The Afar Region is neglected and remote. The people are pastoralist, moving from place to place to find food and water for their livestock. Due to changing climate conditions, this is no longer a sustainable lifestyle if we want to prevent famine and starvation. Promoting and supporting sustainable agriculture is helping to move pastoralist communities into agro-pastoralism, improving food security.
What’s Involved in Sustainable Agriculture Development?
Sustainable agriculture is the key to true food security for Ethiopia.
Developing sustainable agriculture for Ethiopia can mean training farmers in better agricultural practices and giving them improved seed so they are better able to achieve their goals. When development groups implement projects like this, there is also the opportunity to introduce off-farm activities, such as income-generating activities for women that increase and diversify household income while empowering women. Building capacity in the community and introducing activities to manage natural resources, such as soil and water, may also be done.
Projects that promote sustainable agriculture can be beneficial in the short term as well as over the long term. Offering local people work-for-food opportunities allows them to take care of their immediate food needs while helping to ensure that they will feel ownership of a project they have built themselves. This type of model encourages long-term participation for a truly sustainable system.
Sustainable agriculture includes helping people better manage livestock so they can have greater food security, especially in those areas that see very little rainfall. Some organizations help groups improve livestock health and feed as well as improve breeds. They also assist with livestock marketing so people can improve their economic situation as well.