Feed the Future Ethiopia Growth Through Nutrition Activity
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Feed the Future Ethiopia Growth through Nutrition Activity Assessment report on food production, availability and consumption calendar in different agro-ecologies and livelihood systems of Ethiopia Growth through Nutrition Activity Livelihood Team Addis Ababa, Ethiopia January 2019 List of Abbreviations and Acronyms AGP Agricultural Growth Program AGP-MF Agricultural Growth Program Model Farmers ASF Animal Source Foods CSA Central Statistics Agency CSPro Census and Survey Processing System DK Dry Kola DWD Dry Weyena Dega EDHS Ethiopia Demography and Health Survey H Harvesting LP Land Preparation MD Moist Dega MF Model Farmers MK Moist Kola MoA Ministry of Agriculture MVHHs Most Vulnerable Households MWD Moist Weyena Dega P Planting PSNP Productive Safty Net Program PSNP-B Productive Safety Net Program Beneficary SNNP Southern Nation, Naionality and People SPSS Statistical Package for Social Sciences T Threshing USAID United States Agency for International Development WASH Water, Sanitation and Hygiene WD Wet Dega WWD Wet Weyena Dega Acknowledgements The livelihood team of Feed the Future Ethiopia Growth through Nutrition Activity would like to thank the staff of Growth through Nutrition Activity both at headquarters and the field offices for their all-round support and enumerators for their relentless effort to collect necessary data even during unsafe situations. We would also thank the facilitation role of agriculture experts of sample woredas and kebeles, without their kind support, the survey would not have been completed as planned. We would also like to extend our gratitude to all respondents (smallholder farmers and marketing experts of sample woredas) of this study for the information they shared us. Their view is the cornerstone and building block of this report. We are also grateful to Ato Sahle Fanta for his support in data cleaning and analysis. Dr. Cherent, Mrs. Abse and Mr. Sibhatu are also acknowledged for their support rendered during designing the study. Contents List of Abbreviations and Acronyms ............................................................................................................ 2 Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................................... 3 Contents ........................................................................................................................................................ 4 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 5 2. Methodology ........................................................................................................................................ 7 2.1 Sampling procedure followed ............................................................................................................. 7 2.2 Sample size determination .................................................................................................................. 8 2.3 Data Collection Methods .................................................................................................................... 8 3. Results and Discussion ....................................................................................................................... 10 3.1 Characteristics of respondents .......................................................................................................... 10 3.2 Livestock ownership ......................................................................................................................... 12 3.3 Size of landholding ........................................................................................................................... 14 3.4 Onset and length of rainy season in different agro-ecologies ........................................................... 16 3.5 Priority crop species produced in different agro-ecologies ............................................................... 22 3.6 Food crops production (cropping) calendar ...................................................................................... 25 3.7 Food types consumed by respondents in different agro-ecologies ................................................... 48 3.8 Seasonal food availability and sources in different agro-ecologies .................................................. 61 4. Conclusion and Recommendations ................................................................................................. 84 5. References ........................................................................................................................................... 88 6. Annexes........................................................................................................................................... 89 1. Introduction Ethiopia is remarkably diverse in many aspects. Its altitude ranges from 120 m below sea level (in the Danakil desert) to 4620 m above sea level (in the Semen Mountains). The mean annual rainfall ranges from less than 100 mm to 2400 mm per year. Season and length of the rainy season varies in different parts of the country. Central, Eastern and Northern parts of Ethiopia receive bimodal rainfall, the major rain (kermet) from June to September and the minor rain (belg) from February to May. The Western and Southwestern parts of the country receive unimodal but long rainy season from March/April to October/November. The Southern and Southeastern parts of the country receive bimodal rainfall from September to November and from March to May, though the most reliable rainy months are April and May. The Northeastern parts of the country which comprises Western escarpment of the Rift-valley and adjacent to Afar depression have one little rainfall anytime between November and February. Ethiopia also has diverse soil types (in color, texture, and fertility), vast water resources (122 billion m3 surface water and 2.6 billion m3 subsurface water resource), and large tract of irrigable land (4.25 million ha) (MoA, 2011). It is also a center of origin or genetic diversity for many crop species. About 84% of the total human population lives in rural areas and is directly engaged on subsistence agriculture. These all indicates the potential of the country to produce and supply adequate and diverse food to its citizens throughout the year. Despite these opportunities, the problem of food insecurity and undernutrition are rampant in Ethiopia. According to the result of Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) conducted in 2016, 38% of children under 5 are considered stunted (short for their age), 10% are wasted (thin for their height), 24% are underweight (thin for their age), and 1% are overweight (heavy for their height) (CSA and ICF, 2016). Similarly, 22% of women in the reproductive age (15-49 years) are thin, while 8% are overweight or obese. The feeding practice of only 7% of children age 6-23 months meet the minimum acceptable dietary standards and only 14% of children had an adequately diverse diet. As a result, 57% of children age 6-59 months and 24% of women in the reproductive age are anemic. Stunting is slightly higher among male than female children (41% versus 35%) and among children in rural areas (40%) than urban areas (25%). There are some regional variations; stunting of children ranges from as high as 46% in the Amhara region to as low as 15 % in Addis Ababa. Similarly, percentage of anemic children ranges from 42% in Amhara region to 83% in Somali region. Likewise, the percentage of children consuming diversified diet ranges from 2.5% in Afar region to 40.7% in Addis Ababa. The percentage of children consuming vitamin A and iron rich foods varied from region to region. The percentage of children consuming vitamin A rich foods ranged from 11.3% in Afar to 69% in Addis Ababa. The percentage of children consuming iron rich foods ranged from 8.1% in Afar to 42.2% in Addis Ababa (CSA and ICF, 2016). This variability could be attributed to the type of food produced locally, availability and accessibility of diversified food items in different seasons as well as the consumption habit of the community residing in different parts of the country. Abay and Hirvonen (2016) reported that children located closer to local food markets are better nourished compared to their counterparts residing in more remote areas, their weights are also subject to considerable seasonality. Research results documented the impacts of season on household nutrition. Three main pathways through which season affects household nutritional status are an increase in morbidity during the rainy season, a decrease in food availability during the pre-harvest season, and fluctuating demand for female labor and its impacts on caring practices. Hirvonen et al (2015) studied the seasonality of household diets in Ethiopia and reported the presence of seasonal fluctuations in household diets in terms of both the quantity of calories and the number of different food groups consumed. Households consume less calories in the lean season (June and July), but the diet diversity score increases towards the end of the lean season (July). This is not true in some parts of the country since the harvesting season is different in different parts of the country. It is also difficult to generalize since the type of food items produced and consumed varies by agro-ecology and food habit of the community. Feed the Future Ethiopia, Growth through