RAPID ASSESSMENT FOR MARKET (RAM) Gedio zone, Yirgachefe, Gedebe and Dilla Town SNNPR, Ethiopia Report date: 9/15/2018 1 1. Types of shock IDPs plans for return Guji and Gedeo peoples have long history of living together and they have experienced peaceful relationship with each other. Historic trends registry reveals that this is not the first-time conflict has occurred between the Guji and Gedeo. However, in recent years, there are reports of resource competition among other influences, issues and ideologies. Conflict between these two communities was reported in 1976, 1994, 1997, 2017 and 2018 (Ethiopian calendar 1969, 1987, 1990, 2009 and 2010) with small numbers of people displaced [1] . However, since April 2018 continue insecurity and localized conflict between communities in Gedeo zone in SNNPR and West Guji in Ormiya region have led to the displacement of more than 958,500 peoples. As a result, quite number of life has been lost and number of peoples have lost their asset, livelihoods disrupted, and basic services and infrastructure has damaged. The Government put effort to create a peaceful situation between the two communities as a result based on the government plan the IDPs has started to return to their places of origin. Government directions are such that all IDPs will be returned by mid-August 2018. This will allow the IDPs not to totally lose out on the cropping season (although quite late) and the host communities to prepare the schools for the following semester that begins in September 2018. 2. FINDINGS OF THE ASSESSMENT 2.1. Key Commodities and source of income Before the displacement the Gedeo Zone people livelihood is coffee and they produce some of the highest quality organic coffee in Ethiopia and the area also productive in terms of enset. Therefore, for the most of the people’s main source of income or cash in the zone are coffee sales, other crop sale / enset, livestock production and sale, daily labour / local casual work in the coffee fields and in pulping stations, self-employment and petty trade. Mainly men support the livelihood of the household focused on cash crop / coffee production, women take the large part of selling vegetables (enset and spinach) livestock rearing a well as daily labour/harvest coffee. But no due to the conflict and they are displacement, there is no more livelihoods activities for men and women, IDPs are not doing anything but waiting for the assistance. Recently published IOM [1]Gedeo/Guji zone market and need assessment finding showed that IDPs lack non-food items, including materials to prepare food, clothes and take care of personal hygiene. Similarly, rapid gender analysis (RGA) done by CARE Ethiopia in July 2018, reveal that IDPs in Dilla town, Gedeb and Yirgachafe the main priority needs expressed by IDPs include immediate assistance in the provision of basic reliefs items including in shelter, food, cash and hygiene and sanitation. 2 Interviewed women, men and boys mentioned cash as one of the main immediate needs they have. While girls didn’t specifically refer to cash they have [1]pointed at personal hygiene items and shelter kits, including clothes, blankets, and mattress, shoes, which are available on a local market and could be purchase with the provision of cash. Considering the above finding and cash preference by the IDPs in Geode zone CARE Ethiopia has been designing a cash response for SNFI. However, to design the delivery modality as well as verify market functionality and the traders’ capacities and expandability to meet the increased needs, safety of access by the displaced population as well as safety for CARE staff. CARE Ethiopia has been conducted follow up of rapid market assessment. Finally based considering more popular markets the three critical marketplaces have been selected which are Gembe Gebeya in Dilla Town, Aroge Ketema in Yirgachefe, Ye ketema adarash in Gedeb. Traders in Dilla town all buy the key commodities from Adds Ababa. Similarly traders in Yirgachefe woredas buy key commodities from Addis Ababa. However, traders in Gede woredas buy the key commodities from Dilla and sometimes they buy key commodities from Moyale from Oromia region. Almost 100 % of interviewed traders in Yirgachefe and Gedeb woreda does not have separate store to stock the key commodities but some traders in Dilla town have store stocks of commodities. 