Agropastoralists under the threat of ecological and economic changes

Korahe Agropastoral Livelihood Zone (Sorghum and Cattle and Shoats)

Sheygosh, Kebri‐dahar and Dobowein Districts of , Somali National Regional State,

Dagah-bour Zone

Sheygosh

Fik Zone

Warder Zone

Kebri‐dahar

Korahe Zone

Gode Dobowein Zone Shilabo

Faafan Valley Agropastoral LZ (sorghum and cattle) / Korahe Pastoral LZ (Camel, shoats, cattle) Lowland Pastoral LZ (Camel, shoats & Birkad dependent)

An HEA Baseline Study By SC‐UK, DPPB and Partners March, 2004

Sponsored by USAID/OFDA and ECHO, with additional financial support from SC‐Canada and WFP

Assessment Team

Name of the participant Position Organization Role Abdi‐fatah Ahmed Ismail FSA SC‐UK, Technical assistance and Report write‐up Abdul‐Ilah Ugas ZFSO SC‐UK, Korahe Team‐leader Mohamed Dahir A. Kadir ZFSO SC‐UK, Warder Team member Hassen Mohammed EW Expert DPPD, Korahe Team member Kafi Mohamed Garuf EW Expert DPPD, Warder Team member

LZ 11 Korahe Agropastoral i Table of Contents

Assessment Team...... i Table of Contents...... ii Figures, Tables & Maps ...... iii Terms and Acronyms ...... iv 1. Executive Summary ...... 5 2. Introduction ...... 7 2.1 Purpose of the study ...... 7 2.2 Methodology...... 8 3. Background ...... 9 3.1 Geographical location of Korahe...... 9 3.2 Agro Ecology, Geology, & Water...... 9 3.3 History ...... 18 3.4 Population ...... 21 3.5 Infrastructure & Social Services ...... 21 3.6 Other Activities in the Zone...... 31 3.7 Other issues in the Zone...... 32 3.8 Livelihood Zones in the Administrative District...... 33 4. Food Economies...... 36 4.1 The Livelihood Zone...... 36 4.2 Historical Timeline...... 38 4.3 Seasonal ...... 41 4.4 Other information particular to the LZ ...... 42 4.5 Wealth Breakdown...... 50 4.6 Food Sources in the Reference Year...... 52 4.7 Income Sources in the Reference Year...... 53 4.8 Expenditure Patterns in the Reference Year ...... 54 4.9 Current Situation...... 56 5. Vulnerabilities, Risks & Coping...... 58 6. Indicators to monitor...... 60 7. Conclusions & Recommendations...... 62 7.1 Conclusions...... 62 7.2 Recommendations...... 62 8. References...... 64 9. Appendices...... 65 9.1 HEA Methodology...... 65 9.2 Note on Somali Traditional Calendar...... 68 9.3 List of Kebeles in Korahe Agropastoral Livelihood Zone ...... 70 9.4 Other Information ...... 71

LZ 11 Korahe Agropastoral ii Figures, Tables & Maps

Figure 1 ‐ Population Distribution of LZ 11 per District...... 36 Figure 2 ‐ Seasonal Calendar for Korahe Agropastoral LZ ...... 41 Figure 3 ‐ Wealth Groups in Korahe Agropastoral LZ...... 50 Figure 4 ‐ Food Sources for all Wealth Groups in Korahe Agropastoral LZ...... 52 Figure 5 ‐ Food Basket for all Wealth Groups in Korahe Agropastoral LZ...... 53 Figure 6 ‐ Income Totals for all Wealth Groups in Korahe Agropastoral LZ...... 53 Figure 7 ‐ Income Sources for all Wealth Groups in Korahe Agropastoral LZ ...... 54 Figure 8 ‐ Expenditure Totals for all Wealth Groups in Korahe Agropastoral LZ ...... 54 Figure 9 ‐ Expenditure Pattern for all Wealth Groups in Korahe Agropastoral LZ ...... 55 Figure 10 ‐ Proportional Expenditure on Food for all Wealth Groups in Korahe Agropastoral LZ ...... 55 Figure 11 – Prices and Terms of Trade in Kebridahar Market (2001 – 2003)...... 76

Table 1 ‐ Livelihood Zones in Korahe Administrative Zone...... 34 Table 2 ‐ Coverage of Korahe Agropastoral LZ...... 36 Table 3 ‐ Historical Timeline for Korahe Agropastoral LZ...... 39 Table 4 ‐ Seasonal rivers important for flood recession farming ...... 44 Table 5 ‐ Wealth Characteristics...... 50 Table 6 ‐ Vulnerabilities, Risks & Coping Strategies per Wealth Group ...... 58 Table 7 ‐ Monitoring Indicators for Korahe Agropastoral LZ...... 60 Table 8 ‐ Permanent water sources in Korahe zone ...... 71 Table 9 ‐ Chronically water insecure areas of Korahe Zone...... 72 Table 10 ‐ The medical staff of Kebri‐dahar Hospital ...... 73 Table 11 ‐ Endemic human diseases and their seasonality...... 73 Table 12 ‐ Endemic livestock diseases and their seasonality ...... 74 Table 13 ‐ Distribution of schools by grade in Korahe zone...... 75

Map 1 – Livelihood Zones in Korahe administrative Zone...... 35

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Terms and Acronyms

ACF Action Contre La Faim Flooding of the agricultural plains inside the Fafan valley by the Fafan River, when Banjab the flood flow covers the Korahe bridge for 24 consecutive hours Biile A grass species that mostly grows in grazing plains and flat lands Cemented water reservoir commonly dug in the areas with no permanent water Birkad sources; Candhoqoys The major part of the gu rains A land dominantly formed by red sand soils and with thick vegetation and grassy Ciid plains. Mostly no permanent water sources, so birkads are the main water sources; One of the most important grass species that sustains the livestock across the dry Dareemo season when there are sufficient rains to grow it in the wet season Deyr The short rainy season between October and December Dhijaamo Water catchment (also garbooyin) A prominent grass species that mostly grows in flood prone river banks and river Dhikil beds of valley areas and is used by livestock as a feed A land featured by white and stony soils mostly composed of white rock soil (chalk Dibir stone soil), mostly with grazing quality grasses. It is known for its highly saline water and the growth of acacia trees. Doox Lower altitude valley area, relatively hotter, mostly suitable for agricultural use Dul An area in a plateau land that has a higher altitude and is mostly windy and cooler DWC Dabatag Wild life conservation ECHO European Commission Humanitarian Office LZ Livelihood Zone Garbooyin Water catchment (also dhijaamo) A dominant form of social support used for mass cultivation, weeding and Goob harvesting, mainly practiced by better off households who can afford it. Gu The major rainy season between early April and June Hagaa The short dry season between July and September Horwayn The very active and mobile group of the livestock herd Irman The lactating animals of the xaas group Jilaal /Qoraxeed The major dry season between late December and March Laaso Shallow well Miigayn Style of planting crops or sowing seeds with a pointed peg‐like stick. Maxaansugi Instant germinating grass species that fades soon after the rains break for a few days Nugul Livestock vulnerable to drought (sheep and cows) OFDA USAID Office for Foreign Disaster Assistance Sariir 0.5 hectare (also Tuuryo) SC‐UK Save the Children‐UK TTI Teachers’ Training Institute? Tuuryo 0.5 hectare (also Sariir) USAID United States Agency for International Development WFB World Food Programme Xaas Less mobile part of the herd, mainly lactating, old, weak and very young animals

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1. Executive Summary

This report aims to provide a baseline of socio‐economic information for the population living in the Korahe Agropastoral Livelihood Zone. It is one of a number of baseline studies jointly carried out in by Save the Children UK and the Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Bureau (DPPB) of Somali National Regional State (SNRS), Ethiopia, intended to improve food security monitoring and early warning.

The Korahe Agropastoral Livelihood Zone falls mainly in the plains along the Fafaan River valley. It is fairly central within the Somali Region, and borders the Lowland Hawd Pastoral Livelihood zone to the east, the Degahbur Agropastoral Livelihood Zone to the north, and the Korahe‐Gode Pastoral Livelihood Zone to the west. Nugul species (vulnerable to drought) are reared mostly ‐ sheep and goats (shoats) and cattle; however some camels are kept by better‐off households. Sorghum and some maize are cultivated by means of flood‐recession and rain‐fed farming. Flood‐recession crop production takes place predominantly in the Fafaan River valley (serving Kebridahar and Dobowein Districts mostly), which flood waters come from the north‐west of Jijiga Zone (although deepening gullies which limit flooding are a threat); other seasonal river floods are also used, but crop production there is more vulnerable to local rainfall failure. Rain‐fed farming is less prevalent and is vulnerable to rainfall failure. Sorghum is grown in preference to maize: it is more drought‐resistant and higher‐yielding than maize. Goob is the main form of social support for farming activities.

In normal years migration does not involve leaving the Fafaan River valley. Even in bad years migration tends to remain within the zone, as further afield pasture is distant and uncertain, and the travel itself would be detrimental to already weakened livestock and people.

Land is owned individually but socially managed by the clan. Water is mostly accessed through the seasonal rivers, wells in the Fafaan river bed and birkads (artificial concrete surface water reservoirs). Sheygosh and southern/south‐eastern Dobowein are vulnerable to water shortages: Sheygosh has only two permanent boreholes; all other water sources are seasonal.

Purchase of cereals and sugar, own crop production and food aid are the main food sources; poor families also receive gifts. Livestock sale is the main income source for all wealth groups, and the main expenditure is food purchase.

Kebridahar town has the biggest market, linked to Bosaso for imported goods, to Bura’o for food and to Mogadishu and Hargeisa to a lesser extent. Other important markets are Shilabo (linked to Dagahbour), Dobowein and Sheygosh towns. Sorghum comes from Balatweyn and Qansaxdhere (Somalia) in bad years. Livestock market trade is mostly for local consumption, but irregular trade with traders from Somalia and Kenya is also important. The Gulf livestock ban has had a negative impact on demand and prices.

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The main constraints to productivity include poor traditional crop growing practices, the absence of extension services, gully erosion, diseases and pests. Livestock production is constrained by disease, increasing predator attacks and recurrent droughts limiting pasture and water availability. Markets have been seriously affected by the livestock ban and other cross‐border trade constraints.

The reference year for this study was April 2002 – March 2003, described as a below‐ normal year. Although the gu rains were below normal, flood‐recession crop production was near normal as the Fafaan and other seasonal river floods came from gu rains further afield. The deyr rains were very late and insufficient. The low rainfall meant that rain‐fed production failed entirely, and pasture and water availability was poor. Consequently there was livestock and population movement to Warder, Gode, Nogobyaray, and Shinile of Danan. Overall crop production was about 50% of normal, and unusually high numbers of livestock were sold as a coping strategy. Generally poor and lower‐middle income groups had to rely on loans, gifts and food aid to meet their food needs.

Drought, livestock disease, market fluctuations, crop failure and human disease are the main risks for this population. Main responses include having diversified livestock holdings, livestock migration and splitting, and selling crops and livestock when marketing opportunities are good. Poor households also engage in gum and firewood collection and seek support from relatives.

Access to health services is poor throughout the zone: there is one clinic in each of Dobowein, Shegosh and Shilabo District towns, and 13 health posts dispersed throughout the rest of the zone; there are shortages of essential drugs and trained staff and poor levels of equipment. There are no livestock health facilities in the zone. Access to education is poor, with insufficient schools, particularly above primary level, poor facilities and poor teacher attendance/quality. Communications are poor: only Kebridahar town has reasonable telephone services, Shilabo town has very limited telephone services, and the rest of the zone no telephone services at all. The main road in the zone is the Gode – Dagahbour road, which is in poor condition; the rest are seasonal feeder roads. Kebridahar town has electricity for 6 hours a day.

At the time of the study poor deyr rains had resulted in a below normal food security situation: poor crop performance, pasture and water availability and poor livestock production and significant livestock migrations (although still within the zone), were compounded by high cereal prices and low livestock prices in most areas. People and livestock had to trek long distances to get water, and many households had reduced both quantity and number of meals, and resorted to bush product collection and seeking credit.

The main recommendations include the introduction of modern agricultural inputs and practices, improvement of water harvesting and soil/gully erosion control mechanisms, improved health and veterinary services, development of irrigation systems, improved predator control, asset‐building, and improving market access and price‐stabilising mechanisms.

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2. Introduction 2.1 Purpose of the study

In the past there has been a chronic scarcity of socio‐economic baseline information in Somali Region, which has made it very difficult for decision makers (Government, aid agencies and donors) to make decision on both short‐term and long‐term interventions. On occasions, such as the 1999/2000 drought, this inability to make quick decisions has had catastrophic consequences for the people of the Region. In an attempt to prevent such occurrences in the future, a project aimed at improving the Food Security Monitoring and Early Warning (FS/EW) capacity of the Region was established. This project is a joint effort by Save the Children–UK (SC‐UK) and the Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Bureau (DPPB) of Somali National Regional State (SNRS), Ethiopia1. The objective of the pilot phase of the project was to collect baseline information on livelihoods and develop a workable model for food security monitoring that will be built into government structures throughout the Region in Phase II

This report is one of 13 other Household Economy baseline assessment reports that have been produced by the project, during the periods of September‐October 2001 and January‐March 2002. Participating organisations in these baseline assessments included: DPPB (together with all DPPD offices), SC‐UK, WFP, SC‐USA, ACF, HCS, PCAE, OWS, OWDA and Al‐Najah Charity. The baseline exercise comprised of classroom training, three weeks of fieldwork and one week of analysis and write‐up.

Based on a reference or typical year, baseline reports were compiled for households belonging to the specific Livelihood Zone (LZ). The reports provide both qualitative and quantitative information on the normal mode of survival and the vulnerabilities of the different livelihood groups found in the Region, as well as information on how they respond to crises. These reports supply decision makers with useful information to make informed decisions, which will facilitate timely and appropriate responses and prevent possible disasters. The information also sheds light on longer‐term food security issues and can therefore help in the planning of development initiatives.

The information contained in this baseline study is specifically useful for humanitarian and development actors working in food, water and in human and livestock health sectors. The information will be a useful input for planning both emergency responses and development interventions in the areas covered by this livelihood zone.

1 The Food Security Monitoring and Early Warning (FS/EW) Project, in Somali Region, Ethiopia, is a joint undertaking by Save the Children

– UK and the Regional Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Bureau. USAID/OFDA and ECHO fund the pilot phase (Year 1) of the project. Additional financial support was received from SC‐Canada and WFP. Partners in the baseline exercise included: WFP, ACF, SC‐

USA, HCS, PCAE, Al‐Nejah Charity, OWDA, LVIA, and the Government Bureau of Livestock Environment and Crop Development.

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2.2 Methodology

The Household Economy Approach (HEA) has been used as the assessment and analysis tool for the baseline studies. This Approach provides a rapid food security assessment technique and has been used by SC‐UK for a number of years in parts of Africa and Asia. For a brief introduction to the Household Economy Approach please refer to Appendix 9.1. For further details refer to “The Household Economy Approach: A resource manual for practitioners” by John Seaman, Paul Clarke, Tanya Boudreau, and Julius Holt.

The sample taken as the basis of this study was twelve villages/sites that have been visited by the team for an interview. In every village/site, an initial key informants’ interview with elders (4‐6) of different wealth backgrounds was taken as a preliminary step to study the overall view of the household economy and make a wealth categorization for the different socio‐economic groups. This was followed by three focus group interviews conducted separately with representatives of existing (locally defined) socio‐economic groups – poor, middle and better‐off. Interview sessions were often gender balanced in the sense that nearly half of the interviewees were women. Representatives from each wealth group were asked about information pertaining to the livelihood of the socio‐economic group they represent. The respondents for each socio‐ economic group were initially identified by the key informants and then carefully checked by the interviewers to ensure that the right interviewees are selected. Villages which fell into the same livelihood zone were selected and the selection based mainly on representativeness. The villages selected for interview should be distributed across the livelihood zone to ensure a geographical balance.

The sources of population figures, altitude and rainfall figures are from emergency and development related reports (by ACF for instance) made by various agencies (NGOs and government) and for various purposes. However, the sources are also agencies like the central statistics authority, Meteorological Agency and Ethiopian mapping authority.

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3. Background 3.1 Geographical location of Korahe

Korahe administrative Zone is one of the nine Zones of the Somali Regional State. The Zone borders with Dagah‐bour Zone in the north, Warder in the north‐east, Somalia’s Hiran Region in the east, Gode Zone in the south and Fik in the West. Korahe Zone is constituted by four districts namely: Kebri‐dahar, Dobowein, Shilabo and Sheygosh which have population levels descending in that order. Kebri‐dahar town is the administrative headquarters of the Zone lies 370 km from Jijiga, the Regional capital, in the south. The Zone covers about 32,550 km2 (source: SHAAC metrological and hydrological services).

Dobowein is situated in the southern side of the Zone while Shilabo is in the eastern side, bordering with Regions of Somalia. Kebri‐dahar which remains the largest district both in population and geographical aspects encloses the western side, with large parts of the administrative territory falling into the centre of the Zone. Kebri‐dahar borders stretching up to Warder’s district and to Gode’s Danan district in the north and south‐west respectively. Sheygosh is in the north‐western periphery of the Zone where it neighbours Fik Zone in the west, Dagah‐bour in the north and Kebri‐dahar district in the eastern and south‐eastern directions.

3.2 Agro Ecology, Geology, & Water

Altitude & Climate Korahe is a low land semi‐arid Zone with an average rainfall ranging from 300mm to 400mm during normal years. Annual temperatures vary from 22 C in the coolest months of the year to 34C (source: ACF, Korahe) in the hottest months (during the kaliil‐ late March to early April and late August to early October).

The ciid areas, which mainly fall in Shilabo district and north‐eastern Kebri‐dahar, contain the highest elevations within the Zone and hence are relatively windier and cooler than other parts across the year. This is attributed to the higher altitude which allows unhindered circulation of air compounded by the effect of the red sand soils that naturally don’t absorb sunlight and hence don’t build up atmospheric temperature at ground level. Contrary to this are the agricultural plains in the doox (valley) depressions, better known as the Fafan valley, which are normally the hottest parts of Korahe throughout the year. As these doox areas are the lowest points by altitude and hence allow little flow and circulation of air, they remain hot and stuffy for most of the year. Another ecological factor, which partially explains why such areas are hotter than other parts of the Zone, is that the predominantly black clay soils characteristically absorb heat and thereby increase the level of temperature at ground level atmosphere. The doox areas cover large parts of Sheygosh, Kebri‐dahar and Dobowein districts and are normally the home for the agropastoral communities in the Zone.

