Increasing self-sufficiency for pastoralists in Afar, Ethiopia

10 July 2012

Members of Afar’s Alidege community are now able to provide food for their cattle during long dry seasons thanks to the hard work of their Community Development Committee.

Farm Africa have been working with the committee, providing the tools and knowhow they needed to clear over 100 hectares of land of Prosopis.

Mohammed, the Chairman of the community group, told us how one area of the cleared land has been fenced off to prevent cattle grazing on it whilst the rangeland regenerates. Now the grasses have returned they have been harvesting, drying and storing them as hay for use by the whole community during times when there is insufficient fodder for their livestock.

Last year, a long period with no rains left the community and their livestock struggling to survive – they were reliant on emergency fodder provision from Farm Africa. Thanks to the project, this year they have been self-sufficient, and had stored enough fodder to see the 500 households in the area through the long dry season. It would have cost over £3,600 to buy this much animal feed – an unaffordable sum for the community.

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