In the Ingal mountains that straddle the border with Eritrea, the effects of Ethiopia’s worst drought in more than 30 years are being felt. The failure of both the main rainy seasons last year had a devastating effect on an area where virtually every family lives off the land.
It has left almost every household dependent on food parcels from the Ethiopian government and, by prompting many young men to conclude they must leave, it has caused a surge in the number attempting long and dangerous journeys, primarily to Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Europe, in search of work.
Of 962 households in the village of Agere Lokema, 40km from Adigrat, 286 are headed by women.
“We women would migrate as well if we thought we could find work,” says Abeba Teklehaymanot.
At night, when the children sleep and the temperature dips, Teklehaymanot joins teams of locals working to irrigate land – part of a project, co-run by Trócaire, aimed at diverting water for use by the community.
Further down the valley, the work is beginning to bear fruit: a series of stone and wire-mesh dams has trapped water and increased soil fertility, allowing livestock to feed and landless families to plant crops.The topsoil is thin; even a good harvest will feed families for just six months.
But the effects of the current drought are being felt far more widely. Together, the two main rainy seasons supply over 80 per cent of Ethiopia’s agricultural yield and employ 85 per cent of the workforce.
The alarming shortage of rain in the past year has left 10.2 million people in need of emergency food aid and put 18 million – close to a fifth of the population – at risk.
The reasons for the current shock are largely outside Ethiopia’s control. El Niño, a water-warming weather pattern that occurs in the Pacific Ocean every two to seven years, sets off a global ripple effect, causing unusually heavy rain in some parts of the world and drought elsewhere.
Source - http://www.freshplaza.com