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Rainfall & Water Sources Rainfall patterns and seasons of the year Within the context of a rain‐fed economy where both crop and livestock production performance is mainly determined by such variable factors as the onset, the amount and the duration of rainfall which is subject to fluctuations from one season to the other and from one year to the next as per the existing climatic conditions and seasonal weather patterns, the household food security situation is a consequence of such variations in rainfall condition and hence comprises a level of uncertainty. This implies that variations in the levels of food and income at household level are almost inevitable in different parts of the year. In the light of this, studying the seasons within the year and the production and consumption influencing factors is one of the initial steps towards a thorough understanding of the seasonal changes in the household access to food and income and hence to the normal ups and downs of household livelihood across the year. Besides, this can be an instrument to shed light on periods in which households are most vulnerable due to seasonal shifts in the livelihood picture as a result of the influence of uncontrollable underlying factors. Therefore, looking into the seasonal circumstances that surround the pastoral and agropastoral households as the season changes within the year may provide an insight into the potential opportunities and constraints in relation to access to food and income caused by these periodic changes in production due to climatic and seasonal factors.

Regarding the climatic situation within Korahe, the year is broken down into four seasons, two of which are the gu and the deyr, the wet seasons of the year, with the first being the major rainy season. Contrary to these wet seasons are the jilal which is the long dry season and the hagaa, the short dry spell of the year. The traditional year begins with the gu, starting in April and ending in June, followed by the hagaa (the short dry season) which runs from July throughout September. Then there comes, in October, the short rainy season, the deyr, and continues until late December after which the long dry season sets in and stretches to the end of March. This marks the end of not only the long dry spell but also the end of the traditional production year.

The wet season is normally the period in which quality pasture and water are most accessed. During this period, milk production is consistent, investment bearing activities are undertaken (e.g. restocking), household assets grow, social life is intense and the community develops. Therefore, as gu is normally the most important production season both in crop and livestock circles, it remains the one whose poor performance or failure affects pastoral/agropastoral livelihoods most through reducing or failing livestock production and crop yields, leading to reduced access to food and income at household level. The gu relieves the effects of the long dry season, the jilal, through establishing resources for recovery and prepares the communities to face the next dry period, the hagaa.

Deyr plays a complementary role to the production impact by the gu (dayri wuxuu gu bixiyay ayay ku faantaa‐ deyr claims as its own the resources established by the gu) as it often extends and refreshes the pastures grown under the gu season. Consequently, the status of pastures and water availability under the gu carries over to affect the performance of the subsequent deyr season. Therefore, deyr supplements the economic

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and social life shaped under the gu. Under normal circumstances, gu is usually characterized by longer duration of rains than the deyr (heavy rains in April and May, with little showers in June) and therefore results in a better impact in terms of pasture regeneration, water replenishment, crop production enhancement and stabilizing and normalizing population mobility. In a normal deyr season, rains are heaviest in October and the first half of November, with only little or no rains in December.

The gu rains are distinguished by the time they arrive (which month) and which part of the season they fall in. The first gu rains that come as early as March (the end of March ― kaliil) are locally known as todob rains while those coming at the usual starting time of the gu (April) are normally called candhoqys rains. These candhoqys rains are normally the main gu rains and usually continue till May after which the hays rains of the gu arrive in early June. Neither the todob nor the hays rains are as frequent as the candhoqys rains and their impact is not as important as that of the candhoqoys rains, which are the most important and production‐determining rains of the season. In a season where the candhoqys rains fail, pastoral/agropastoral feed (for livestock) and food (for humans) crisis is more likely to happen unless the hays rains turn out with exceptional intensity, coverage, frequency and duration. A very good candhoqoys rains in the first month of the season, will probably result in the replenishment of sufficient grazing for livestock but not crop production since crops will suffer from moisture stress at fruiting stage. May coincides with the fruiting stage, by which point the physiological moisture requirement of crop plants is normally at its peak. Hence the rains in the first and the second months of the rainy seasons (April and May in the case of the gu and October and November in the deyr) are the most decisive for crop production as they support the most crucial crop stages, namely vegetative plant growth (in the first month) and fruiting stage (in the second month). This reflects the need for regular and stable rains with a sufficient duration for crop production in this critical period of the season, without which normality of the food security situation remains unlikely.

Water sources Water is accessed through wells, seasonal rivers and birkads in the ciid areas of the Zone. In Kebri‐dahar district, Dobowein and some parts of Sheygosh, the Fafan seasonal river is the most important source of water for the pastoral and agropastoral population in and around the Fafan valley. This River provides water in two ways. In the wet season, livestock uses the water retained in the water catchments in the River basin, though in some areas water is obtained through shallow wells (laaso) that are dug in the river bed. In the dry season, however, semi‐deep wells that exist in and around the river are the main sources of water for the populations in Dobowein, Kebri‐dahahar and parts of Sheygosh. During the wet season, a relatively less important source of water is the natural ponds that usually get exhausted within days or weeks in the absence of recharging rains. Boreholes, even though less in number, play a major role in accessing water for major towns but for some few villages as well. These include Shilabo, Kebri‐ dahar, Sheygosh, and Wijiwaji towns and Galadid, Dawacale, Calen, Jidhacle and Lasole villages. These boreholes are frequently subject to technical failures and because of the unavailability of timely maintenance services, any major breakdown sparks difficult water shortages. This is more serious in Shilabo and Sheygosh, based on the population

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that could be affected, and the availability of alternative water sources in the event of a borehole breakdown.

Depending on their duration within the year, the population they serve and the circumstances affecting them, water sources are classified under three categories, namely: permanent sources, seasonal sources and birkads. Within the context of Korahe Zone, these mainly comprise hand dug wells and boreholes. Permanent water sources serve large populations and last throughout the year unless there are unusual disruptions ‐ technical or mechanical breakdown in the case of a borehole, for instance. Seasonal water sources serve the communities for parts of the year, mainly the wet season, and in some places the early part of the dry season. This is constituted by ponds, water catchments in the basins of seasonal rivers, seasonal streams and small shallow wells (laaso). Seasonal water sources normally dry up for some parts of the year under circumstances of both normal and poor rainfall. Birkads have been treated as a separate category here because annual water provision depends on the status of rainfall and the population using them in different parts of the year (other parameters are the number of birkads in given location and the volume of water each can hold). So, if the rainfall condition is normal, birkads in the ciid areas are recharged well and sustain the local population up to the next rainy season in the absence of external pressures like overpopulation. If, however, the rainfall pattern falls below normal, the birkad dependent areas are some of the worst affected areas of the zone by water shortage. This is why we, in this baseline, included them in areas that are chronically water insecure.

Table 7 in Appendix 9.4 presents the permanent water sources in all the districts of Korahe zone and their direction and distance from the main central town of each district.

Wijiwaji and Sheygosh areas largely depend on their individual boreholes that sustain not only the local urban population but also the rural one which shifts more towards these boreholes in the dry season after the seasonal boreholes dry up. In situations where the borehole breaks down, the Wijiwaji communities shift to relying on Darmi and Biyokhadhaadhe (seasonal wells in the Fafan river basin) travelling a distance of 42‐ 54 km for a round trip. These seasonal wells, however, are not very productive and hence expose the population to serious water problems in the dry season in the event of a local borehole breakdown (one well takes 1 hour to supply 20 litres of water in the wet season but this time doubles in the dry season, particularly from mid to late jilal and hagaa).

In Gomar, the population normally depends on the Karaab wells in the river basin and is about 24 km for a round trip. These wells fully suffice the local population in the wet season but will normally sustain only the human population in the dry season. This shifts the livestock population to Sheygosh borehole in these times. A new borehole is under construction in Gomar. The water catchments and shallow wells in the Fafan river basin can sustain the local population for the first two months of the wet season but only in normal years where bi‐annual rainfall cycles are bring normal precipitations.

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Water salinity as a major social problem Water salinity is increasingly becoming a noticeable problem in many social circles, particularly among the communities in the dibir areas of the zone. Many water sources mostly in the dibir areas of Shilabo, Kebri‐dahar and Dobowein, which are strategic water sources for the pastoral and agropastoral livestock herds, contain high concentrations of salines that rise to hazardous levels as the ground water table declines during the dry season. The saline composition of such water wells have worsened under the last few years which have not seen particularly good rains and which have consequently resulted in a serious decline of the water table and decrease in water productivity of the wells. As per the reports of the experts in the health sector, the high water salinity is the potential cause of high blood pressure and is the cause of increasing miscarriages among pregnant women.

Chronically water insecure areas of the Zone Water scarcity in many villages and towns of Korahe is a chronic cause of concern during the water crisis in the dry season, even in normal years. Sheygosh district is chronically one of the most water insecure areas of the zone in the event of borehole breakdown. This means that the population in the district will slide into an emergency water situation when a borehole breaks down. This is more serious in the dry season where the few alternative sources mostly dry up or at least deteriorate to very poor levels. This means that when a borehole breaks down, spare parts have to be available and repairing facilities have to be quick. In any situations where this does not happen, a quick response action is needed to fill the vacuum by launching a water tankering intervention.

In Kebri‐dahar district, the whole of the northern and north‐eastern parts, which are normally the birkad dependent parts of the Zone, become exposed to water shortages in years where the seasonal rains perform poorly in these areas and fail to recharge the birkads fully. Another situation where these areas can slip into water shortage is when they receive exceptionally better rainfall than other parts and the available water gets quickly depleted thanks to livestock concentration and overpopulation due to movements from other areas. These areas are areas mostly called the Banaan range lands of Korahe. In the doox areas of the district, maracaato, Karinbilcile and Fooljeex are commonly known as areas with water problems.

In Dobowein district, the south‐eastern, the southern and south‐western areas are commonly the most chronically water insecure areas of the district. These areas mostly do have shallow wells that support the population during normal years. In normal circumstances, these shallow wells are sufficient to sustain the whole population in the rainy season and only the human population in the dry season. In times of poor rainfall, however, the water salinity of these wells reaches high levels, as the water level declines and therefore turns risky for human consumption.

Districts most affected by water shortages are Shilabo, Kebri‐dahar and Dobowein. All the ciid areas of the Shilabo and northern and north‐eastern Kebri‐dahar are very vulnerable to water shortages, but only in circumstances when the seasonal rainfall patterns fall below normal. This normally results in insufficient recharging of the birkads

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which are the only available source of water for the communities in the ciid areas. In normal years, the situation remains different with birkads recharged up to their brim by the rains in the wet season. Table 8 in Appendix 9.4 presents the chronically water insecure areas of the Zone, including the birkad dependent areas which are included in this category only under circumstances of below normal rainfall.

Prominent grass species and livestock feed during normal years There are three types of grass species (dareemo, biile and dhikil –the latter is only found in flood prone river beds) that are the most common feed for livestock during normal years. Though these grass species may not grow equally under the same ecological conditions, and vary not only in palatability but also in spatial and temporal availability, they collectively represent, from the view‐point of livestock herders, the best feed package without which circumstances will turn into a looming crisis that in turn eventually causes population instability due to stress livestock feed shortage. In the early stages of the wet season, a lot of feed plant species become available for livestock consumption —maxaansugi grass species for instance — but later disappear or die gradually after the dry and hot winds start early in the dry season. The dareemo, dhikil and biile grass species are normally precious grazing resources that sustain livestock across the dry season and hence whose availability will affect livestock most in every circumstance regarding pasture condition. Duration of growth is normally long and the moisture required is high, unlike the browse vegetation, and some of the instantly germinating grass species like maxaansugi which appear and bloom immediately after the rains start, but also diminish to nothing soon after the rains end. So in drought or bad years livestock mortality is caused through pasture shortages (this is one of the many causes of livestock mortality) because of insufficient moisture to grow these plant species. Therefore, one of the prominent features that distinguish bad years from normal years when it comes to pasture condition is the physical availability and distribution of such grass species in sufficient amounts.

The second most important plant feed for livestock, particularly for camel and shoats (“browsers”) is the browse, the general name for all plant leaves palatable to livestock as a normal feed. Browse grows more quickly than sustainable grazing as it requires less water and time to replenish, but also dies sooner as the dry season sets in. Grazing vegetation like the grass species mentioned earlier is resistant to the heat and seasonal winds. During normal years, browse sustains the browsers throughout the wet season and in some cases the earliest months of the dry season but in the middle and latter parts of the dry season browse no longer plays such prominent role, though it may still be available in a dry form after trees shed their leafs (Xaab). Thus, grazing is the most important livestock feed thereafter not only for cattle and sheep called the nugul species but also for camel and goats. Then, with the circumstantial combination of grazing and browse, the whole season is secured with sufficient pasture at hand for all livestock species.

Pastoral rangelands in Korahe Zone Ilo: Ilo remains pasture land with no wells. It is characterised by rocky land, plains, and areas with tall trees. It is mostly used by the horwayn movement of the pastoral households, particularly camels. This is an area with pasture reserves which becomes

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populated largely by camels in difficult times when pastures are depleted or not sufficiently generated in the nearby rangelands.

Qaali: This is a pasture land characterised by red soils, small hills and plains. It contains grassy areas where camels can give birth in the wet season. It is normally used by the horwayn group of camel‐raising communities. Although Qaali is a normal camel grazing area for some of the populations in Sheygosh and northern Kebri‐dahar, it is more widely used in difficult times.

Dagah‐madoe: It is mountainous and hilly but with small plains. Grasses and other pastures are found. There is no water except natural ponds. Seasonal settlements of the horwayn populations are established once in a while, particularly in the wet season when access to water through natural ponds is possible.

Dulqabow: The land is characterised by hilly areas with tall trees, grasses and other pastures. It has a mix of black soils and rocks and is devoid of any water at all. It is a dry grazing area often used in times of difficulty by the pastoral horwayn movement. It is a pasture reserve area in which camel congestion is more likely when pastures are really scarce in normal rangelands. There are no permanent settlements.

Banaan: The land is flat with red sand soils and a thick vegetative cover of a variety of tree and grass species. It forms part of the ciid areas that fall in the territory of Kebri‐ dahar district. There are no wells at all but birkads (cemented water reservoirs) are the basic water source. Villages are situated near the birkads (e.g. Gabogabo, Jiic, laandheer, Toonceelay, Garwaan, Harero qawar). Village settlements and the horwayn group of pastoral households are the common users of this rangeland.

Holhol/Babaleys: Black and red soils are predominant in the areas within this pastoral rangeland. There are small trees, grassy hills, some plains and natural ponds. Pastoral households stay back with the irman (milking animals) and the xaas (the old and very weak) livestock.

Nogobyaray: Chalk stone soil (dibir), seasonal water streams and various types of natural incense (Foox, Malmal, xabag) are found here. Grasses are mostly comprised of the dareemo grass species. This area is populated by the horwayn group of the pastoral households. There are no permanent villages at all.

Hud: A land of mixed, fine soil, locally known as suubaan, mostly with short trees and grass plains. The presence of wells, settlements and pastoral areas is common. It hosts the movement of the horwayn group, and is where the livestock gives birth. Horwayn and some villagers are often present.

Faaf/Dobowein: This land is dominated by black soils, appropriate for farm land, and hence is the home for the flood recession farming in Kebri‐dahar and Dobowein districts. So it is mostly populated by the agropastoralists. There are some village settlements. The land is dominated by vast grass plains and short shrubs, more suitable for the production of nugul livestock species ‐ cattle and sheep. Livestock also gives birth here.

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During the wet season, this place is a haven for the pastoral herds scared by the biting flies in the forest areas (Qaniin‐ dhuug & Baalcad).

Goglo: This area contains red soils with thick vegetation cover and is known for the availability of grazing and various other pastures. Seasonal settlements of the pastoral groups are established around this pastoral rangeland in some parts of the year. Some permanent villages are nearby. There are permanent wells here. This rangeland is used by both by Irman and horwayn livestock. In difficult times, the area becomes highly populated due to its pasture reserves.

Xero‐xun: Xero‐xun is particularly known for its water scarcity in the dry season. In the wet season, some seasonal settlements are established by pastoral households. During this time, both the irman and the horwayn groups of all species are present in considerable numbers. In the dry season, however, the horwayn groups, particularly of the camel herds, may stay and graze in this area. This is so because access to water will normally require long distance movement which is particularly dangerous for shoats and the cattle species. It is a livestock birth‐giving area during the wet season. There are no permanent villages and no water availability. Mixed soil, mostly red, is dominant and it is considered part of the ciid areas.

Toomo/Doolo: Doolo is characterized by its red soil, few deep wells and the high importance of birkads as a source of water. Tall acacia trees, grasses and other dense vegetation is commonly found in most parts. There are settled populations/villages. There is no farming at all. Wild fruits are found (hohob) after good rains. Livestock gives birth here. Irman and horwayn villagers are usually present. This area is at the edge of Korahe, most of which is in Warder Zone and Somalia. It shares similar characteristics with those of the ciid areas.

Celgab: The land is dominated by mixed and red soils, small hills, short trees and grasses. There are no birkads, but there are wells and seasonal streams. Settled population and villagers are noticeable. Rain‐fed farming is practiced but to some extent only. Irman and horwayn livestock is found. This area borders with Somalia in the east.

Soil/Vegetation The vegetation cover which depends on bi‐annual rainfall cycles, the gu and the deyr, for regeneration and growth, is a mixture of grass species (dareemo, biile, maxaansugi, dhikil), enormous thorny bushes (bilcil, cadaad, waadhi etc) and tall acacia trees (qudhac, galool etc) which are normally found in different parts of the Zone, depending on the inherent characteristics and suitability of the soils in different areas to grow each individual or group of plant species. The vegetation cover remains thick in the ciid parts of the Zone, though there are open grazing rangelands that are sparsely distributed within this area. The various plant species provide livestock feed, construction material and cooking energy to the resident population of the Zone. In addition, the vegetation is generally a source of natural beauty for the environment, and provides a physical coverage for the protection of soil from winds and floods. From a scientific point of view, the vegetative cover enriches the soil, after decomposition, with organic matter that facilitates later plant regeneration and growth.

