Countries we work in
Ethiopia
Farm Africa works across Ethiopia helping people who rely on the land to improve their livelihoods and restore their ecosystems.
Ethiopia has made remarkable progress in the past 20 years, with over 15 million people lifted out of poverty and great strides made in nature conservation. Today it is one of the top performing economies in sub-Saharan Africa with nine national parks and five UNESCO world biosphere reserves.
Yet that progress is in jeopardy.
With more than three quarters of the country’s population living in rural areas, balancing rural livelihood needs with ecosystem protection is critical.
The country has taken big steps towards sustainability, but climate change, conflict and the global economic crisis are hitting rural people hard. Poverty remains concentrated in rural communities, with most households living on less than 31 pence a day¹.
Conservation challenges
The increasing weather extremes are causing severe droughts and flooding, destroying crops and rangelands and causing a significant decline in the availability of fertile soil and clean water.
Unsustainable practices are widespread as people are forced to compete for dwindling resources. The need for fertile agricultural land is causing forests and grasslands to be cleared for farming. The need to feed livestock is causing overgrazing in open grasslands. The need for fuelwood and construction materials is damaging forests.
30 million
people rely on the tropical forests of Ethiopia's Bale Eco-region for their water supply.
Livelihood challenges
Small-scale farmers are also facing many business challenges. Conflict is disrupting markets. High inflation is driving up costs and wiping out profits.
Many farmers lack business skills and few can obtain finance. Most have poor access to markets and no way of sourcing the technical expertise and products they need to improve their productivity and sustainability.
95%
of Ethiopia's agricultural output is produced by smallholder farmers.
Farm Africa in Ethiopia
Farm Africa works across Ethiopia to help rural communities boost their productivity and incomes while conserving and restoring the ecosystems they rely on.
We understand that the way people use land, forests and water can have a big impact on people living elsewhere – downstream for example. That’s why we take a broad-scale, regional approach, bringing together NGO partners, research institutes, local communities, national parks and government agencies to find inclusive solutions that work for people and for nature.
We help rural communities develop more sustainable ways of using the forests, rangelands, and water sources they rely on.
“You cannot conserve natural resources without thinking about the livelihoods of the community, and you cannot improve livelihoods of the community without thinking about conservation of the environment. The two go hand in hand. If that is jointly planned and jointly executed, any intervention will be successful and sustainable.”
Shewit Emmanuel
Ethiopia Country Director, Farm Africa
Sustainable solutions
Together with our partners, we support communities to roll out climate-smart farming techniques, develop forest-friendly enterprises, trial more sustainable energy solutions, improve their access to markets and more.
Deep expertise
Ethiopia is Farm Africa’s biggest country programme. Having worked in Ethiopia since 1988, and with all of the programme’s 125 staff members being of Ethiopian nationality, we have a deep understanding of the complex challenges people are facing here, and a depth of experience – and partnerships – to draw from for solutions.
Currently, we have eight active programmes working in 16 locations across the country.
Our programmes in Ethiopia
Active
Nature-based solutions
Running since
2023
Country
Ethiopia
Target reach
87,000 households
Key focus areas
Act on climate change
Increase incomes
Protect ecosystems
Nature-based solutions
Running since
2023
Country
Ethiopia
Target reach
87,000 households
Key focus areas
Act on climate change
Increase incomes
Protect ecosystems
Active
Nature-based solutions
Farm Africa, along with nine partners, is implementing the four-year Nature-based Solutions for Sustainable and Inclusive Development (NSSID) programme in Ethiopia to reduce poverty, build communities’ resilience to climate change and protect the environment.
Running since
2023
Country
Ethiopia
Target reach
87,000 households
Key focus areas
Act on climate change
Increase incomes
Protect ecosystems
Active
Gender transformation and climate resilience
Running since
2024
Country
Ethiopia
Target reach
37,315
Key focus areas
Act on climate change
Empower women
Protect ecosystems
Gender transformation and climate resilience
Running since
2024
Country
Ethiopia
Target reach
37,315
Key focus areas
Act on climate change
Empower women
Protect ecosystems
Active
Gender transformation and climate resilience
Rural women often have a deep understanding of local resource challenges, so there’s a lot to be gained from involving them more fully in natural resource decision-making. The gender transformation and climate resilience project aims to help rural communities in the Afar and Oromia Regional States of Ethiopia adapt to climate change by strengthening the role women can play in the management of natural resources for their communities.
The project aims to unlock that leadership potential by reshaping gender-biased social norms. On the ground, that means championing the inclusion of women within predominantly male organisations, such as farming or forest cooperatives, involving women in promoting climate-smart agriculture and sustainable enterprises, and creating opportunities for women and men to work side-by-side in addressing the development needs of their communities.
This work is being undertaken in partnership with the Union of Ethiopia Women and Children Association (UEWCA) and Population Health and the Environment Ethiopia Consortium (PHE-EC).
