different Farmers are now celebrating the Umer was chosen as a model farmer and crops such as tomatoes, increased land and water available for now teaches others. sugarcane, coffee, papaya agriculture and irrigation. The dam also and orange to conserve reduced flooding downstream and the By supporting the construction of similar soil quality. Because time needed to fetch water for drinking, water and soil conservation structures, of the dam, I now have cooking, washing clothes and feeding and helping farmers apply best NRM enough water to irrigate livestock. This freed up women’s time to practices, the DFSA continues to all my crops.” attend counseling on nutrition-sensitive strengthen community watersheds to Umer Mohamed agriculture. Up to 100 households directly improve livelihoods, food and nutrition Kurtu kebele, Dire Dawa benefitted from the dam’s construction. security. 3 DEVELOPMENT FOOD SECURITY ACTIVITY NEWSLETTER SUCCESS STORY 2 Couple communication builds stronger households Model couple Iftu Usmaile and Abdi Nureh (above) use liquids to demonstrate communication, first pouring oil into water to show they do not mix, to represent a family in which there is no love and agreement. They then pour water into cola to show that, although there are differences of opinion, in a family where there is love and respect, couples can come The Faithful House Program helped Gamedi Dhabi and Husna Shebrahim improve their decision-making together to discuss their issues and around food and livelihoods security for their family. Photo by CRS staff reach agreement. Photo by CRS staff Safina Worja and Kelil Mohamed were Model couple Abdi Nureh and Iftu Usmaile married 7 years ago when they were 15 have trained 35 couples in the Faithful and 18 years old, respectively. They live House Program, which reinforces ideas with their two children in Arsi Negele such as love and respect, which are critical woreda and are DFSA participants. In to the marriage relationship. Along with 18 partnership with Mercy Corps, MCS other couples from different woredas, Abdi and HCS, the activity uses CRS’ Faithful and Iftu were chosen as a model couple House Program, or Islamic Family to attend a training in the capital of Addis House, to provide a safe environment Ababa in January 2018 because of the for couples to discuss their relationships respect they hold in the community. and enhance joint decision-making. After the training, each couple was Before participating in the training, responsible for mentoring 10 further their relationship was stressed. Kelil couples in their community, who were After couples training, Safina Worja observed the negative impacts of then responsible for another 10, and so and Kelil Mohamed now discuss household matters together. divorce in his community, and was forth. The DFSA aims to reach 5,000 Photo by CRS staff willing but hesitant to participate in the couples by 2021. training. Previously, village elders and “ By talking to my wife, friends had intervened when there were Before Husna Shebrahim and Gamedi I realized how much problems. Now, he and Safina use their Dhabi did the 3-day training, they were work she had. I started newly acquired communication tools to on the verge of divorce. Married for to share more of the resolve issues and discuss household 12 years and with 6 children, it would have responsibilities with her, matters. been devastating for their family.