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Soils are predominantly dark clay soils with potentially high agricultural productivity in the very low plains in and around the Fafan valley. In the ciid areas of the Zone, however, red sandy soils with high water permeability are commonly found. In the Fafan valley where dark clay soils are dominant, high water retention capacity is a characteristic feature of the soil, resulting in a relatively slow release of moisture to plant roots and a consequent hoarding of water to produce run‐offs and floods. This is the underlying cause of a growing problem that is increasingly taking social and economic dimensions. Poor moisture availability for crops and for grazing plant roots has been an increasingly growing problem in the Zone since the last 6 years. Many people link the problem to the traditional rainfall uncertainty and a resultant moisture scarcity. But as reflected in the views of most insiders in the crop growing sector of Korahe, it is no more that way only. The problem is coming from another direction also‐ soil erosion. The process of low water percolation and the resultant water retention is what produces the seasonal over‐flooding. This gives rise to many seasonal streams that currently hijack the rainfall water through the formation of countless gullies everywhere in the Fafan agricultural plains.

Today, large amounts of the very water that once used to be a costless source of irrigation for many crop growing communities in Korahe are drained out into the Fafan River, leaving many crop fields and grazing plains at the mercy of moisture stress. However, the impact of this soil characteristic on the environment and on crop production is not the only one that affects the local agropastoral communities in the Zone. Because of the water retention capacity of such clay soils, seasonal water catchments in the basin of local rivers, particularly the main Fafan River, normally store the run‐off water for a reasonable time for livestock and population use in the wet season.

The high water percolation property of the soil in the ciid areas is the main reason behind the absence of significant gully erosion developments in the concerned areas. Despite, however, the apparent advantages of such soil characteristics in terms of reducing soil degradation through lowering the level of run‐off water; it poses a problem for the pastoral life when it comes to temporary water availability. It provides little opportunity for retaining flood water in natural water catchments for pastoral consumption. The ciid areas of the Zone are normally formed by a flat and even land that distributes flood water across its vast forest covered plateaus and grazing plains. Moisture quickly travels deeper due to the high water percolation capacity of the sand soil and helps in the quick replenishment of pasture through reaching the plant roots without repressive soil restriction (the moisture level at plant roots is a consequence of the rainfall condition, the water percolation property of the soil and the atmospheric temperature). This explains the existence of thick vegetation cover in the ciid areas of the Zone, commonly known as hawd (densely forested pastoral land).

Among the remaining soils, the most common remains the type found in the dibir areas, a land feature manifested by a soil composed of white and rocky parent material (chalk stone soil). This type of soil favours the growth of tall acacia trees and the dareemo grass species, making its areas more suitable for camel and shoat production. Areas that

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connect the ciid to the doox and the western hilly areas of Kebri‐dahar district (Nogobyaray) are mostly formed by the dibir rangelands. These dibir flanks are a haven of lavish grazing for the pastoral and agropastoral communities mainly in the dry season but also in parts of the wet season.

The diversity of these ecological features regarding soil types and vegetation species allows the co‐existence of a variety of livelihoods in the Zone (pastoral and agropastoral) and the prominence of all livestock species (camel, cattle and shoats) in great numbers. The ciid areas are mostly suitable for rearing camel and shoats and are purely pastoral areas while the valley areas like the Fafan and its environs are a breeding haven for cattle and sheep, locally known as the nugul species as they are most vulnerable to feed and water shortages and hence to drought generally.

3.3 History

Recurrent rainfall failures and shortening drought cycle During the last 6 years, recurrent drought years have hit the Zone, triggering poor livestock and crop production through causing pasture and water shortages in the agropastoral circles. This has given rise to increased frequency of severe (e.g. 1999‐2000) and mild (e.g. 2002, 2003 and 2004) shocks, repeatedly exposing the population in the Zone to food and feed shortages. Therefore, over the years, the situation has been characterized by stressful population instability and over‐stretched asset sales, eventually resulting in asset depletion, weakened coping capacity and hence increased household vulnerability. This has generally reduced the household asset base in all livelihood areas in the zone across all socio‐economic groups. It has also forced many households to abandon their previous way of life after dropping out of their livelihood system. The worst affected communities remained the nugul (cattle and sheep) raising parts mainly along the Fafan valley, the home for the agropastoralists.

The worst affected households are the poor groups which, due to their low asset base, are the most vulnerable and exposed to such shocks. Therefore, these poor groups have been trapped into a repetitive cycle of suffering that has lasted for several years, leaving them to increasingly grow dependent on the little food aid provisions made available through regional needs assessments. The food aid package, although it has helped such vulnerable groups to make ends meet, has not done much to help save assets at household level due to the obvious lack of targeting as it is done through blanket distribution. The cumulative impact has been to remove many agropastoral households from farming through draining out the meagre resources for farming and produced pastoral drop‐outs as IDPs. These pastoral and agropastoral drop‐outs, who are mainly identified by the previous baseline by ACF (2000) as very poor groups, have ended up in the few urban centres of the Zone, living a very tough and difficult life with no basis there today. In a context where mechanisms for addressing such problems through seeking rehabilitation and social integration are absent, this adds a new burden to the already growing ills of urban life and increases competition for meagre resources among the impoverished populations.

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Livestock ban Livestock production is generally the basis of all pastoral livelihoods. Pastoralists are characteristically distinguished by their high dependence on livestock for food, income and social matters. In the Somali Region, a context which is mostly pastoral, livestock production and marketing is the most basic way of accessing food and income and hence the dominant means of survival for the larger proportion of the regional population. Therefore, both pastoralists and agropastoralists derive their subsistence income entirely or partly from livestock sales. In such a context, the effect of livestock market shocks remains high due to this high market dependence. This is, at least, something highlighted by the experience gained from the aftermath of the livestock ban which came into effect in September 2000.

The livestock ban, which was imposed on countries in East Africa due to fears of Rift Valley disease, resulted in the freezing of external markets in the Gulf of Arabia Region, causing a chaotic situation of household income erosion by reducing livestock demand and thence prices across the region. Given that livestock sales form the largest share of income in the pastoral/agropastoral context during both normal and bad years, this has been a major cause of pastoral and agropastoral crisis. The livestock ban has affected the agropastoral and pastoral communities in the Region in several respects. First, it has severely undermined the most important coping mechanism for survival during bad years without providing alternative options for survival or other market outlets. In this way, the livestock ban tightened access to income and hence food at household level, thereby increasing the income deficit and suffering by reducing essential food and non‐ food items. Secondly, it accelerated the speed of asset depletion given more livestock needed to be sold to achieve the same household income, as the prices of livestock species declined under the ban.

Thirdly, the external livestock market with neighbouring countries used to provide the resources for the import of food and non‐food items at cheaper prices. This includes sugar, soap, tea leaves, clothes and imported food grains. The closure of the gulf market caught the population in the Region between the need for sustaining normal livelihood and the grim reality of a deteriorating income position. As resources for essential imports decreased sharply in the Region and the volume of imported quantities of food and non‐food items dropped, prices of all items increased, thereby further decreasing household purchasing power in terms of the real value of income. This created a situation where everybody, if they can afford it, has to pay more money for the same quantity of goods.

And finally, the livestock ban reduced gains from the livestock trade and hence wrecked livestock market growth, sharply slowing livestock related investments and creating a general malaise of the whole regional economy. It also reduced government revenue both from taxing the imported goods during transit and from livestock sales in domestic markets.

Fake currency influence Repeated injections of fake currency from neighbouring Somalia have significantly affected the economy in the zone since the late 90s. The fact that the Zone shares a border

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with one of the most volatile and anarchic regions in Africa, makes it geographically vulnerable to this problem. Fake currency was the root cause of inflationary prices and instability that engulfed the local economy in parts of 2001, 2002 and 2003. By introducing abnormally cheaper exchange rates, many people were fooled in the pursuit of profits from currency markets and as a result suffered long‐term economic damages (e.g. one business man had lost 25000 ETB). This has generally decreased confidence in the Somali Shilling, and hence increased circulation for the Ethiopian Birr in the central markets of the Zone.

Clampdown on the cross border trade The recurrent clampdown on the cross border trade since the early parts of 2003 has been a major cause for the decline in the level of imported food items and hence the consequent increase in their prices. Besides, the crackdown established a firm but sometimes loose restriction on cross‐border trade involving livestock. These changes in the situation of imports and livestock trade have drastically affected the access to food and income by the population in the Zone. These negative affects came through the resultant increases in the prices of imported foods and non‐food items and through the decrease in the levels of income at household level simultaneously for all wealth groups. As long as the imports of essential food and non‐food items and cross border trade are considered illegal in government circles, this is a critical policy issue at least from food security perspective as both effects cause a deterioration in purchasing power and hence a decrease in food availability at household level.

Production and market shift in Kalafo The shift of Kalafo riverine groups from producing food crops (maize) to cash crops since early 2002, has severely affected the stability of the grain markets and cereal availability in the Zone. Kalafo, as a riverine area with high potentials for crop production, used to be the most important source of cereal supply for Korahe Zone (except Sheygosh district), particularly in difficult times where crop production fails in the agropastoral parts of the zone. As a result, Korahe zone slips into a serious deficiency of market food availability more quickly than usual in the event of poor crop production, let alone a crop failure. This often brings quick escalation of price rises and deterioration of purchasing power.

Closure of local money transfer facilities The closure of the various money transferring facilities that were operating in Korahe has disrupted the continuous financial flow from abroad, producing a general economic malaise in different corners of the Zone. This has resulted in declined investment in urban construction and frozen trade‐related investment. This has further affected availability of job opportunities in the construction market which used to be a considerable income source for daily labourers in the urban areas of the zone. It has also severely affected the business community through decreasing the income position of their customers, resulting in depressing the sales rate and hence income.

Growing river depth and increasing gully erosion The Fafan River and other smaller seasonal rivers are traditionally the main source of water for crop production in the flood recession farming areas in Kebri‐dahar and

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Dobowein districts. These flood recession areas are found in a long sorghum‐growing belt stretching along the Fafan valley from the Korahe plains in Kebri‐dahar to the Korahed plains in Dobowein. This traditional source of irrigation which was historically the basis of crop production since agropastoralism started in this part of the Region, is gradually dwindling as the river‐bed deepens. As the depth of the river increases, the level of flowing water also shifts downwards, reducing the kind of flooding that can benefit crop production. This is exposing the agropastoral population in both districts to increasing levels of crop failures, mainly in areas that used to benefit from the floods of the Fafan River previously. In previous times the depth of the river has been shallower. Even though the river’s depth is not the sole cause of crop failure in the area, particularly in the last five years where recurrent poor rainfall cycles have wrecked crop production and pasture growth, it is still a major factor contributing to the shortage of moisture in the farming fields. In addition to the Fafan River, this is an extensive problem experienced elsewhere in the small seasonal streams that supply water for the agropastoral communities in crop growing areas. Increasing gully erosion is a major problem also.

Local market invasion by external demand A gradual increase in sorghum demand from Somali‐land and Punt‐land into the local markets during the last three years has been causing a growing leakage of the local crop produce and the loss of the grains that used to furnish local markets to other external markets. This has triggered cereal shortages in local markets even in the event of a normal crop production in the flood recession farming areas of Dobowein and Kebri‐ dahar districts ‐ the source of the bulk of the crop production in the Zone. As a result fluctuations in the availability of basic food staples have been common since the said external markets started snatching the larger share of the local sorghum production some three years ago. 3.4 Population

3.5 Infrastructure & Social Services

Infrastructure Access to human health services Health service provision capacity is normally, among other things, defined by the service equipment (including buildings) in use, the technical quality and the quantity of staff, the quality, quantity and coverage (i.e. various drugs for various diseases) of essential drugs in hand and the working conditions and the efficiency and the commitment of the personnel. Access is determined by the physical availability of health services within someone’s reach and the access to income at household level. The level of health education of the decision‐makers of the household level (exposure to knowledge) is crucial to move people to the right direction (i.e. to go modern health centres as opposed to traditional healers) when the need arises, assuming they do have the income and the physical access to health units.

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Access to health services is poor throughout the zone, although better than it was a few years ago. The health infrastructure is generally very poor in urban areas and almost non‐existent in most rural areas. There is one clinic in each of the central towns of Dobowein, Sheygosh and Shilabo districts and one poorly equipped and staffed hospital located in the central head quarters of the zone, Kebri‐dahar. There are also about 13 health posts dispersed in the small semi‐rural towns of the zone. Shortage of essential drugs, trained staff and poor levels of equipment are among the persistent problems commonly encountered at different levels of the health units in the Zone. Generally, Sheygosh and Dobowein districts are the poorest in health infrastructure while Kebri‐ dahar remains relatively the best.

At health post level, the services provided are limited to handling cases of minor skin injuries and infections, malaria and simple communicable diseases (e.g. respiratory diseases ― pneumonia and colds― and helminthic infections). In terms of capacity, these health posts are unlikely to manage the complicated stages of the already mentioned conditions due to irregularities in the supply of essential drugs and the absence of senior technical staff. The posts are not equipped at all. Delays are often encountered in the delivery of essential drugs at these lower level health units. Therefore, health posts cannot meet the social demand for health services in areas they are located even under normal circumstances, let alone when there are outbreaks or disease epidemics. Only few supplies of anti‐biotics (Ampacillin, procaine penicillin and TTC), anti‐pyretics (mostly Aspirins and Paracetamol), Anti‐helminthic drugs (Mostly mebendazole for treating worms), some malarial drugs and materials for stitching and dressing simple wounds are available but only on an on‐and‐off basis. The lack of co‐ ordination, communication, transport and repairing services for the little equipment available are also other major problems both in the health posts and at the clinic level as well.

At hospital level, the lack of surgical services and X‐ray facilities (one X‐ray machine has been available for the last 6 years but has not yet been installed) are amongst the limitations facing a hospital that is should provide much better services, at least by national standards. Problems also include a shortage of stores for drugs and for damaged and new equipment before it goes into service, and poor ventilation of the existing stores. There are two hospitals in Kebri‐dahar, one of which is solely for the use of the national army. At hospital level, there are two senior nurses (one midwife and one clinical nurse), 16 junior nurses, 5 clinical nurses, four doctors, 3 sanitarians for environmental health and 3 junior midwives. There are 11 health assistants and senior nurses. There are 73 beds in the public Kebri‐dahar hospital. There is no incinerator for the hospital. There are insufficient staff (e.g. pharmacist, druggist, no senior laboratory technician) and equipment (there is a shortage of microscopes (only one for the malaria department and one for the hospital level)).

Table 9 in Appendix 9.4 illustrates the distribution of the medical staff of Kebri‐dahar hospital by specialization and by seniority of title.

The most common diseases in the zone are Malaria, Diarrhoea, respiratory diseases like Pneumonia, the common cold and tuberculosis and to a lesser extent helminthic

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infections. Health education campaigns are fundamental and crucially important for raising awareness and hence for improving the health status of the zonal community and this needs to be underlined as an area of priority. Table 10 in Appendix 9.4 shows endemic human diseases and their seasonality.

Access to vet services There are no livestock health facilities in the zone at all, making the livestock health sector even poorer than that of public health. First, there are no livestock clinics in any part of the zone. Secondly, there are no trained people nor the equipment to serve livestock health needs. Therefore, the role of the Office of Livestock, Crop and Natural resource development, which has the mandate of running the livestock health sector, is nominal.

The most common problems for all livestock species are external (ticks, biting flies and lice) and internal parasites (worms) and predator attacks (lion and hyena) which have been increasing in the last few years. By species, the magnitude and the nature of health problems vary depending on the type of diseases prevalent and their severity, coverage (the prevalence rate) and frequency of occurrence at a local level. According to the information given by livestock health workers, Ephemeral fever (rainy season), Anthrax and Heart water are the endemic diseases for cattle in the Zone while the case for camels is trypanosomiasis, respiratory disease complex (end of the dry season), Box (camel Box‐ following the end of the rainy season), mange (in young camel) and plant poisoning for camel. For shoats, the local endemic diseases include: contagious Caprine Pleura‐ pneumonia (CCPP in goats), Foot rot, Nairobi (sheep disease‐in the dry season), Sheep box (early in the dry season) and plant poisoning during the wet season.

These endemic livestock diseases are usually not so harmful economically during normal years. Although these diseases persist in different pastoral pockets of the Zone, they don’t usually cause significant problems at least at community level. In circumstances where, however, livestock feed shortages due to failure of rains emerge as a problem, the ensuing deterioration in physical condition and nutritional status of livestock often gives way to increasing disease incidents and rising disease trends. This may lead to outbreaks; although outbreaks can also occur through cross infection between different herds, even in the absence of unusual circumstances.

ACF has been running an animal health project in the Zone for the last few years, undertaking vaccination campaigns and treatment activities but the continuation of the project is often constrained by funding problems, and its future operations in this sector will depend on the availability of funds. Through its activities, ACF has reportedly trained about 28 paravets, some of whom had previously been trained under SERP, a government project that was phased out few years ago. After the training had been completed, each paravet was given the necessary equipment for treating livestock and a medical kit containing the most needed essential drugs in the livestock health sector of the Zone. The idea is, through treating sick animals and hence selling livestock drugs in their communities of origin, these paravets can keep themselves in business by buying new supplies for the money generated, creating job opportunities for themselves and benefiting the communities as well.

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See Appendix 9.4 for Table 11 presenting the most common endemic livestock diseases and their seasonality, by species.

Access to education Kebri‐dahar district: the areas that have schools are Malka‐afwayn, Dhuure, Cadaley, Dalad, Galadid, Nusdariiqa and Gabogabo. All of these schools are primary schools which are poorly equipped and poorly staffed. Some of these schools have been fairly well equipped initially but after years of service most of the office and classroom equipment has worn out and has not been replaced or repaired. The absence of intermediate schools is one of the biggest problems in these areas. When a student finishes the fourth grade, he/she will require the transfer to Kebri‐dahar town where they can continue their education. But because of the lack of a support mechanism to sponsor rural students in the urban areas, and because of the inability of their respective households to pay for the living costs of their children, about 90% of the students that finish the fourth grade end up staying in their villages and discontinue their education. Consequently, many of them turn to escaping to urban areas where they slip into street life.

Within Kebri‐dahar district are 11 schools, five of which are in the town and the remainder in the small towns and villages. Out of the 11 schools nine are elementary, one is a high school, and one an intermediate from grades 5‐8. In the town, there is one high school (up to grade 10), one intermediate and three elementary schools. The remaining schools, which are all elementary, are located in the following areas: Gabogabo, Dhuure, Malko‐afwayn, Xudur‐ayle, Dalad and Galadid. There are five schools in Shilabo district which are located in the following areas, namely: Shilabo town (elementary and intermediate school), Jalelo, Baliwiriri, Dhambacad and lasole (elementary schools). The schools in Jalelo and Baliwariir have been closed because of the successive rain failures causing water shortage and ensuing out‐migration of population. There are three schools in Sheygosh district (one elementary and intermediate school in the town and one elementary school in Gomar and Wijiwaji).