Running since
2024
Country
Ethiopia
Target reach
37,315
Key focus areas
Act on climate change
Empower women
Protect ecosystems
Active
Forest-friendly livelihoods to protect biodiversity in the Bale Eco-region
Running since
2024
Country
Ethiopia
Target reach
120
Key focus areas
Boost productivity
Increase incomes
Protect ecosystems
Forest-friendly livelihoods to protect biodiversity in the Bale Eco-region
Running since
2024
Country
Ethiopia
Target reach
120
Key focus areas
Boost productivity
Increase incomes
Protect ecosystems
Active
Forest-friendly livelihoods to protect biodiversity in the Bale Eco-region
Ethiopia’s Bale Eco-region is one of Africa’s most important biodiversity hotspots. However, increasing pressure from population growth and unsustainable land use is degrading the landscape, leading to deforestation, biodiversity loss and declining livelihoods for local communities.
To address these challenges, Farm Africa is supporting smallholder farmers and agro-pastoralists in the Bale Eco-region to develop forest-friendly livelihoods such as sustainable coffee production, agroforestry and woodlot establishment. These efforts not only help rural communities to earn more money, but also reduce pressure on the surrounding forests.
Our work with smallholder farmers is focused on growing sustainable coffee gardens outside the forest. With support including seeds, tools and conservation techniques, farmers have established over 30,000 coffee seedlings outside forest boundaries and are starting to secure better prices for their improved coffee.
Running since
2024
Country
Ethiopia
Target reach
120
Key focus areas
Boost productivity
Increase incomes
Protect ecosystems
The latest from Ethiopia
Watch
Resources
Country
Ethiopia
Key focus areas
Boost productivity
Increase incomes
Protect ecosystems
Participatory Rangeland Management in Ethiopia
This brief captures Farm Africa’s experiences in implementing participatory rangeland management (PRM) systems in Ethiopia and offers strategic recommendations for future enhancements. It demonstrates the potential for PRM to sustainably manage resources, reduce environmental pressures and improve the livelihoods of pastoral communities.
Download (5.16mb)
Country
Ethiopia
Key focus areas
Boost productivity
Increase incomes
Protect ecosystems
Building a resilient wheat value chain and empowering smallholder farmers (BRES) project: story booklet
More info
Country
Ethiopia
Key focus areas
Boost productivity
Increase incomes
Building a resilient wheat value chain and empowering smallholder farmers (BRES) project: story booklet
A collection of impact stories from farmers taking part in the Building a Resilient Wheat Value Chain and Empowering Small Farmers (BRES) project, funded by AGRA, which is helping 130,450 smallholder wheat farmers in Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia, overcome challenges that are undermining their livelihoods.
Download (2.43mb)
Country
Ethiopia
Key focus areas
Boost productivity
Increase incomes
Project factsheet: Building a resilient wheat value chain and empowering smallholder farmers in Oromia (BRES)
More info
Country
Ethiopia
Key focus areas
Boost productivity
Increase incomes
Project factsheet: Building a resilient wheat value chain and empowering smallholder farmers in Oromia (BRES)
An overview of the aims, approach, target reach and collaborating organisations of the Building a Resilient Wheat Value Chain and Empowering Smallholder Farmers in Oromia (BRES) project in Ethiopia.
Download (497.74kb)
Country
Ethiopia
Key focus areas
Boost productivity
Increase incomes
Country
Ethiopia
Key focus areas
Act on climate change
Increase incomes
Protect ecosystems
The Forests for Sustainable Development programme: stories of impact
This publication captures the progress of the Forests for Sustainable Development programme as it partners with communities in the ecologically critical Bale Eco-region of Ethiopia to balance local livelihood needs with the protection of globally significant natural forests. Alongside the impact summary is a collection of stories from the community and an overview of key lessons learnt along the way.
Download (2.86mb)
Country
Ethiopia
Key focus areas
Act on climate change
Increase incomes
Protect ecosystems
Country
Ethiopia
Key focus areas
Act on climate change
Increase incomes
Protect ecosystems
Strengthening Participatory Forest Management in Ethiopia
This policy brief outlines recommendations from Tree Aid and Farm Africa on how participatory forest management can be strengthened and scaled to protect Ethiopia’s forests.
Download (1.46mb)
Country
Ethiopia
Key focus areas
Act on climate change
Increase incomes
Protect ecosystems
Coffee for conservation: Protecting forests by growing a thriving forest coffee value chain
More info
Country
Ethiopia
Key focus areas
Connect farmers to markets
Increase incomes
Protect ecosystems
Coffee for conservation: Protecting forests by growing a thriving forest coffee value chain
This learning paper describes how a three-year Farm Africa project in the ecologically vital Ilu Ababor Zone of Ethiopia successfully protected natural forests while improving the livelihoods of 4,000 people through sustainable coffee production and alternative income sources.
Download (1.04mb)
Country
Ethiopia
Key focus areas
Connect farmers to markets
Increase incomes
Protect ecosystems