2.2. Cash feasibility and market access Cash assistance is feasible because of its acceptance and the market functionality. IDPs, together with the Zonal and Woreda leaders, accept the use of cash as a response modality. Even though currently the government has been starting to return the IDPs into their original places, cash assistance for the returnee is fully supported by the EOC at Dilla town. Markets are functioning and well-integrated with different markets such as Addis Ababa, Shashamane, Hawassa, Dilla and Moyale. Additional goods are imported from the Kenya and Somalia trade routes especially second-hand clothes and shoes and plastic household items. IDPs have access to markets and availability of good quantities and quality of NFI, Shelter, WaSH and food items in most of the assessed markets. Vendors, especially those in the three main markets have the capacity and are willing expand their capacity to meet the increased IDP basic needs. The market prices are of food and coffee as well as NFI items are monitored by a woredas government office. There are local markets which have suitable quality and quantity of goods and there are potential suppliers to deliver the items in short period of time. For sure, it stimulates the market and will create competition and market integration for essential goods. It may also create price increment in the 3 12normal market on essential commodities. In Dilla town there is no history of CBI in the area previously. We don’t have market monitoring/price trucking system for essential goods like NFIs, but you usually the government communicates the farmers about the price of coffee at national markets. The assessment shows that IDP households have easy access to markets with no specific access restrictions for any group of people in the communities, no major disruptions or damage were caused to the market infrastructure, and all markets observed during the assessment are fully functional. However, in the last three or four months in Gedebe woredas two kebeles that border with West Guji specifically in Gotiti and Banko lalatuu kebeles market have been damaged and lost their assets as a result the trader weren’t able to operate as usual. Similarly, woredas market because of high influx and instability of the area for a month, traders weren’t normally operating but now the situation is improved, and the government start to replace IDPs in to their normal residence. Because the number of IDPs was doubled the number of peoples in the woreda. During in the assessment the number of peoples coming to market place has been increased since the shock because the IDPs not totally returned to their original place. In Both Gedebe and Yirgachefe woredas there have been faced similar shocks in past 2009 but the conflict was within the zone. Consequently, number of shops, coffee pulping stations and houses were damaged. To recover from the damage, it takes more than a year. Similarly, there was local conflict in Dilla town last year, the incidence by itself resulted the destruction of market places and it took three –five months to recover the market stability. It was disturbed the entire market and goods were unavailable due to the destruction. 2.1. Traders Capability and Expandability of Stock Most of interviewed traders restock key commodities in shops but some of them have separate store especially those traders who live in Dilla town. There is number of traders that can supplies the NFI in the assessed woredas for example: In Gedebe Woreda there are more than five similar types of 1Ethiopian Journal of the Social Sciences and Humanities, The Quest for Resolution of Guji-Gedeo Conflicts in Southern Ethiopia , A review of Mechanisms Employed Actors and Their effectiveness 2014 , Kinfemichael, Girum. 2Gedeo and Guji Zone Market Assesment Report IOM, 2018 4 traders who supplies blanket, Bed sheet and mat. In Yirgachefe market there are ten to twelve traders who supplies cooking pot, cup, plates, jerrycan, bucket, mat and matters. As a result, interviewed traders can meet with in three or four weeks the increased demand but some traders need six to eight months to increase the stock to meet 100 percent demand. However, there are enough traders to meet the short demand. For instance, in Gedebe woreda the traders can get additional stock with three or four months. Where as in Yirgachefe within a week but if the need is immediate they mentioned that they can get additional stock with in a day. Most traders will use existing supplies to get additional supplies but still there is no demand from the customer side to increase their capacity. The traders mentioned that if the IDPs provided with cash the demand will increased because the season is not the harvesting time and the peoples have displaced with empty hands their purchasing powers significantly decreased. In addition, there are different factors that makes them difficult to increase key commodities supply. In both Gedebe, Yirgachefe and Dilla woreda listed factors are: there is no demand and less purchasing power, high taxation, increased foreign exchange rate and inflation (high commodities price). For the above-mentioned factors to solve sustainably traders suggested that the government should reduce the rate of foreign exchange, peace and security should be assured, stability of the community, create loan access, taxation rate should be lower and increased demand by providing with cash.