In Dobowein, there are three elementary schools one of which is located in Haarcad town and the remaining two being in Higloley (this is also closed because of lack of water and Haarcaaano (not operational yet as it is newly built).

One of the problems magnifying the effect of poor staffing is the apparent lack of control over the teachers. Many teachers, as reported by the grass‐root level communities, limit their teaching to private tuition, and undertake other occupations such as business whilst they continue to receive their salary without any question. One of the root causes of this problem is the obvious lack of awareness at different levels of government and in different circles of the community.

With regard to school attendance by children from different households, the children from the middle wealth groups have the highest attendance rate. In the better‐off households, the children have little chance of attending the school as most of their time is normally taken up herding livestock, whereas those from the poor households are

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engaged in income generation activities and survival issues, or they stay at home because their families can’t pay their education costs.

There are two types of schooling: one is the Koranic school and the other the academic one. The Koranic school is the dominant one and in most cases the only form of education available in most rural parts of the Zone.

See Appendix 9.4 for a table of the distribution of schools by grade in the zone.

Educational sector constraints: shortage of educational materials ‐ blackboards, desks, tables, chairs, teaching texts, etc. Most of the school buildings in Kebri‐dahar town badly need repairing as they were built under Haile Sellassie. Classes are overcrowded (75% of the students in the elementary and intermediate schools are sitting on stone stools; e.g. there are 136 students in one class in the elementary school). This creates a difficult learning environment. There is a shortage of office furniture and stationery. There is a shortage of professional teachers both in rural areas and the town, particularly in the intermediate and secondary levels (e.g. in KD town, the TTI teachers trained for teaching in the elementary schools are teaching in the intermediate and secondary schools). Transport facilities are lacking for supervision of the schools in the different areas of the Zone, and this is causing management and coordination problems. There is no financial budget at office level to fund supervision trips and coordination activities in the Zone. And finally, there is lack of access to water causing poor environmental health (e.g. all student latrines have been closed as a result of a water shortage). The lack of water and cleaners for the school has severely affected the general hygiene and environmental sanitation of the schools in the towns of the Zone.

Communication facilities Because of the climatic nature and ecological vulnerability of the Zone as a low land pastoral/agropastoral area and because of the lack of development undertakings to reduce that level of vulnerability, the population is highly exposed to recurrent shocks in the form of droughts, market and health shocks which threaten both lives and assets. In such a context, the flow of information about the changing levels of social and economic hardships, and about emerging situations of social and economic concern like unforeseen shocks, manifesting themselves in the from of disease outbreaks, droughts and clan conflicts, is vital both for emergency intervention and development ventures. This flow of information requires the use of modern technology like radios and telephone lines. The traditional system of information sharing is too slow to keep up the required pace in the face of such threats demanding prompt action.

The shortage of communication facilities in the Zone poses a problem both to development and early warning as there is poor internal connection and information flow between the different sections of the society in different areas of the Zone. The problem is made worse by the fact that the DPPD has only one radio at Zonal level, and it is fixed to only one channel that cannot move to collect information from a variety of sources depending on the need. Telephone services exist in Kebri‐dahar (200 lines) and Shilabo towns (3 lines). In Kebri‐dahar, telephone services can be accessed in many private houses in different sides of the town, and also by businesses that have recently

LZ 11 Korahe Agropastoral 25

been given private lines by the local government station without any day‐ or night‐ time restrictions. However, except during certain hours of the day, congestion is a problem. There is an expectation, according to the local ETC head, that the service will be expanded to cover the needs of the town dwellers.

Roads Roads are crucially important for development and for humanitarian intervention. Road networks improve access to markets and facilitate a better connection and social and economic interaction between the different LZs and communities within the same administrative Zones and neighbouring ones. The availability and quality of roads affect the supply of goods.

There is one central road that links the Zone to Gode in the south and to Dagah‐bour in the north‐west. This road is a gravel road that has been established by the Italian invaders some 69 years back. A similar gravel road also connects Kebri‐dahar, the capital city of the Zone to Shilabo, the eastern district of the Zone. So the gravel road is, by structure, a “Y” like where the right hand leads to Gode Zone, the left hand leading to Shilabo and the down leg of the letter leads to Dagah‐bour. Though this is the main road and the economic and social pipeline of the Zone, it suffers a number of difficulties including poor physical deterioration due to lack of repair for the last 25 years or so. The rest of the road infrastructure of the Zone is constituted by seasonal feeder roads that are effectively operational in the dry season but constrained by rains and floods thanks to seasonal streams in the wet season. In the ciid parts of the Zone (Shilabo District and the northern and north‐eastern parts of Kebri‐dahar District), the soil is dominantly red sand soil with high water permeability and so transport movement is not badly affected by weather conditions; the roads are relatively smooth and not stony at all. Improvement in the road infrastructure of the zone is vital for improving the transport flow between the different sections of the Zone and hence for improving the access to essential markets and towns.

Transport The most important form of transport is the land transport mainly in the form of freight transport which is used for public transport as well as for merchandise. There is no bus service either within the Zone or connecting to other neighbouring Zones. The flow of this type transport is very slow and uneven as a result of disruptions by a variety of factors Shilabo town has a weekly air service and Kebri‐dahar town a twice‐weekly service. The runway is rough gravel and flight delays lasting up to several weeks are common, particularly in the wet season. Every 1 to 2 years, the Kebri‐dahar air field wears out and repairs usually take at least several months if not a year before air services resume.

Marketing Cereal markets The biggest market which is in Kebri‐dahar town has grown enormously in the last few years due to the influence of the “hello cash” remittance, the high population level, and the increasing demand for diversified consumer goods. The market can supply diversified food consumption items including those locally produced and those

LZ 11 Korahe Agropastoral 26

imported from outside. Kebri‐dahar market is linked to Bosaso for importing clothes and various household items, to Bura’o for the purchase of food items, and to a lesser extent to Mogadishu (tea‐leaves and some electronic products like refrigerators which have a commercial demand at local level from emerging businesses) and Hargeisa (this market has a declining importance for the local economy except for pharmaceutical products). Kebri‐dahar town runs electricity that stays for the first six hours of the night but with irregularities and disruptions in many times of the year, and piped water, although discontinuation of water supply is a characteristic feature due to the poor condition of the wells and the machinery. A new water drilling project from the suburbs of the town is currently underway.

Other important markets in the Zone are the markets of Shilabo, Dobowein and Sheygosh towns. Shilabo and Dobowein are directly linked to Bosaso, Bura’o and Balatweyn for the purchase of imported food items while the Sheygosh market is linked to Dagah‐bour and beyond (Harta‐sheik) for food and the supply of other merchandises for household consumption. The most isolated and least commercially fed markets are those of Sheygosh and Dobowein. The location of these markets with regard to the main central roads, the convenience of these areas as transit points and trade routes, the relative poverty of the residing populations, and the poor services and poor road infrastructure are the basic root causes for their isolation.

The capacity of village level markets is small and they may only supply a few basic items like sugar, tealeaves and soap, although there are often irregularities in supply and hence prices. Such village level markets sometimes operate like a barter economy, exchanging items like sugar, tealeaves and soap with local crop produce without money changing hands but with reference to specific market prices or individually agreed prices.

Maize used to come from Kalafo during bad years but that is not the case now as the cereal trade has been pushed aside by the emergence of a cash crop trade that has been firmly established between Kalafo and Somali‐land. To fill the gap in the market, sorghum comes from Balatweyn and Qansaxdhere (in neighbouring Somalia) during bad years. However the level and regularity of supply always depends on the crop production status of the resource market and the emergence of other competing markets for their produce elsewhere. This sorghum is often consumed in Kebri‐dahar, Shilabo and Dobowein but not in Sheygosh as the latter is entirely dependent on Dagah‐bour for cereal trade and livestock marketing.

Normally the prices of imported foods and other merchandise increase slightly during the wet season, particularly in circumstances where the rains are normal or heavy, causing road blockages and hence a decline in the flow of transport operating in the cross border trade sector and thus a reduction in the supply of imported products. However, under normal circumstances, the price upsurge doesn’t exceed a certain reference boundaries depending on the status, of availability and prices history of individual product items.

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Livestock markets Kebri‐dahar is the most important livestock market in the zone. Most of the markets in the zone usually absorb limited levels of the animals marketed through a demand generated mainly by local meat consumption needs. Since the international livestock market in the gulf region closed a few years ago, the effective livestock demand came to an abrupt end, leaving the pastoral/agropastoral communities in the Region in chaos and bringing their economies down to their knees. This has severely weakened the coping capacities of such communities and hence increased their vulnerability to droughts and other circumstances that reduce the normal access to food and income.

Apart from the local meat consumption, however, there is an important but less regular trade stemming from neighbouring Somalia and Kenya. This trade survives by occasional traders from Somalia and Kenya entering the zone once every five or six months (only when the border restriction is a bit relaxed) and increasing local demand, resulting in boosting of prices for whichever livestock species they are interested in. In fact the meat consumption needs in Somalia and Kenya through this trade link are insufficient to meet the supply, but still remain the most important source of demand helping the local markets to stay on their feet and for the pastoralists/agropastoralists to make ends meet.

Terms of trade In the absence of unusual circumstances, livestock prices normally improve during the wet season as a result of the combined effects of declined livestock supply to the market and the improved livestock physical condition. The former springs from the improved access to food (for humans) through increased milk production, which in turn reduces the need for livestock sales to finance food needs, while the latter is a result of the improved pasture condition, all of which lead to better prices. During the dry season, the situation is reversed, but to limited levels (no extreme or unusual price deterioration) as a result of an increased livestock supply to the market and deteriorated physical condition due to reduced quality and availability of pasture as is normally the case in the dry season. The dry season is normally the most difficult time of the year; when the pastoral and agropastoral households have to sell livestock so as to finance their food needs and other household necessities.

In typical years, prices of cereals decline immediately following harvest (50,000 s/shilling per 50kg of sorghum), but return to normal after some time, through a gradual increase which sooner or later stabilizes around the normal price level (80,000 s/shilling per 50 kg). The price situation of cereals is influenced by a number of factors. This includes the matching between local food demand and supply as determined by the population in need of food and the available food supply, the presence or the absence of external factors affecting demand and supply (e.g. surplus production within or neighbouring Zones) that could saturate the local markets, food aid and excessive population infiltration into the Zone in the absence of proportional levels of production or food supply through relief assistance or through an effective trade links.

The most common factors that cause unusual cereal price declines are excessive food aid or food aid in the event of normal crop harvest, and excess cereal supply from

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neighbouring Zones (e.g. Gode and Dagah‐bour) and countries (i.e. Somalia). Price inflating factors are failure of or below normal harvest in the local farming sector, significant leakage of the local harvest through cereal trade from other Zones within the SNRS and regions of Somalia (this has been an increasing phenomenon in Korahe in the last three years) and migration from other Zones that pressurize the local food markets with overburdening demand that outstrips the local food supply. The extent to which cereal prices decline normally depends on the level of food production within the local economy, the food security situation of pastoralists in the Zone, the availability and the amount of relief foods like wheat (consumption of which the population has adopted over the last five years), the condition and supply of imported food items in the Zone across the border, the status of food production in neighbouring Zones and Regions of Somalia, and the status of external cereal trade supplied by the Korahe markets.

During normal years, the price of one shoat against cereals is mostly one average shoat to 130kg. During the dry season, there can be a slight change that may come in the form of simultaneous increase in cereal prices and a decrease in the price of shoats as demand for cereal intensifies and the prices earned by the different livestock species slow down a bit due to higher supply (which is normal at this time of the year) and a relatively poor physical condition; but the amount of cereal earned by one shoat in a normal year doesn’t fall below 95kg.

During bad years the TOT deteriorate for the pastoralists in favour of crop growers through reducing the quantity of cereals purchased with a typical shoat to significantly below 95kg. Ironically, this damages not only the pastoralists but also the agropastoralists, because of the animals they need to sell in order to purchase food (note that in a bad year, the level of crop production severely declines so that the agropastoralists themselves require to purchase food more than usual). This increases the need to sell more livestock than usual and than what can be considered as the sustainable off‐take. This is most damaging for the poor groups who normally have a low asset base in the absence of outside intervention. So one of the grounds on which food aid may be recommended (depending on the extent of the final food deficit that the poor groups face in a particular bad year) in the face of such shocks is to save household assets through supplying the food they would have accessed through damaging and overstretched livestock and other asset sales. Normally any factor that destabilises the ratio of basic cereal prices to those of shoats will cause a change in the TOT and hence will affect the general population at large, the nature of the effect being defined by which group we consider ― producers or consumers.

Factors constraining the growth of urban markets • The slow pace of development in the Zone and in the Region as a whole: Any development normally has to, directly, indirectly or both contribute to poverty reduction through addressing an economic or social problem. This in turn implies improving human productivity and basic physical assets (e.g. that of labour, land or livestock). The ultimate impact of improved productivity is increasing the household level income. Any increase in the household income means increasing purchasing power and that contributes to raising demand for diversified goods consumption and hence to market development.

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• The poor road and communication infrastructure: This jeopardizes the connection to external markets which have a crucial role in supplying basic food and other household items, and in absorbing livestock sales and other local produce in times of surplus. Poor communication limits the availability of crucial market information in markets of neighbouring districts and zones, including livestock and food prices. On the other hand, the poor road infrastructure constrains the flow of transport and hence necessary goods through the district. The fact that a large proportion of the transport that would have used Sheygosh district as a transit point for Gode, and Dagah‐bour Zones and for the rest of Korahe zone has shifted to the Warder‐ Gashamo road attests to the poor quality of the Sheygosh central highway. • The low population and persistence of absolute poverty and low income levels: given that demand is a result of, among other things, population and income levels which guides the social consumption pattern, the high proportion of poor groups is an important economic constraint to market expansion and growth. • The old economic traps (e.g. livestock ban, crackdown on cross‐border trade): The most important asset for agropastoral and pastoral communities in Korahe is livestock. This is why livestock remains the major source of income both in normal and difficult times. Before the livestock ban came into place, livestock sales were the most important source of cash for the local economy and which activated the local markets. It also provided the resources for the import of food and non‐food items from neighbouring countries like Kenya and Somalia. The imported goods rendered revenue to the local authorities by being taxed during transit. The livestock ban and the subsequent livestock trade restrictions, brought the livestock trade to a halt and froze livestock demand, and hence prices fell. The constraint on market growth manifests itself in two ways: firstly by decreasing the income levels of households, it dramatically affects demand for the goods available in local markets; secondly, by decreasing the resources for importing essential goods, the quantity of imported goods declines and this increases their prices in local markets. This has triggered a general economic malaise that has seriously slowed the functioning of local markets. • Inappropriate government policies on pastoral and agropastoral areas of the region: the pastoral development policy provides a policy framework for ensuring fair prices for the products of pastoralists. This can be, within the context of the Somali Region, realized by establishing effective livestock marketing centres in the country or allowing cross‐border trade. This is made difficult in practice, however, by the government’s trade policy which fails to recognize the need to allow basic food imports and livestock trade as a way to ensure reasonable prices for pastoralists. Cross border trade is vital for the survival of the pastoral and agropastoral groups and a policy change in this regard would reduce the need for recurrent food assistance in the region. • The impact of recurrent droughts: This brings agropastoral and pastoral IDPs pouring into the urban areas from the rural areas. This gradually increases the proportion of the poor population in the urban areas, and creates economic congestion and malaise, leading to slow growth of urban markets. • The economic congestion of the deportees from Djibouti and Somali land: resulting from the old deportees that have been recently uprooted from Djibouti and Somali‐ land. This has created a grave social and economic burden in the urban areas by

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inflating the population of urban dwellers and increasing the competition for the meagre humble opportunities for survival; • Volatile and unstable political environment: This refers to insecurity at grass‐root level and political instability at regional and Zonal levels. This is chronically jeopardizing the implementation of economic and social policies at grass‐root level, which in turn would have contributed to addressing the pressing social and economic needs of the society.

Currency The currencies used in the Zone are the Ethiopian Birr and the Somali shilling. The Somali Shilling is the dominant currency in circulation in the majority of the markets, despite its recurrent history of instability. In the rural areas of the Zone, the latter is still the main currency in circulation, although the Ethiopian Birr is not entirely absent in rural markets, and can still be used – and often is, by new comers and travellers from urban areas. In the past, the fluctuation in the value of the Somali Shilling was a recurrent shock affecting the local economy negatively and creating financial turmoil in parts of 2002 and 2003. This was the result of fake currency injections from neighbouring Somalia where the businessmen and country politicians were printing and importing money instead of consumable products. As a result, the Ethiopian Birr is more stable as a medium of exchange, retaining its value, and used as an insurance against the financial earthquakes created locally by the Shilling. Therefore, the “Birr” is trusted more by the urban communities, although such analysis is often weak in rural economies of the Zone due to information gaps on the ups and downs of the urban economy. One of the main reasons for the presence of the Somali Shilling in such markets emanates from the fact that Somalia is the major trade partner of the Zone.

3.6 Other Activities in the Zone

Aid and development activities in the Zone Assistance given to the Zone is mainly emergency food in the form of relief wheat in times of crisis. This is, in principle, offered to vulnerable pastoral and agropastoral groups and IDPs that are most needy and vulnerable to food shortage. In practice, however, the food is apportioned through a blanket distribution for the general population. This undermines the nutritional and asset‐saving impact of such assistance on the intended groups. There have been indications that the recurrent rainfall failures in the Zone that were prompting repeated food aid packages has created a dependency syndrome generally amongst the rural communities of the Zone. This raises their expectations about the activities and presence of international organizations and NGOs. Occasionally there are times when ICRC intervenes in the crop‐producing sector by the distribution of food for work, agricultural seeds and implements.

