Combining soil conservation and fodder production for an adaptation to climate change, Southern region – Ethiopia

fodderETHThis study documents the actions conducted by Inter Aide in the Southern Region (Ethiopia), that combine soil & water conservation with the integration of fodder production. The basic idea is to consider the necessity of soil conservation and climate-changes adaptation as an opportunity to directly improve and diversify the farm productions, through the integration of fodder and biomass production, and gradually engage the farmlands in the preservation of entire micro-watersheds. The document includes the following chapters:

  • Farmers’ local perception on the climate change effects, in parallel to an analysis of 14 years of records of daily precipitations
  • A presentation of the proposed innovative solutions, with a brief history of the process that leaded to the innovations
  • A more technical part on: the role of farm based micro-nurseries in the diffusion of (new) fodder species for a significant number of families; the integration of fodder in the farms as a way to combine both soil conservation and diversification of the farm’s productions; and a presentation of the changes induces by the integration of “fodder cropping” in the farms and the different associations of grasses and legumes that have experienced by the farmers. Detailed technical documents on these 3 topics have also been published
  • The question of “adoption” and durability of the changes;
  • An analysis of the impact for the broadest segment of the farming population, but also for families in a precarious situation;
  • The perspectives and the issue of scaling-up

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Home garden

This study focuses on the farmers’ practices observed in the home garden of Damot Sore, a Woreda belonging to the Wolayta Zone. It is avialable here: homeGarden

The main objectives of this study were the following:

  •   Define the notion of home garden as farmers understand it in Damot Sore;
  •   Document the different practices observed within these home gardens (allocated surfaces, cultivated crops, associations, fertilization…);
  •  Understand farmers strategies and assess the possible correlations between these strategies and farmers socio-economic status;
  •  Appreciate the evolution of cropping patterns in the home-gardens during the past years (particularly as regard to the recent droughts);
  •  When possible, identify original or innovative practices and traditional know-how (particularly as regards planting material conservation).

An important part of the study also concerns the management of the ensete production.

Ethiopian Iddir mechanisms: A case study in pastoral communities of Wolayta and Kembatta-Tembaro

IddirSince 2005, Inter Aide agricultural programs in Ethiopia (support to smallholder farming families) have developed several partnerships with traditional local structures called “Iddirs”. Iddirs are vernacular organizations, based on collective savings, aiming at supporting financially and organisationally member families in certain circumstances (burial ceremonies for instance). Based on mutual understanding and solidarity amongst their members, Iddirs constitute the nearly sole traditional entity having a real legitimacy within the community.

In order to have a better understanding of the local Iddirs groups of Wolayita and Kembata-Tembaro zones, Inter Aide has undertaken a study to get a deeper knowledge of the history, identity, role and functioning patterns of these institutions. One of the expectations of this study was also to obtain an accurate representation of the responsibilities and limits of Iddirs groups, as regards agricultural development activities, allowing to better adjust the programs’ methodology to the specificities of the prevailing social context

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