NGOs that had or have operational links with Korahe are ACF, OWS and ICRC. The presence of such NGOs mostly originated from the drought emergency of 1999/2000 where a considerable number of international NGOs either extended their work to new areas of the region (those which had a previous presence in the region) or established themselves in the region for the first time. Similarly, a large number of local NGOs came

LZ 11 Korahe Agropastoral 31

into being, getting inspiration from the relief intervention environment and lucrative atmosphere of fund availability. So far, the ICRC activities in the Zone have been linked to supporting the agropastoral communities with food for work and agricultural equipment, and monitoring of the situation. ACF established its base in the zone during the 1999/2000 drought, when it launched emergency feeding and supplementary programmes, a water and sanitation programme and food security monitoring. These programs were phased out almost a year ago but animal health is still functioning. In times of water crisis, the agency has a history of carrying out water trucking in the chronically water insecure areas, mostly being the birkad areas of Shilabo and Kebri‐ dahar Districts and parts of Dobowein.

3.7 Other issues in the Zone

IDP presence and trends There is a growing population of IDPs that are dispersed in the different urban settings of the Zone. The displacement of such IDPs originated from a number of successive socio‐economic problems occurring in the last 6 years. These include the 1999/2000 drought, the livestock ban, the crackdown on cross‐border trade and the recurrent rainfall failures since 2001. These IDP households are mainly from the agropastoral communities, but also include pastoral drop‐outs, the reason being the basic difference in the drought resilience abilities of livestock reared by the two communities. The agropastoral communities historically raise cattle, which is the most vulnerable species to drought and drought‐related shocks, as compared with camels, the species raised mostly by pastoralists. Therefore, cattle and sheep are traditionally referred to as the nugul species because of their poor resistance to circumstances of water and feed shortages. The 1999/2000 drought caused most economic and social damage to the agropastoral population, causing the erosion of their asset bases. Today, these IDPs are spread out across the urban centres in the Zone, struggling to survive. They lack social reintegration basically because of the absence of rehabilitation. Some of the higher IDP concentrations are in Gomar village (1,200 persons) of Sheygosh District, Sheygosh town (2,000 persons), Kebri‐dahar town (3,650 persons) and El (500 persons).

For the pastoralists, the drought severely affected the households that were previously in the lower echelons of the wealth category, meaning the poorer groups. Even those who have not fully collapsed into IDP status are still reeling after the effects of the shock. In agropastoral circles, however, the whole population has been severely affected regardless of wealth status, to the extent that many of the previously middle and better‐ off households have now fallen into the poor category. As the drought killed cattle in massive numbers, everybody in the agropastoral sector became a victim. Although it was not like the drought, the post drought period has not brought a post‐drought recovery, as it was marked by a recurrent cycle of bi‐annual rainfall failures. The worst hit areas in terms of livestock depletion are mainly the agropastoral communities in Sheygosh, but also those in the Dobowein District. In Dobowein, however, most of the IDPs generated by the drought in 1999/2000 have migrated to Gode and Kalafo towns. Mostly, these IDP groups consist of households that were identified as very poor groups in the previous agropastoral study by ACF. The study was conducted immediately after

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the drought. This coincided with a time in which most of the households that had lost livestock in the drought remained in their rural villages of origin due to the massive food assistance package that was ongoing at the time. Many of the households were left with few animals, which meant no means to sustain the household’s livelihood in the absence of external assistance. So, when the massive emergency operation came to an end in December, 2002, the vacuum left was filled by selling the little stock at hand and a consequent movement to the urban areas.

3.8 Livelihood Zones in the Administrative District

Defining Livelihood Zones Central to the Household Economy Approach is the concept of Livelihood Zones (LZ). Different populations live by very different means depending on their ecological environment, their assets, culture, skills etc. Some may depend primarily on livestock or fishing, others on agricultural production. Because of rainfall, soil type or marketing possibilities, some areas will be suitable for cash crops (such as cotton or tobacco) and others will produce only cereal staples. As a result of these different circumstances different population groups will adopt different approaches for survival. A group or population that obtains its food and income sources form a broadly similar combination of means and that have similar response to shocks is known as a Livelihood Zone (LZ).

There are three LZs within Korahe administrative Zone ― pastoral, agropastoral and urban. The agropastoral LZ is mainly found in the ciid and dibir areas of the Zone, in both of which areas the practice of farming is limited by geological factors like soil type and land fertility. Generally Pastoralism takes some 45 to 65 percent of the total population in the Zone while agropastoralism and urban form about 35‐45 percent and 5‐10 percent respectively.

By district, Shilabo is purely pastoral (except for a tiny proportion of urban dwellers) with no historic links to farming; whereas the remaining districts comprise pastoralists and agropastoralists, with a small urban population residing in all three districts. In Kebri‐dahar, the proportion is skewed towards the agropastoralists, covering about 40‐ 50 percent of the population, leaving 35‐45 percent and 5‐10 percent for the pastoral and the urban populations respectively. The population distribution in Sheygosh and Dobowein is similar, but there are some variations. At a district level, Dobowein hosts the largest proportion of agropastoralists (in percentage terms) in the Zone, where about 65‐75 percent are agropastoralists, 30 percent pastoralists and about 5 percent are counted as urban. The population in Sheygosh is formed by 40 percent pastoralists, 5 percent urban and 35 percent agropastoralists.

The following table illustrates the Livelihood Zones in Korahe Zone, the districts covered under each LZ and the population proportion and figure that fall in each LZ.

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Table 1 ‐ Livelihood Zones in Korahe Administrative Zone

% of Administrative Number of Name of LZ Districts covered in LZ Zone’s people population Shilabo, Sheygosh, Kebridahar, Pastoral 59 141,190 Doboweyn Agro‐pastoral Dobowein, Kebri‐dahar, Sheygosh 37 90,777 Farming No pure farming 0 0 Kebri‐dahar, Shilabo, Dobowein and Urban 4 9,077 Sheygosh district capital towns

TOTAL 100 242,276

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Map 1 – Livelihood Zones in Korahe administrative Zone Dagah-bour Zone

Sheygosh

Fik Zone

Warder Zone

Kebri‐dahar

Korahe Zone

Gode Zone Dobowein Shilabo

Faafan Valley Agropastoral LZ (sorghum and cattle) Gode/ Korahe Pastoral LZ (Camel, shoats, cattle) Somalia Lowland Pastoral LZ (Camel, shoats & Birka dependent)

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4. Food Economies 4.1 The Livelihood Zone

Location/Coverage Table 2 ‐ Coverage of Korahe Agropastoral LZ Kabales covered in each % of District’s % of LZ’s Number of District Name district population population people Mara’ato, Xudureyle, Marka‐afweyn, Dalad, Kebridahar Go’a dhigo, Galadid, 40 47 Woreda Karinbilcille, Cel‐ogaden, Wabiyar, Karodka, Shimbiray, Go’ a dhigo Jidhacle, Xarunta, Dobowein Nagadweyne, Haarcaano, 60 45 Woreda Higloley, Carmaale, Haarweyn, Qarax,

Maraagududushe, Sheygosh Biyoley, Gomar Woreda 30 8 Karindabayl, Duumaale,

Qalcad, Wijiwaji, Sanboodhle, TOTAL 28 Kebeles 100 100

Population

Population Distribution of LZ per District

Dobowein Kabridahar 45% 47%

Sheygosh 8%

Figure 1 ‐ Population Distribution of LZ 11 per District

Variations within the LZ Â The agro pastoral LZ that this baseline covers includes flood recession farming, which is dominant along the course of the Fafan River in the case of Kebri‐dahar and Dobowein and

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concentrated around the main seasonal streams that originate from the Qaali mountain ranges in the case of Sheygosh. The Fafan river, which is the major source of water for the flood irrigated farming when the banjab takes place in these down stream districts (Kebri‐dahar and Dobowein), plays no significant crop production roles in Sheygosh the river remains deep there and unlikely to produce overflows for crop use. So, one major variation between Sheygosh and the remaining two districts with regard to farming is the source of the irrigation for crop production. Even though local rains can benefit both farming areas in the same way, the Dobowein and Kebri‐dahar flood recession farming can benefit from rains from as far as Dagah‐bour Zone. This implies that the flood recession faming of the Sheygosh side is more fragile and remains more vulnerable to local rainfall failure than that of Kebri‐dahar and Dobowein.

 The agro pastoral LZ of Korahe is mainly a cattle LZ but there are little pockets where camel ownership applies. These pockets are: Jidhacle of Dobowein and Maraacato and Galadid of Kebri‐dahar district. So, although still agropastoral, these villages have relatively better livestock diversity. Nevertheless, this is not a significant variation within the agro pastoral community as camel ownership is limited to only 30‐45% of the better‐off.

 Livestock holdings at household level are relatively low in Sheygosh District. Similarly, survival options like access to main livestock and cereal markets, labouring opportunities and income diversification opportunities are relatively poor and in most cases non‐existent in Sheygosh. This implies that the repercussions of any shock, even if it affects the whole Zone to the same degree, will be harder and tougher in Sheygosh as this district has the highest levels of poverty and hence the most vulnerable and least able to cope.

 The agropastoral LZ is more vulnerable to water shortages in the Sheygosh area and the southern and south‐eastern edges of Dobowein. In the Sheygosh area there are only two permanent boreholes that provide water to the majority of the population in the district. The remaining water sources are mainly seasonal ones that can sustain the population during normal years but which run dry in the first quarter or the middle of the dry season during drought years and in any situation where the seasonal rains happen to be poor. So, even in the absence of drought years, the population in most of the Kebeles in Wijiwaji and Sheygosh areas slip into acute and very serious water shortages whenever these boreholes breakdown. In the Dobowein area, Higloley, Nagadweyne, Qorax, Kalajeex are often the most vulnerable areas. These areas have shallow wells that produce some water for human consumption, but only during normal years. In times where, however, the seasonal rains turn out to be poor or fail completely, these shallow wells dry out quickly and the population start draining out. This is when the situation turns critical for the immobile population like women and children.

 The Sheygosh and Dobowein districts have the lowest transport flow and hence the lowest flow of goods from external markets.

 Sheygosh District has the highest proportion of poor households (50%), followed by Dobowein (35%), with Kebri‐dahar hosting about 20%. In addition, Sheygosh has the least to offer (it is almost non‐existent) in terms of casual labour and bush product marketing.

LZ 11 Korahe Agropastoral 37

Links with other LZ Korahe agropastoral LZ is linked to the pastoral and the urban LZs within Korahe and beyond. The agropastoral LZ markets its agricultural produce both to the urban and the pastoral populations. The agropastoralists also their sell livestock and livestock products (mainly milk and ghee) in the urban markets and buy the food and other household items they need from these markets. During bad years, they may seek casual labour (though this is not as such strong enough by the capacity of urban markets) and assistance from their urban relatives. In extreme circumstances where a humanitarian response arrives too late in the face of a food security crisis (e.g. the 1999‐2000 drought), they tend to migrate to the urban areas and to urban villages located along the main central roads where they can voice their concerns and have access to relief food in the event of a response materialising. During bad years, the livestock from agropastoral LZ migrates to the hawd pastoral areas of Warder and to the pastoral areas of Fik, Dagah‐bour and to the pastoral and agropastoral areas within Gode and vice‐versa, depending on the circumstances of food security.

4.2 Historical Timeline

Selection of the Reference Year Household food economy analysis considers many different ways of recalling years. There are “traditional” years, “production” years and “consumption” years and the “reference” year.

In coming up with Historical timelines, the deyr season (which starts in October) is used as the start of the Somali traditional year. The traditional Somali year therefore spans across two years, starting with the deyr (October) and ending with the hagaa (September).

Household food economy analysis ranks years using the traditional system of recall (the deyr season followed by the gu season for each traditional year) – since this is how people recall the past – but focuses on a “consumption year” for discussions with communities on how they lived during the year. This year is taken as the “reference year”. It runs for 12 months from the time of major food production (the gu rains) through to just before the following gu rains (i.e. the end of the long, dry jilaal/qorahxeed or jilaal season). The “consumption” year therefore covers two Gregorian calendar years. Household economy interviews (with representatives from each wealth group) gather information about a specific year, and this provides a “benchmark” or set of reference values and behaviours against which to compare any other year.

The “reference” year chosen for review is one which is within recent memory (since production and prices will have to be remembered) and which was neither very good nor very bad (extremes can be misleading when we are trying to describe a livelihood system). For convenience we will call this year the “normal” year, but this should not be interpreted necessarily as being either “frequently‐occurring” or “typical” as is often the case in agricultural societies. A “normal” year from a pastoral perspective might be a year where there is adequate rainfall in terms of intensity and distribution, livestock production is adequate in both seasons, animals and milk fetch good prices and grain is not too expensive. There is little migration or little insecurity. It could be argued that this description represents a “good” year than an “average” year. For this reason it is

LZ 11 Korahe Agropastoral 38

often more useful to talk of a “reference year” which allows us to describe typical households in a particular year.

For information on the Traditional Somali Calendar System please refer to Appendix 9.2.

Table 3 ‐ Historical Timeline for Korahe Agropastoral LZ Year Year name Deyr Gu Comments Below normal year – poor rains causing poor pasture and water availability and the failure of crops in the Agropastoral areas. Rainfall condition was worse in the gu but the situation was significantly normalized by crop production in the flood recession farming areas mainly in Dobowain and Kebridahar districts (floods from the Fafan river helped this crop production). Kalacarar/Daba Rain‐fed farming (beerxareedaad) entirely failed. Poor livestock market due to poor physical 2003 2 1 cade condition under poor feed availability was a problem both in the deyr and the gu. Migration of people to urban areas seeking support from relatives was the case in the deyr but in the gu no such migration occurred. Early movement of livestock to the permanent water points. Sharing of the harvests from the Fafan flood recession farming with relatives in the rain‐fed areas that failed. High cereal prices in the gu but declined after the gu harvest. Below normal year – both the deyr and gu rains were below normal but not poor, leading to failure of crops in the rain‐fed farming areas. Pasture was relatively poor under the gu which 2002 2 2 witnessed significant crop production (around 50% of normal output) in the flood recession areas. Stalk‐borer considerably damaged the crops during the gu. Increase in child mortality due to diarrhoeal diseases. Good livestock demand from Kenya (cattle and camel). Normal year – both the deyr and the gu were normal rainfall. In the deyr, no crops were harvested due to lack of planting by the communities (in fear of poor rains) but some harvests 2001 3 3 were done in the gu. Wild foods had grown substantially in the deyr but not in the gu. Pasture condition was normal causing the communities to remain in their areas of origin.

In this particular study, the reference year was chosen based on the proximity of the year. Thus, April 2002 to March 2003, which happened to be a below normal year, was chosen.

Description of the reference year‐characteristics The reference year was a below normal year, with only 50% of normal crop production. The year was characterized by below normal gu rainfall which limited pasture growth, prompting livestock to migrate to Gode zone and to Nogobyaray in western Kebri‐dahar during the dry season. In the flood recession farming areas of the Zone, however, crop production was made possible by the floods from the Fafan river which supplied water from the gu rains in Dagah‐ bur Zone and the many seasonal rivers that gather the rain fall floods from the ciid areas of the Zone and from the Qaali mountains where the gu rains has been relatively better. The situation in the deyr has been even worse as the seasonal rains were very late and insufficient to make the expected impact. The year was characterized by the following:

• Below normal performance of the deyr season; • Below normal pasture and water availability in the jilaal season • livestock migration and population movement‐ to parts of Warder, and to Gode, Nogobyaray, Danan, Shinile of Danan • 50% normal production from the flood recession farming • Cereal prices normal or above normal due to the continued food assistance and the impact of the local harvest.

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• The harvest impact weakened by the leakage of a large part of the local cereal harvest to the cereal trade originating from Somalia. • Below normal livestock prices in most of the year but improvements in between • High numbers of livestock were sold so as to cope with the situation (unusual) • Because of the water crisis in the ciid parts of the Zone, some schools have been closed due to the movement of the population • The poor groups have not obtained the maal and milk assistance from the better‐off but received cereal assistance and income support in the form of cash or a live animal, mostly shoats, to be sold as a means of obtaining income by the poor; • Loans have also became an important part of the food and income of the poor • Food aid has been a part of the food consumption picture, and was more important for the poor who were unable to meet their food needs as per the annual requirement, • The security situation has been poor, particularly in Kebri‐dahar and Dobowein where clan clashes has been characteristic of the year, although this has subsided gradually; • There were no outbreaks of crop, livestock and human diseases. One exceptional case was the outbreak of the isjiid/halfanhalf • It was a year that the poor and the lower middle income groups have applied all their coping capacities through livestock sales for all and through borrowing and gifts in the form of cash and in kind.

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4.3 Seasonal Calendar

Figure 2 ‐ Seasonal Calendar for Korahe Agropastoral LZ

Activity Who is involved Which time of the year 1. Cattle calving - March, April & Sep, October. 2. Shoat calving - April- May & October-November 3. Selling cattle Men Jan-March & July-Sept. 4. Selling Shoats Men and women Jan-March & July-Sept. 5. Livestock herding Boys and girls All the year round 6. Selling livestock products Women and girls April-June & October- December

7. Firewood collection Boys and young men Jan-March & July-Sept. 8. Land preparation Men & older boys Jan – Feb & August – Sept. 9. Sowing Men & older children March – April & Sept. - October 10. Weeding All active family members May – June & October – Nov. 11. Bird scaring Younger people June – July & Nov. - December 12. Harvesting Men & older children July & December 13. Threshing Men July & December 14. Packing Men & Women July & December 15. Food purchase Men and women All the year round 16. Livestock movement to the dry Men and young men January & July season grazing areas 17. Times of pasture and water - February-March & September shortage

18. Movement to the wet season Men and boys April & October grazing areas 19. Hunger periods of the year - March – April & August - September 20. Crop sales

21. Milk sales

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4.4 Other information particular to the LZ

Access to Land and Water Land is individually owned by different households but shared through blood and marital lines. This ownership has been mostly established through inheritance or through purchase from the rightful owner. Even so, sharing of land and exploitation for production purposes goes beyond ownership. Due to the high levels of inter‐dependence among the individual households, the owner often shares (depending on the size of the land and the circumstances surrounding the relationship) his land with relatives and sometimes with friends. The practice of sharing land changes over the nature of the years, increasing dramatically to a large scale in bad years and declining in good years.

Most bad years that originate from local rainfall failure first result in displacement of farmers from the purely rain‐fed farming sector and the non‐Fafan irrigated flood recession sector, then the Fafan flood recession agropastoralists. This is so because flood recession farming mostly benefits from floods that may come from as far as Dagah‐bour zone. This implies that the latter, which is mainly in Kebri‐dahar and Dobowein districts, can survive from local rain failure in situation where the rains in Dagah‐bour zone are good and hence the river brings sufficient floods. So in such a case, waves of temporarily displaced farmers from the rain‐fed sector resort to looking for help from their relatives in the Fafan flood recession side. This creates congestion in the flood recession areas as each parcel of land along the river‐bed is divided into smaller plots among relatives. In good years when, however, the banjab takes place and the vast sections of Korahe plains become submerged, more land becomes available for everyone; then the farming population disperses and people plant additional temporary fields, relieving the pressure from the flood recession farming. In such years, even the pastoralists who normally don’t grow crops join their relatives in the field to draw their share of the benefit through opportunistic farming. Under such circumstances, land is not really a problem but the ability to cultivate is the binding constraint.

So, generally land is individually under the possession of households but socially managed by the clans and immediate lineage groups. Goob is a dominant form of social support used for mass cultivation, weeding and harvesting but mainly practiced by the better off households which are capable of paying the financial and other cumbersome costs related.

Uses and definition of sariir as a tool for measuring land In farming circles, the word sariir is conventionally referred to as a construction post raised above the ground and established in the centre of the farm. The intention is to help those in charge of watching crops to do a better job. Any person watching the crops climbs the sariir just to see what is going around the farm for the protection of crops, be it from wild animals, birds or human beings. This is the definition and the use of sariir as a crop‐watch post, but the definition of sariir as a local unit of land measurement is a bit different though it is derived from the main stated use of sariir. So in the latter case, sariir is tantamount to the distance of land that a typical adult would cover from all four directions by throwing a stone or, as often the case is, a hard soil clod while standing on the top of the crop‐watch post constructed in the centre of the farming field. Here, the

LZ 11 Korahe Agropastoral 42

objective is to scare off birds on the standing crop or any other crop predators and one may use a casting rope locally known as wadhaf or laqaade which is used as a throwing aid by farm people. In many cases, sariir and tuuryo are interchangeably used as you move around the different crop growing areas of Korahe but the meaning is the same thing and it denotes the same size of land. That land is, in modern measurement, equal to 50m by 50m, the equivalent of half a hectare. In other words, this is equivalent to two qodi as used in western parts of the Region, Jijiga Zone for instance. In a normal year, a typical one‐sariir cultivating farmer plants 6 kobos (one kobo is almost 0.5kg) of seeds and will likely harvest 23 to 25 Quintals of Sorghum (masago cadey) or 15 to 17 quintals of Maize.

Fafan River flooding — the banjab This is nothing but the physical flooding of the agricultural plains inside the Fafan valley by the Fafan River floods. As a measurement criteria of banjab, this situation occurs when the flood flow keeps covering the Korahe bridge for 24 consecutive hours. Banjab is highly cherished by both agropastoralists and pastoralists who often graze the Fafan valley plains with ease and get unlimited access to plenty of pastures grown in the flooded areas during such times.

Seasonal rivers cultivated outside the Fafan The importance of a river for production purposes is mainly determined by the extent (the distance) from which it can bring floods, the depth of the river as compared to the normal elevation of farming land, the size of the land it can cover by irrigation and the number of farmers that can exploit it. The seasonal rivers used for crop production are of two types, classified by their features. The Fafan River which is the largest and the most significant in terms of the distance it carries water, runs through the Fafan valley and mostly benefits the flood recession farming areas of Kebri‐dahar and Dobowein Communities. The remaining rivers which are mainly in Sheygosh district and in a few parts of Kebri‐dahar bring water from a lesser distance than that of the Fafan River but still sustain the flood recession communities in normal times.

In the event of local rainfall failure, the non‐Fafan flood recession farming located around the seasonal streams originating within the Zone is more vulnerable to crop failure than the Fafan‐dependent one. Because of the floods coming from areas outside the Zone, mainly being Jijiga and Dagah‐bour Zones the Fafan flood recession farming can enjoy reasonable harvests if the much cherished banjab takes place. By virtue of the established culture of sharing the irrigated land during difficult times, the gap between the Fafan and the non‐Fafan in terms of crop production is reasonably reduced. This is basically why these two types of farming are considered as a single LZ despite the differences experienced under circumstances of poor rainfall. The following table presents the most common seasonal rivers that are cultivated in areas outside the Fafan valley. The seasonal rivers are mostly in Sheygosh district which is, to some extent, characterised by the practice of cultivating non‐Fafan rivers.

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Table 4 ‐ Seasonal rivers important for flood recession farming S. No. Name of the seasonal river Location 1. Biyoley Biyoley area of Sheygosh 2. Awaaldigayso Suburbs of Sheygosh town 3. Dulqawar Wijiwaji area of Sheygosh 4. Galoolciid (it brings water from the ciid areas) Galoolciid area of Kebri‐dahar 5. Yooco (it brings water from the ciid areas) Galadiid of Kebri‐dahar 6. Galdaboolle (it brings water from the ciid area) Galadiid area of Kebri‐dahar 7. Gomaar Gomar area of Sheygosh 8. Raad‐dooyo Sheygosh 9. Qolqol‐dheer Between Wijiwaji & Sheygosh 10 Galcadadle Wijiwaji area of Sheygosh 11 Galo‐madoobe Wijiwaji area of Sheygosh 12 Xudur Xudur area of Kebri‐dahar 13 Wabiyar Wabiyar area of Kebri‐dahar

Crops grown Within the context of Korahe agropastoral LZ, growing sorghum is preferred to maize for a number of reasons. Firstly, sorghum is relatively more resistant to moisture stress than maize and hence is more likely to survive in the context of a defined rainfall shortage. Secondly, sorghum is, under the local conditions, likely to have a higher yield than maize by a margin of about 30%, even if the size of land and quantity of planted seed are the same and the crops are subjected to similar husbandry practices. Thirdly, sorghum is better priced in the market as it remains the “local dish”, attracting higher levels of consumption both locally and externally. In this case, sorghum attracts demand from such lucrative markets as Somali‐land and Punt‐land. All these factors add up to influence the marketing of masago‐cadey, the local sorghum variety, and push its price beyond the ceiling price of Maize. And finally, the crop is, from the view‐point of growers and consumers, more tasty than maize and requires less cooking time and thus less energy utilization (i.e. less firewood). The only place where growing maize is common in the flood recession farming area remains the xudureyle area of Kebri‐dahar district. Xudureyle is the most secure area with respect to crop moisture as it is located in the Fafan River bed and hence can exploit even very small floods in the river basin.

Style of planting the seeds —miigayn: The style of planting crops or sowing seeds is locally known as miigayn. Miigayn is done through piercing a pointed peg‐like stick or sharpened metal in the soil to make holes for the seed whereby one person continues with dipping the holes and the other drops the individual seeds into the holes and covers them with soil. The method is usually labour intensive and requires the involvement of more than one person in the sowing activity. In the absence of an experienced farm practitioner, the holes can be too far apart or can suffer from too little spacing among the seed hosting holes. One of the main reasons why such a backward and labour intensive method of sowing persists in the farming sector of Korahe remains the absence of the knowledge of using animal power for farming.

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Constraints to crop, livestock and labour production Constraints to agriculture There are certain constraints limiting the potential capacity of agriculture in the Zone. These constraints include the following. ™ The production system is more traditional and backward due to the absence of extension services and agricultural technologies; ™ Draught power is manually generated by the sole use of human labour and the practice of using animal power is not yet common in the crop growing circles of the Zone. This increases production costs, through increasing human labour requirement, and timing costs; and consequently compromises production efficiency and level of output; ™ Planting is done through the dipping method (miigayn) and harvesting is by the use of poor hand implements like axe. Both factors have detrimental effects on the efficiency of the crop production system; ™ Knowledge and practice of proper water harvesting techniques including canal diversion is in its infancy and is not yet practiced by the mainstream agropastoral populations of the zone; ™ Lack of support for ways of saving the local agriculture from deflating prices after a bumper harvest is also another issue. This induces financial losses and timing costs, hence making life in the agricultural sector difficult to sustain; ™ The capacity of the zonal LECDP is limited to the occasional supply of seeds and some agricultural pesticides. Nevertheless, such assistance is most often saddled with problems of incompatibility of the seeds to local crop production culture (the seeds supplied are not varieties that can be grown under the local conditions of rainfall). The quantities of chemicals supplied often fall short of meeting the local demand; ™ The mass emergence of increasing gully erosion and environmental deterioration over the last 6 years, which drain out the irrigable water and remove fertile soil is another constraint to the practice of growing crops in the Zone. These gully erosions are increasing, deepening and extending their effects to wider areas every year, hijacking the flood water from the arable plains in the zone. ™ Agriculture is subsistence level farming by capacity and originated from Pastoralism. There is no shortage of land that may be cultivated, but the capacity of the individual farmer to cultivate more land is often the binding factor.

Constraints to livestock production Livestock production constraints can be many but the following include among the major ones from the perspective of the local production context. ™ Livestock reared is the nugul species (cattle and sheep) which are normally the most vulnerable livestock species to drought conditions. This makes the local economy more vulnerable to ecological and market related shocks; ™ The poor genetic makeup of the local breeds of livestock species (local animal breeds are not the high milk yielding breeds) is another factor limiting the potential capacity for milk production; ™ Lack of knowledge on improved animal husbandry practices;

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™ Ecological changes and climatic variations affecting spatial and temporal availability of crucial resources like water and pasture, affect livestock production through limiting the access to feed and water; ™ The poor access to animal health services (vaccination and treatment), results in the prevalence of endemic diseases throughout the whole year; ™ The culture of keeping large proportion of unproductive animals in relation to the productive worsens feed and water shortages and makes the herd needs unmanageable; ™ The poor access to effective markets and the fluctuation in the prices of different livestock species remain critical obstacles to livestock contribution to household income and hence the need to sell more animals given a particular need increases;

Constraints to labour productivity ™ Illiteracy is the other problem dragging down the productivity of labour by acting as a barrier to the flow of development information. In a world where social behaviour and attitudes are under constant influence from the outside world and consequently changing fast not only because of what people see or hear but also because of what they read from newspapers, magazines and other publications and writings (which are after all not accessible to the rural masses), anyone who doesn’t read is surely doomed to lag behind; ™ The lack of other skills beyond subsistence level agriculture narrows the scope of alternative labour options. This exposes the need for skills diversification so that people can survive in the event of crop failure.

Herd dynamics/Composition (normal year versus the reference year) The proportion of the male population in relation to that of the female increases as the herd size increases. Herd composition is sensitive to the food security situation at household level and the state of the market. This implies that these two factors affect the sex ratio of the herd. The reference year, for example has been a relatively below normal year in which the agropastoral communities have heavily depended on the sales of livestock sales as a coping strategy. So, since the overwhelming majority of the animals that are marketed to finance food and income needs are male animals, then the resulting herd composition goes in favour of the female animals. Thus, herd sex composition has a seasonal variation resulting from the variation in the food security situation across the year.

Migrations patterns during normal years vs. the reference year; The normality of migration has to be analyzed from various aspects: time of migration (time of the year); the distance moved; the population involved (scale of migration); the destination; and the underlying causes. In normal years, the agropastoral communities in Korahe limit themselves to pasturing around the grazing lands within the Fafan valley and other surrounding pastoral rangelands mostly within the same district (about 30‐ 50km radius). During normal years, livestock make short movements around their base or areas of origin (this is more so for the ishkin than for adhi), taking routes which follow the latest rainfall, and means they are expected to have better water and pasture replenishments. During these periods of plentiful pasture and water the livestock no longer uses the permanent water‐points as the sole source of water as in the case of the

LZ 11 Korahe Agropastoral 46

dry season. The temporary water points created through the rainfall floods that are retained in water catchments (garbooyin and dhijaamo) and small shallow wells (laaso and harooyin) in the seasonal river basins are the main livestock watering sources (this is particularly so in the first two months of the season in the case of the gu and in the first one and half months in the case of deyr). As the wet season progresses further and eventually closes, the situation starts changing with diminishing water and pasture availability in the usual wet grazing lands. This is when these livestock rearing communities introduce their own coping models by moving to the dry grazing areas and concentrating around the permanent water‐points as early as the beginning of the first month of the dry spell. In normal years, the distance between water points and the dry grazing areas normally doesn’t exceed 10 km one way or 20km for a round trip for all livestock species.

During bad years like the year covered in this study, this normal pattern of migration is disrupted due to pasture and water shortages. Migrations start earlier than usual and include destinations that are abnormal in terms of distance and/or destination. Under such circumstances, livestock herds are often seen making long inter‐district and inter‐ zonal movements at odd times (they are moving too early or moving under the most appalling circumstances — moving in times when doing it is more costly both economically and socially).

Crop production In a normal year, a typical one‐sariir cultivating farmer plants 6 kobos (one kobo is almost 0.5kg) of seeds and will likely harvest 23 to 25 Quintals of Sorghum (masago cadey) or 15 to 17 quintals of Maize.

Livestock For livestock production (e.g. milk yields per season and by species), see the spreadsheet or the table in the annex of this report.

Health One hospital in Kebri‐dahar town, one health post in Wijiwaji, one clinic in Sheygosh and another in Haarcad are the basis of health service provision in the agropastoral LZ. These health units are handicapped by the shortage of trained manpower and the necessary equipment and the lack of regular availability and sufficiency of essential drugs. Drug supply is irregular and the clinics are far below their intended operational capacity.

There are three clinics and nine health posts scattered in the different districts. Four health posts are in KD, one clinic and one health post in Sheygosh, one clinic and one health post in Dobowein and finally three health posts and one clinic in Shilabo. There is one staff based in each health post and two or three persons working in at clinic level. All the staff members are salaried except the TBAs and the watchmen in most sites.

Education For information pertaining to educational access, refer to the previous background section on education.

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The agropastoral LZ is relatively privileged compared with the pastoral one in terms of its proximity to the main administrative centres of the Zone. This proximity provides a comparative advantage of being near the locations of the few properly functioning schools in the Zone, including that of Kebri‐dahar. The agropastoral belt of the Zone physically forms the line that the central road of the Zone runs through and hence has a better transport services. The few schools that are in the Zone almost fall on the door step of the agropastoral communities.

Water The agropastoral areas of the Zone fall within the heart of the Fafan valley where, except in the case of Sheygosh and some parts of Dobowein, water is accessed through this seasonal river and through the shallow wells in the riverbed of the Fafan River. Except in the cases of Sheygosh (which faces a serious problem whenever the local boreholes breakdown), Mara’ato of Kebri‐dahar and Nagadweyne and Higloley of Dobowein, which are chronically water insecure in the dry season, access to water doesn’t usually pose a problem across the year.

Infrastructure The central highway linking the zone to Dagah‐bour in the north and Gode in the south‐ west goes through the agropastoral parts of the Zone as 75% of the district capital towns are located in the agropastoral belt that stretches along the Fafan valley from Sheygosh in the north all the way to Dobowein in the south of the Zone.

Issues and field observations • The very poor Agropastoral group initially identified in the previous baseline by ACF – this group has ended up in the urban areas but still exploit farming whenever they get the opportunity. Their definition as Agropastoralists has changed as they currently don’t rely on livestock at all. The small livestock holdings that they had at the time when the ACF study was conducted had kept diminishing under the recurrent years of drought in the post 1999‐2000 period until most of them finally gave up, forcing them to seek alternative strategies. • Increasing river depth of the Fafan ‐ the Fafan River is the main source of moisture for the flood recession farming which forms the core of this study. This is particularly so for communities on the Kebridahar and Dobowain sides, who normally grow crops along the Fafan valley. One of the obvious reasons why the Fafan River is very important to crop production in this part of the LZ is that its depth is shallow, allowing floods to burst out into the open plains around the river which are normally used for farming after the floods recede. • Increasing emergence and distribution of gullies across the farm lands in the Zone – normally, the Agropastoral plains along the Fafan River are not often so sloppy and this gives the advantage of retaining the flood water for the benefit of crops. In the last few years, however, there has been a slowly emerging risk of concern both to pastoralists and Agropastoralists. This is an increasing number of gullies that are also widening and growing in depth and length, draining out the flood water that is normally the source of moisture for agricultural production in the zone.

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• The recurrent rainfall shortages in the last few years, causing repeated crop failures in the Agropastoral parts of the zone have demoralized sections of the farming community to the extent that they no longer stick to regular farm activities. This has caused a significant number of households that were previously engaged in farming to abandon farming in favour of other activities like trade, turning to pure pastoralism, moving to urban areas etc. • Livestock predators (Hyena, lion, Tiger) threaten to exhaust the remaining livestock holdings left by recurrent droughts as they have dramatically increased in number in the last 8 years. The South‐east rangelands project which was controlling the population of these wild animals has phased out, leading to a tripling of the population of flesh‐eating animals. • Instability in cereal availability and prices – the lack of a system that absorbs (buys) the local cereal produce when surplus is high and that releases cereals into local markets when there is a cereal shortage, is causing cereal prices to be low during bumper harvests and high during the dry season. The high prices are damaging the consumers while very low prices are damaging the producers. There are two sources that contribute to instability of the prices of the local produce. First, in the last few years a new sorghum trade that stemmed from Somali land and Bosaso has firmly established itself into Korahe, causing a serious leakage of the local harvest. And secondly, the Kalafo Riverine groups that were the source of food supply during cereal shortages have shifted from growing food crops to cash crops. • The Fafan agricultural plains have great potential for development into large scale agricultural production that could produce thousands of tonnes of food if an irrigation dam were established. • Draught power is manual and no animal power is involved in the production process. Besides, the style of planting seeds is backward ‐ miigayn. This limits output below the potential that could be realised under the use of oxen and better ways of tilling land. • Official population figures for Sheygosh district are believed to be way below the reality, and this means that needy populations have to be identified separately when disaster strikes, as interventions are based on official population figures; • The livestock ban and the cross border trade constraints affecting the imports of essential food and non‐food items and the export of livestock, remain the most important causes of increased vulnerability to food shortages for the Agropastoral communities in recent years; • Malaria remains one of the most important causes of ill‐health affecting mainly the Agropastoral communities farming the basin of the Fafan river; • Clan conflict can arise over grazing during certain times of the year, between pastoralists and Agropastoralists of different clans, as Agropastoralists are geared towards cultivating more land and pastoralists see that as an encroachment into communally owned grazing areas;

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4.5 Wealth Breakdown

Population Distribution of Wealth Groups

14-20 Better-off 27-35 Poor

48-56 Middle

Figure 3 ‐ Wealth Groups in Korahe Agropastoral LZ Table 5 ‐ Wealth Characteristics

Wealth Group name & Very Poor Poor Middle Better off vernacular name Sabool Liita Sabool Dhexe Ladan

Characteristics number of wives NB: no significant 1‐2 (85%=1 & 15%=2) 1‐2 (65%=1 & 35%=2) 1‐2 (70%=2 & 30%=1) agropastoral group that would fall in to this category Household size 6‐8 (7) 8‐10 (9) 10‐12 (11)

Number of members 1‐2 live with the better‐ 0‐1 live with relatives 0‐2 live in the living away & where off households as elsewhere including urban areas, doing dependent relatives or/ those in urban areas schooling and as servants Number of members 1‐2: dependent relatives 1‐3 – relatives & 0 from other family(ies) (mostly employed Mostly Number of members Mother Father Father earning income & who Father Mother Mother (in order of importance) LIVESTOCK Owned Shoats 16‐32 (24) 40 ‐50 (45) 50‐70 (60) Borrowed Shoats 1‐3 (2) 0 0 Female Shoats 18‐20 (19) 31‐33 (32) 40‐44 (42) Male Shoats 6‐8 (7) 12‐14 (13) 16‐20 (18) Lactating Shoats 4‐6 (5) (1‐2 are borrowed) 8‐10 (9) Owned Cattle 3‐5 (4) 7‐13 (10) 15‐25 (20) Borrowed Cattle 0‐1 0 0 Female Cattle 2‐4 (3) 5‐9 (7) 11‐19 (15) Male Cattle 1‐2 2‐3 4‐6 (5) Ox(en) 0‐1 (Not for farming; 1‐2 (Not for farming; 1‐3 (2) (Not for farming; only for sales) only for sales) only for sales) Lactating Cow(s) 1‐3 (2) 2‐4 (3) Owned Camel(s) 0 0 30% of the better‐off own some camels (5‐15 camels). These are in Jidhacle, Dalad, Mara’ato and Galadiid.

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Wealth Group name & Very Poor Poor Middle Better off vernacular name Sabool Liita Sabool Dhexe Ladan

Characteristics Borrowed Camel(s) 0 0 0 Female Camel(s) 0 0 0 Male Camel(s) 0 0 0 Lactating Camel(s) 0 0 0‐1 Pack Camel(s) 0 0 0 Donkey(s)/Ass(s) 1 1‐2 2‐3 Mule(s)/Horse(s) 0 0 0 LAND Land owned No consensus no consensus No consensus Land borrowed/rented 0 0 0 for cultivation Total size of land

cultivated2 1 Sariir 1‐2 Sariir (1.5) 1‐3 Sariir (2)

Rainfed area All rain flood recession All rain flood recession All rain flood recession Irrigated area 0 0 0 Father: crop and Father: crop & livestock Father: crop sale & livestock sales sale (cattle/Shoats) and livestock sale and (Cattle/Shoats), collection collection of loans from undertakes investment of loans and gifts from relatives and friends; bearing activities like Type of income‐ relatives and friends; Mother: livestock restocking for latter generating activities Mother: livestock product sale and shoat sales;

product sale & shoat sales; Mother: livestock

sale, collection of gifts Boy: helps father product sales and shoat from relatives; Girl: helps mother sales; Boy: Helps father; Boy: Helps father Girl: helps mother Girl: Helps mother; OTHER ASSETS

Donkey Carts 0 0 0 Plough 0 0 0 Wells 0 0 0 birkad 0 0 0 Irrigation pumps 0 0 0 Grinding mill 0 0 0 Hand hoe 1‐2 (mostly 1) 1‐3 (mostly 2) 2‐3 (mostly 3) Access to Water Seasonal river and wells Seasonal river and wells Seasonal river and wells in the river basin in the river basin in the river basin Access to Education 1 child Mostly attending Have 1‐2 children in 2‐3 children attend the Koranic schools on‐and‐ Koranic school. Koranic school mostly off basis at different permanently at least for seasons of the year and 1 child goes to primary two of them. mainly in the rainy school – mainly the boys. 1‐2 are likely to join the season (looxjiid). Formal high school and may education is unfit for Few take children to have an opportunity to their economic status (i.e. intermediate and join private schools in they can not afford) and secondary schools and urban areas. seasonal mobility of are those who most have 1 may go to higher livestock. rich relatives in the education but only with urban areas the support of urban relatives. Access to Health Care Access to Poor clinic Access Clinic services in Access some quality services run by junior the their or nearby health services – formal community health localities; & traditional within the workers; Able to go to bigger Zone.

2 For types of crops cultivated in area land need to describe this in section in section on land cropping patterns

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Wealth Group name & Very Poor Poor Middle Better off vernacular name Sabool Liita Sabool Dhexe Ladan

Characteristics Able to buy only towns for better Able to travel to central cheaper and simple treatment; hospitals within the drugs; Able to buy some region; No access to doctors or expensive drugs May manage to take other health services for depending on necessity; their sick to and more serious illnesses. Spend some money on Diredawa with some Spend little money on traditional healing support from relatives; traditional healing and practices; self treatment

4.6 Food Sources in the Reference Year

Food Sources in the Reference Year

120%

100%

eds Other 80%

ne Relief food d o

o Gift food

f 60%

al Purchases u n

n Own L/stock prod

a 40% Own Crops prod of % 20%

0% Poor Middle Better-off Wealth Group

Figure 4 ‐ Food Sources for all Wealth Groups in Korahe Agropastoral LZ As illustrated in the figure above the main sources of food for all wealth groups in the reference year were own crop production, own livestock production, purchases and relief food. Purchases constituted the largest source of food for all wealth groups, where they covered 43%, 54% and 48% of the annual food needs of the poor, middle and better off respectively. Own crop production was the second largest source of food for all wealth groups covering around 20%, 28% and 32% of the total annual food needs for poor, middle and better off wealth groups. Relief food has covered considerable amount of the annual food need of the population in the reference year, where it roughly contributed about 15%, 14% and 14% of the annual food need of the different wealth groups in the same order as above. Unlike the other two wealth groups the poor accessed food gifts in the reference year and gained through this source 15% of their annual food needs.

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Food Basket in the Reference Year

120%

100% eds

e 80% Other n Sugar od

o Oil f 60%

al Dairy u Pulses 40%

ann Cereals f o % 20%

0% Poor Middle Better-off Wealth Group

Figure 5 ‐ Food Basket for all Wealth Groups in Korahe Agropastoral LZ The food basket of all wealth groups in the reference year comprised the following items: cereals, dairy, oil and sugar. As shown in the diagram above, cereals contributed the largest amount to the food basket followed by sugar.

4.7 Income Sources in the Reference Year

Income Totals in the Reference Year

8,000,000

7,000,000

s 6,000,000 g 5,000,000 illin h 4,000,000 li S a 3,000,000 m o

S 2,000,000

1,000,000

0 Poor Middle Better-off Wealth Group

Figure 6 ‐ Income Totals for all Wealth Groups in Korahe Agropastoral LZ As indicated in the figure above, income totals are quite different among the three wealth groups and it increases in line with wealth. So the better off wealth group received the largest income in the reference year (around 7 million Ssh), followed by the middle wealth group (around 5 million Ssh), and the poor wealth group earned the least income total in the reference year (only around 3 million Ssh).

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Income Sources in the Reference Year

100%

80% e m

o Other c 60%

In Remittances l

a Gifts (local gifts) u

n Loans n 40%

A Bush product sale f

o Labour income % Livestock product sale 20% Crop sale Livestock sale

0% Poor Middle Better-off Wealth Group

Figure 7 ‐ Income Sources for all Wealth Groups in Korahe Agropastoral LZ As shown on the chart above there are three main sources of income for all wealth groups; these are livestock sales, livestock product sales and crop sales. Livestock sales is the largest source of income for all wealth groups, where it covered 75%, 82% and 83% of the total income of poor, middle and better off respectively. The second largest source of income for middle and better off wealth groups is livestock product sales, which contributed around 10% of the total income for both these two wealth groups followed by crop sales only (7% for both middle and better off), while in the case of the poor wealth group crop sales is the largest second income source (9%), followed by livestock product sales (7%). Unlike the other wealth groups, the poor had access to loans in the reference year and earned around 9% of their income through that source.

4.8 Expenditure Patterns in the Reference Year

Expenditure Totals in the Reference Year

8,000,000 7,000,000 6,000,000 ngs

li 5,000,000 il h

S 4,000,000 i l a 3,000,000 m o

S 2,000,000 1,000,000 0 Poor Middle Better-off Wealth Group

Figure 8 ‐ Expenditure Totals for all Wealth Groups in Korahe Agropastoral LZ Expenditure totals of the different wealth groups increase with wealth; hence, the better off wealth group spent the highest expense total in the reference year compared to the other wealth groups followed by the middle wealth group, and the poor wealth group spent the least amount of expenses due to its relatively low income in the reference year.

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Expenditure Pattern in the Reference Year

100%

80% Flexibility

Other e

m 60%

o Inputs c

In Social services l a 40% u Clothes & n

n footwear

A Household f items

o 20% Food %

0% Poor Middle Better-off

-20% Wealth Group

Figure 9 ‐ Expenditure Pattern for all Wealth Groups in Korahe Agropastoral LZ Food purchase is the main expenditure for all wealth groups, being over 40% of the total expenses for all wealth groups. Other major areas of expense are: clothes and footwear, social services, input and other.

Expenditure Pattern on Food in the Reference Year

100%

80% e m o c 60%

n Other I l Sugar Oil

nnua 40% Cereals A

of % 20%

0% Poor Middle Better-off Wealth Group

Figure 10 ‐ Proportional Expenditure on Food for all Wealth Groups in Korahe Agropastoral LZ Cereal and sugar were the only food items purchased in the reference year for all wealth groups. Sugar purchase consumed more than 60% of the total expenses on food for all wealth groups.

See Appendix 9.4 for prices and terms of trade between September 2001 and March 2003 in Kebridahar market.

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4.9 Current Situation The food security situation in Korahe zone is well below normal due to the poor performance of the deyr rains that resulted in poor crop performance in agropastoral areas, poor pasture and water availability causing poor livestock production and significant (though mainly internal) livestock migrations. In addition there have been high cereal prices and low livestock prices in most parts, which negatively affected purchasing power and food access. There are unconfirmed reports that in Sheygosh district livestock have started to die due to pasture and water scarcity; this is likely to become a common occurrence if the gu rains delay or fail, or if there are no urgent interventions. As a result, some areas urgently need water interventions for both humans and livestock, while many poor groups require food/income support. If the rains delay or fail, feed supply to prevent livestock deaths may have to be attempted in the worst affected areas. No interventions have yet been made in Korahei Zone, despite having been ranked as one of the worst affected Zones in all the reports since December 2002.

The above situation was precipitated by a number of factors: The deyr rains (October‐ December) skipped most parts of the Zone, including the highest potential cropping and grazing areas (the Zone has 25‐40% agropastoralists3). This caused about 75% deyr crop loss and forced an earlier than normal concentration of livestock at the few permanent water points. Inevitably food availability (milk and cereals) quickly declined, with only a brief improvement after the small harvest in January. The situation was further worsened by the crackdown on illegal cross‐border trade, which reduced livestock demand and prices significantly – about 90% of households needed to purchase cereals during the quarter (as opposed to about 65% in a normal year), and they relied on livestock sales for the needed income. Imported cereal prices also rose in the early part of the quarter but stabilised in March. The combined effect of all this has been a decline in purchasing power and reduced access to basic food commodities. The most affected groups were the poor households and those living in remote villages where transport costs were prohibitive. The situation was made even more difficult by the early drying up of birkeds and other surface water – the main water sources in the Zone, forcing people, already weakened by poor food access, to trek long distances to get water.

The hardships are manifested in a number of ways: Many households have reduced both quantity and number of meals, due to poor access to food. Water prices in the birked‐ dependent areas reached Ssh.50,000 per drum, their highest level since the 2000 drought (about 22 birr; or 2 birr/20litre jerry can). The most affected areas are Higlolay and Nagadwayne in Dobowein district and the birked‐dependent areas of Kebridahar and Shilabo districts. The poor pasture condition has forced livestock to feed on trees and shrubs not normally consumed, such as Garas (dobera galabra), cadey and qalaanqal plants. Livestock body condition had deteriorated during the quarter and production is at the minimum. Worst affected districts are Dobowein, Shilabo and Sheygosh. Livestock health condition is still normal although endemic diseases like locally named qanje, duuf, dhuuqa and sambab (suspected CCPP) in shoats are common. In many places, livestock are trekking abnormally long distances (45‐80km round trip) regularly, between pastures

3 refer to Korahei Agropastoral LZ baseline report by ACF, 2001.

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and water but this is still better than migrating outside the Zone, where alternative pasture sites are distant and uncertain, and getting to them would cause more livestock deaths and human suffering. In humans the common cold, malaria, and TB continue to be prevalent, with little hope of control, as health facilities are very few and poorly equipped and staffed.

The availability of sorghum from Somalia, increased supplies of imported cereals, and the small harvests in Kebridahar and Haarad areas have helped to keep cereal prices to near‐normal levels in the last 1‐2 months of the quarter. Normally livestock sales is the most attractive coping strategy in the normal jilaal, but poor demand and poor body condition of livestock made this option unattractive during the quarter. Instead herders are increasingly resorting to low‐premium strategies like bush product collection and seeking of credit.

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5. Vulnerabilities, Risks & Coping

Table 6 ‐ Vulnerabilities, Risks & Coping Strategies per Wealth Group Coping Mechanisms Vulnerability & Risks Wealth Group When risk is high ‐ Story of Seasonality (sequenced – risk minimizing – coping Cost of Coping (in order of importance) – distress ‐ adaptive) 1. Drought 1. Dry season 1. Diversified economy 1. Less food intake (agropastoral; having different livestock species), 2. Livestock diseases 2. All seasons 2. Livestock migration and 2. Decrease in Livestock splitting (Irmaan: lactating number

Sabool and Horwayn: not lactating (poor) 3. Market fluctuation 3. All seasons 3. Crop and livestock sales 3. Stay away from home area when there are good marketing opportunities 4. Crop failure 4. wet seasons 4. Self‐ employment (gum 4. Malnutrition & diseases and firewood collection) 5. Human disease 5. All seasons 5. Seeking relative support 5. a. Drought a. Dry season 1. Diversified economy 1. Less food intake (agropastoral; having different livestock species) b. Livestock diseases b. All seasons 2. Livestock migration and 2. Decrease in Livestock Dhexe splitting (Irmaan: lactating number (middle) and Horwayn: not lactating c. Market fluctuation c. All seasons 3. Crop & livestock sales 3. Stay away of home area d. Crop failure d. All seasons 4. 4. Malnutrition & diseases e. Human disease f. All seasons •

Laden o Drought o Dry season 1. Diversified economy 1. Less food intake (better off) (agropastoral; having

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different livestock species) o Livestock diseases o All seasons 2. Livestock migration and 2. Decrease in Livestock splitting (Irmaan: lactating number and Horwayn: not lactating o Market fluctuation o All seasons 3. Crop & livestock sales 3. Stay away of home area o Crop failure o wet seasons 4. 4. Malnutrition & diseases o Human disease o All seasons 5. purchasing medicine, traditional/herbal medicnes

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6. Indicators to monitor

Table 7 ‐ Monitoring Indicators for Korahe Agropastoral LZ

Indicator Components Why Frequency

• Sufficient rain based on the norm for • 10 day check during the area • Crop production seasons Rainfall • Distribution – area covered and • Grazing • note any un‐seasonal duration • Water rain(s) • Timeliness ‐ when • Sufficiency (temporally) • Livestock production • • Distribution (spatially) • Social mobility Pasture • Availability • Security and social stability • Access • Distance • Availability as compared to normal • Human consumption • • Access • livestock consumption Water • sufficiency as compared to normal • Social mobility • Coverage • Security and social stability • Distance as compared to normal • Moisture availability • Food production at household level; • • Timeliness of planting • Food availability and prices in the market • Size of the land planted • Food access at household level; • Number of households planted • Stage of the crop in relation to time of Crop condition the season • Crop pests and diseases • Prospects on potential yields before the harvest • Actual yields per household • Body condition • Food source through the consumption of meat, • • Reproduction and birthing rate milk and milk products livestock condition • Milk yields and duration • Source of income through livestock and • Livestock health livestock product sales • disease prevalence • Affects the productivity of members and hence • • Seasonality their contribution to the household temporarily • Access to health services • May cause deaths which will affect the Human health • Availability of health facilities household permanently • Availability of essential drugs • Will increase the expenditure on health • Medical personnel • Disease prevalence level on livestock, • Livestock, human and crop well‐being from ill‐ • crops and human beings health and hence will determine their • Livestock body condition productivity; Livestock health • Any recent livestock mortality and the • Diseases will cause mortality that affects the reason food security and the well‐being of the • How many animals died and why household; • Prices of livestock per species • The access to income and the number of animals • • Body condition of the marketed that the household has to sell to finance food animals and non‐food needs; Market condition • Demand • The purchasing power of the household; • Prices of cereals • The access to food; • Type of cereals available • Time of migration • Determines how serious the situation remains; • Livestock and • Distance • Understand the cause of the migration; population • destination • Analyze the impact mobility • Scale of migration • Cause of the migration

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• What, where, when, who is involved • Effect on the overall food security situation • and the magnitude of the effect through livestock confiscation, human deaths, Security and through limiting pastoral mobility and undermining the traditional practice of resources sharing • What disease or pests • Affect the level of food output and hence the • Crop pests and • Which crops are affected; access to food at household level diseases • How serious; • Affect the general food availability and food prices • Availability as compared to normal • Human consumption • • Access • livestock consumption Water • sufficiency as compared to normal • Social mobility • Coverage • Security and social stability • Distance as compared to normal

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7. Conclusions & Recommendations 7.1 Conclusions

The Korahe Agropastoral livelihood zone comprises mainly flood recession farming in the Fafan plains that lie along the Fafan River in Kebridahar and Dobowain Districts and to a lesser extent by parts of Sheygosh District where farming takes place around seasonal rivers originating from the Qaali Mountains. Cattle and shoats are the main livestock species reared while sorghum remains the main crop grown. Crop production hugely depends on the floods from the Fafan River which originate from the north‐western area of Jijiga zone. This implies that there is a possibility of growing crops sometimes even if local rains fail – as in the case of the reference year for instance. Despite farming having been started in the area long ago, crop production methods are very backward and involve only manual power in the process of production. This constrains the productivity of the land and labour. Poor traditional crop growing practices, the absence of extension services, gully erosion, diseases and pests are the main constraints to crop production. On the other hand, livestock diseases, increasing predator attacks and recurrent droughts limiting pasture and water availability are the major constraints to livestock production.

7.2 Recommendations

• The introduction of modern agricultural inputs like treated seeds compatible with local rainfall conditions, pesticides for crop disease control, drought resistant seed varieties and agricultural implements and improved crop husbandry practices; • Introduction of better water harvesting techniques to complement the already existing traditional techniques; • Improving soil and gully erosion control mechanisms; • Improving human health services, veterinary facilities and access to clean water in the livelihood zone; • In the long term, the development of a large scale crop production though the development of irrigation schemes/dams in the Kebridahar and Dobowain agricultural plains will improve the food security of the zone in general and of the Agropastoralists in particular; • A means of controlling the population of livestock predators that is increasing rapidly is needed to minimize the damage to communities by these wild animals (lion, Hyena and Tigers); • Asset building (through the safety net programme for instance) for the poor Agropastoralists will prevent the growth of IDPs and destitute groups migrating to the urban areas; • The establishment of a buffer food system that absorbs the surplus and responds in times of cereal shortages will help in stabilising prices for the benefit of both consumers and crop producers;

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• In times of poor harvest locally, a way of preventing sorghum traders from Somali land and Puntland of bankrupting local markets from the little harvests has to be found by the local authorities; • The introduction of pastoral/Agropastoral friendly policies directed towards imports of food and essential non‐food items and the livestock cross‐border trade; • Relief interventions should take into consideration the difference between official population figures in Sheygosh district and the number of people actually on the ground which seems to be more than double that officially recognized; • Improving market accessibility through advocacy at international levels and through enhancing livestock trade and improving marketing infrastructure locally; • Malaria control measures including social awareness and improving the access to mosquito nets and malarial drugs; • Traditional mechanisms for conflict resolution have to be strengthened and urgent measures have to be taken in the even of resource‐based tension between communities from different clans and livelihood zones

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8. References

SC (SAVE THE CHILDREN) UK (2000) The Household Economy Approach: a resource manual for practitioners. Save the Children, London.

Famine Early Warning Systems Network; Update on Tanzania http://www.fews.net/current/updates/ visited 11/2003

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9. Appendices

9.1 HEA Methodology

The Household Economy Approach4 The Household Economy Approach helps to provide a detailed picture of the many ways that households meet their food and income needs in a ‘normal’ year and the many strategies they employ to lessen the consequences of crises (selling or consuming assets, migration for employment, eating wild foods, etc.). It therefore provides a picture of the household economy and its relationship to markets and employment opportunities. produce a coherent picture about how people live and the options open to them in a normal year identify the types of risk which households are vulnerable to give an estimate of the likely effect of a ‘shock/hazard’ on household income explore the extent to which coping strategies can cover a household’s deficit identify which population groups are most at risk of not coping with change predict the likely impact of a range of intervention options and identify the most effective in reducing short‐term and long‐term vulnerability

HEA is useful for answering the question “what constraints prevent households from prospering”, or “what will be the effect of a “shock” or combination of shocks, on the economy of various types of households in different Livelihood Zones?” It provides analysis that can be used both for prediction and to make more informed interventions. The approach is reproducible and incorporates sufficient mechanisms to cross‐check information internally for users to be confident of the validity of findings and subsequent recommendations. It can be used in a rapid or a comprehensive form, depending on the question of study, time and money available.

This approach is participatory in nature and does not follow conventional statistical sampling methodology. The method employs RRA tools such as seasonal calendar, time line, normal year, proportional piling, pair wise ranking and so on. Interviews focus on groups that represent specific Livelihood Zones. Within this zone interviews are held with representative key informants and wealth groups (socio‐economic groups). The approach is based on the understanding that it is the quality of the information collected that is important rather than the number of interviews conducted. However, every attempt is made to ensure that the information collected is representative. Thus site selection is done in coordination with technical officials at Regional, Zonal and District levels.

A typical Household economy baseline assessment includes the following steps:

4 For any additional questions please contact Suleiman Mohammed the Early Warning and technical coordinator for Save the Children’s food security project in Jijiga, Ethiopia. Telephone +251 5 752775/6/7 or send an email to [email protected]. Alternatively visit the Save the Children (UK) website www.savethechildren.org.uk/foodsecurity .

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Step 1: Identifying Livelihood Zones (LZ)s and populations The first step therefore is to identify population groups within which most households obtain their food and cash by broadly similar combinations of means (known as a livelihood zone, food economy area, group or zone). A Livelihood Zone may be at one extreme a refugee camp and at the other a large part of a country.

Step 2: Identifying Wealth Groups and a ‘reference’ year. As it is not possible to investigate and generalise across all households, we gain insights into the lives of representatives from the major wealth groups identified by key informants; usually the ‘rich’, ‘middle’, ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’. A profile is developed of the distribution of wealth which will relate to land and/ or livestock holdings, household labour availability, income generating activities, asset ownership and so on. These characteristics are identified by the community themselves and thus vary per LZ.

This profile usually portrays the household economy in a ‘reference’ year. While in reality years vary. In order to allow for comparisons to be made when conditions are significantly different, a ‘reference’ year is chosen which is relatively ‘normal’ or ‘typical’. This reference year is also referred to as the ‘baseline’ year5.

Step 3: Describing Household access to food and cash income Within each LZ we need to understand how typical households access their food and other income and how this varies for each wealth group. This information is obtained by interviewing groups of women or men from each wealth group who identify the various options households employ to secure access to food. These will explore all possible sources of food. In order to purchase food and other basic needs such as health & education, income is derived from various sources, and all are explored. Information is also gathered on all household expenditure.

For each of these three areas, food production, cash income & expenditure, the information is displayed in graphs which illustrate the current situation and show us the options available to each wealth group. Estimates are made of the extent to which a household can expand each option in times of stress. All these interviews are about the previously identified ‘reference year’.

Multiple interviews are conducted and information is triangulated to ensure internal and external consistency. For instance, payment for labour reported by labourers should tally with payment rates given by employers.

Step 4: Understanding links to markets Most households in most parts of the world depend in some way on the marketplace to obtain some of their food. The ‘better‐off’ may increase the value of their crops by specialising production or selling when their value is highest, the poor may be obliged to sell crops directly after harvest and purchase later using income from employment.

5 The term “baseline” is used differently than how it is understood in monitoring longitudinal change. It is, rather, a set of reference information which can be compared with similar information gathered at a future time.

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Without an understanding of ‘normal’ links between households and markets in procuring both food and cash income it is not possible to understand options open in times of crisis. The interviews clarify which markets are of greatest importance and therefore where observed price changes (e.g. staple food prices) or reduced access (e.g. due to hostility) will have greatest impact on households in a given LZ.

Step 5: Clarifying risk‐minimising strategies and potential coping strategies Poor households are constantly aware of the risks to their livelihoods and income and to a large degree anticipate and prepare for this. When broadly predictable, (such as in semi‐arid areas where rainfall and crop production alter greatly from year to year) successful strategies will include storing crops and accumulating livestock in years of surplus production, and increasing use of wild foods and selling livestock and other assets in shortfall years. In years of extreme ‘shock’ other strategies may be available such as sending members of the household to fish, to find employment further a field, to increase the collection of firewood or claiming customary kinship support. As most of these are an extension of the usual coping mechanisms of the poor, interviewees are able to identify the options most likely to be pursued first.

Understanding these options is crucial to understanding how households will manage in a given change and what kind of support is necessary for them to access their food and cash income.

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9.2 Note on Somali Traditional Calendar

Somali communities, mark their traditional years by giving them names that correspond to the days of the week; years are known as Monday year, followed by Tuesday year, etc, and after the seventh year (i.e. Sunday), the cycle begins again with Monday. Years with the same name would be differentiated by a nickname related to a major event (droughts, floods, war, regime change, epidemics, etc), that took place during particular year; for example Arbaca Shuba (meaning the “Pouring Wednesday”) referred to the el‐ nino year of 1997/98, which was a Wednesday year. Whereas year names are the same across all Somali groups, nicknames may be different in the different agro‐ecologies and geographic locations, as events affecting them will be different.

In coming up with Historical timelines, the deyr season (which starts in October) is used as the start of the Somali traditional year. The traditional Somali year therefore spans across two Gregorian calendar years, starting with the deyr (October) and ending with the hagaa (Septmber)

The use two types of calendar years (i.e. two ways of counting years). It is very important for researches studying production, seasonal related areas among the Somali, to distinguish these two calendar types because the Somali community uses them for different purposes6.

1. The nairus or naurus calendar: This calendar is related to the movement of the sun and other celestial bodies and therefore is used to determine seasonal patterns. The calendar year is kept orally with incredible accuracy and followed closely by the rural communities, particularly pastoralists, as it determines when to expect rainfall, and whether or not to move livestock to different location. This type of year is exactly the same as the Gregorian year (i.e. has 365 days) but does not start with January. The beginning of the year is marked by ‘the positioning of some star(s) into specific locations in the sky’, known as kalawereega nairuuska. This usually coincides with start of the deyr rainy season for most Somali groups and is marked in a variety of ways by some rural communities. The nairus year is divided into four main seasons in the most Somali inhabited areas – deyr, jilaal, gu, and hagaa. Deyr and gu are rainy seasons while hagaa and jilaal are dry seasons.

The number of days in each of the seasons in the nairus year are numbered, each about 90, although with some seasons (like the hagaa) being a few shorter and others slightly longer. The total number of days would then fit in exactly with the Gregorian calendar days. Therefore the start of the seasons is normally easily identified with a specific Gregorian date like Gu (the main rains) starts around 12‐14 April in most of the Somali inhabited areas (except the karan belt). Similarly the other seasons start at specific dates (hagaa in July, deyr in October, and Jilaal in January).

6 The order in which the season will appear in the assessment will depend on how a given community identifies their ‘consumption’ year. Therefore a reference year could start in the jilaal season followed by the gu, hagaa & deyr or in the gu followed by the hagaa, deyr & jilaal etc.

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There are parts of the Somali inhabited areas that have slightly different seasonal patterns, but still use the nairus system to keep track of the seasons. These are the northern part of Somali Region (Jijiga and Shinile Zones), the northwestern part of Somalia (mainly Woqooyi Galbeed, Awdal and parts of Sanaag Regions) and Djibouti. These areas do not receive deyr rains but instead receive gu (or diraa’) and karan rains.

2. The () – This calendar uses the moon’s movements instead of the sun’s movement. The number of months is 12 but the year is normally around 355 days. This calendar started with the migration of Prophet Mohamed and his followers from Mecca to Madina, which marked a turning point in the history of the Islamic faith, and is therefore known as Hijriya (Migration) calendar. The Somali have local names for each of the Islamic months ‘or moons’ (but this names differ slightly among the different geographic locations) and they use these months for all religious obligations, rites and worship – like fasting, zakat7 payment, Hajj8, etc.

7 Zakat is the obligatory payment by wealthier Muslims to poorer ones, once their wealth (usually savings or assets) reaches a specific threshold known as nisaab. Zakat is 2.5% of savings; 10% or rainfed crop harvest; 5% of irrigated crop harvest; one shoat for every the first 5 camels owned, etc. 8 Hajj is a compulsory pilgrimage to the Ka’ba (the first house of worship established by prophet Abraham), at least once in a lifetime for Muslim individuals who can afford the journey while still being able to maintain their families.

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9.3 List of Kebeles in Korahe Agropastoral Livelihood Zone

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9.4 Other Information

Table 8 ‐ Permanent water sources in Korahe zone Distance S. Location of the Type of Directio from the No. District permanent water source water source n main town Kebri‐dahar town 2‐3 boreholes ‐ 0 and other wells The Goglo wells‐ Tayin, Hand dug East Dhuure, Xaashaalille, wells Bubi, Waab, Xaraar Hand dug East well Ceelxaar Hand dug S/east 7km Kebri‐ 1. well dahar Xudur Hand dug well Dalaad Hand dug S/wesr 25 km well Karoodka Hand dug East well Galadiid Borehole Garloogubay Hun‐dug N/east well Jidhacle Borehole North 7 km Goble Hand dug well 2. Dobowein Carmaale Hand dug S/west well Haarweyn Hand dug well Sheygosh town Borehole ‐ 0 3. Sheygosh Wijiwaji Borehole South 35 km

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Table 9 ‐ Chronically water insecure areas of Korahe Zone Name of the Direction Distance from Serial District chronically water Water from the the district No. name insecure area source main town capital Baliwiriri Berkad north 35 Bali‐midgan Berkad North‐east 37 Jalelo Berkad North 50 Xodayle Berkad North 40 Qamuda Berkad North 60 1. Shilabo Dofar qalad Berkad North‐west Lasocano Berkad East 70 Aftol Berkad Southwest 13 Godle Berkad North‐east 33 Lababaar Berkad South 70 Gabogabo Berkad North Jiic Berkad North Laandheer Berkad North Toonceeelay Berkad North‐east Garwan Berkad North Berkad North Barajisale Berkad East Kudunbur Berkad east Foljex Shallow East 2. Kebri‐dahar well Maraacaato Shallow South‐east well Karinbilcile Shallow North‐west well Iskudhonley Berkad Xudureyle Shallow South 35 well Qarsooni Berkad Higloley Shallow South 60 well Nagadweyne Shallow South‐west 60 well Kalajeex Shallow Southwest 3. Dobowein well Qorax Shallow South‐west well Haarcaano Shallow South‐east well The whole of the district will run into a water problem in the event of a 4. Sheygosh borehole breakdown in Wijiwaji and Sheygosh town.

During normal times, the population levels in areas mentioned fall between 2000‐ 70000 persons but in unusual circumstances of water shortage, that figure can swell to 15000 persons due to migrations attracted in case water intervention is launched in a particular area.

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Table 10 ‐ The medical staff of Kebri‐dahar Hospital Serial Staff category of the medical Number General remark no. staff 1. Doctors 4 The staff normally 2. Senior nurses (clinical nurse) 1 can not give their 3. Health Assistants 6 best in terms of the 4. Sanitarians 3 services they can 5. Senior midwife 1 offer to the community because 6. Junior midwives 3 of the lack of the 7. Junior nurses 16 necessary facilities 8. Clinical nurses 5 and medical Total 28 equipment that the Hospital requires.

Table 11 ‐ Endemic human diseases and their seasonality Serial Endemic disease Seasonality number Local name Scientific name 1. Malariya (Duumo, Kaneeco) Malaria Start of the dry season (Dabayl‐dhaqaaq) 2. Hargab (Duray) Common cold The cold and dusty periods of the year 3. Oofwareen (Dhaxan) Pneumonia cold and windy periods of the year 4. Jadeeco Measles Dry season 5. Kixi Whooping Dry season cough 6. Qaaxo Tuberculosis All the year round, (TB) 7. Shuban Diarrhoea Start of the wet season and in mid and late dry season, 8. Gooryaan Worms All the year round,

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Table 12 ‐ Endemic livestock diseases and their seasonality

Serial Endemic disease Species Seasonality No. Local name Scientific name Qanje Pastorolosis All seasons Kud Anthrax Dry seasons Dhugato 1. Camel Suuqe Jajab Shimbir Wet seasons Dhukaan Early in the long dry Sambab season Xabbad 2. Cattle Kuududiye Caal, Dry season Cabeeb In the dry seasons Xaar diarrhoea All seasons Early in the long dry Sambab season Caal 3. Shoats Kud Dry seasons Hulumbe Raafdilaac Geesdhawr

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Table 13 ‐ Distribution of schools by grade in Korahe zone Number Serial Location of the District Name Type of school of Remark No. school schools Kebri‐dahar High school 1 Grades 9‐ town 10 Kebri‐dahar Intermediate 1 Grade 5‐8 town Kebri‐dahar Elementary 3 Grade 1‐4 town 1. Kebri‐dahar Malk‐afwayn Elementary 1 Grade 1‐4 district Galadid Elementary 1 Grade 1‐4 Gabogabo Elementary 1 Grade 1‐4 Dalad Elementary 1 Grade 1‐4 Xudureyle Elementary 1 Grade 1‐4 Dhuure Elementary 1 Grade 1‐4 Nusdariiqa Elementary 1 Grade 1‐4 Sub‐total 12 Sheygosh town Intermediate 1 Grade 5‐8

Sheygosh town Elementary 1 Grade 1‐4 2. Sheygosh district Wijiwaji Elementary 1 Grade 1‐4 Gomar Elementary 1 Grade 1‐4 Sub‐total 4 Haarcad town Elementary 1 Grade 1‐4 3. Dobowein Higloley Elementary 1 Grade 1‐4 Haarcaano Elementary 1 Grade 1‐4 Sub‐total 3 Shilabo town Intermediate 1 Grade 5‐8 Shilabo town Elementary 1 Grade 1‐4 Jalelo Elementary 1 Grade 1‐4 4. Shilabo district Baliwariir Elementary 1 Grade 1‐4 Dhambacad Elementary 1 Grade 1‐4 Lasole Elementary 1 Grade 1‐4 Sub‐total 6 Grand total 25

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Figure 11 – Prices and Terms of Trade in Kebridahar Market (2001 – 2003)

Kebridahar Market: Prices and terms of trade (TT) -Sep '01-Mar '03 180 2

160 1.8

140 1.6 g ghum k hoat

1.4 r

0 120 o S 1.2 hoat

100 g s rr) 5 i s

and 1

80 50k (B .

0.8 per e o c

i 60 ghum N r : r 0.6 P T o 40 T S 0.4 20 0.2 0 0

1 b r r y n l g p t 2 b r '0 02 Ju ov '0 03 c Fe Ma Ap Ma Ju Au Se Oc N Fe Ma an' ec an' De J D J Months (Sep '01 - Mar '03)

Shoat price Sorghum price TT: shoats vs sorghum The prices and TT situation during the Jan-Mar quarter was better than in the previous quarter - with shoats exchanging for more sorghum. this was mainly becasue of a small harvest in the Zone, availability of sorghum from Somalia and the slight improvment in shoat demand and prices. This helped the Zone's main markets to recover from the impact of the cross-border trade restrictions since October 2002, and the gu crop failure. Nevertheless rural markets continue to suffer poor TT and food shortages. The severe shortage of water and the stressful treks for water are making this seemingly favourable TT meanigless for most of the population.

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