NBDC Diga Livelihood Survey Report

• Basic componentsImportant components that contributed to peoples

livelihood– Food security issues – Land and land related issues– Livestock Related issues– Crop production related issues– Tree/plantation related issues– Labor and labor related issues

Livelihood cont…

• Food Security• There are some people who cam meet their food

requirements in an average year (6 months). Most people faces seasonal food shortage on the five kebeles.

• Months of food security times varies from kebele to kebele and even between men and women. For example, 5-6 ,6.5 ,6, 6, 7 months for Bikila, Arjo, Guddisa, Lelisa Dimtu and Adugna wile the remaining months are food insecurity months.

Livelihood cont…

• During foods insecurity time most of the people engage in Collecting of “quncee”(forest product that can used to make rope) and meexii to sell in the local market( for Bikila and Adugna ), daily laborers, borrowing, sale of small ruminant animals such as sheep and goat, migrant labor to engage in daily laborer in sand stone and agricultural activities for all kebeles

Livelihood cont…

• Sources of cash• Bikila-Sale of some cash crops, cattle fattening

and sell, sell of livestock, People in the lower land areas of the kebele also sell the available vegetables such as tomato and fruits to the market to sell, daily laborer

• Arjo-Sale of Mango, papaya, coffee, seedling production and sell, sale of grain, sheep and goat, cattle fattening(few individuals) and daily laborer

Livelihood cont…

• Guddisa-Sale of crops such as pea, beans, barley (garbuu) wheat (qamadii) and teff as well as coffee.

• Lelisa Dimtu-Mango and coffee sale, sale of small ruminant animals, sale of eggs and hen

• Adugna-Sale of coffee, sale of animal and crop such as teff, beans, peas, barely, wheat sale

Livelihood cont…

• Asset that determine wealth– Bikila-Number of cattle including such as oxen,

land and labor, fruits such as mango– Arjo-Large hectares of Fruits such as mango,

papaya, irrigation land, coffee plant, oxen and cows as well as sheep and goat

– Guddisa-Livestock, Coffee ,eucalyptus tree and land

Livelihood cont…

• Lelisa Dimtu-Mango, cattle and coffee, honey making, land more than four hectare

• Adugna-Number of Oxen, cow, sheep, goat, horse, land

Livelihood cont…

• Land, livestock, labor are important and central and important components of the peoples livelihoods in study kebeles.

• But, these resources are not evenly distributed among the all households and these leads to differences in the livelihoods of the population the five Kebeles(Bikila,Arjo qunanbula, Gudisa, Lelisa Dimtu and Adugna)

Livelihood cont…• Land and land related issues• Some of the farmers in the fives kebeles do not have land

at all except residential houses, some have few land that even not more than half a hectare, most of the farmers have less that 2 hectare of land that actually can not support the livelihood of the their families through out the year. For example an estimates of 30% ,35%, 40%, 22%, 30% of farmers in Bikila, Arjo, Gudissa, Lelissa Dimtu and Agugna respectively have no any land land to cultivate for their livelihood except their residential houses..

Livelihood cont…

• The FGD with the women group have different estimation i.e 25%, 35% and 30% in Bikila,Guddisa and Lelissa Dimtu respectively.

• Thus, there exist landholding variation between household(example ,in Bikila minimum 0 and maximum may be 4-5 hectare) which create differences in their livelihood.

• In addition to lack and shortage of land, the discussion in the five kebele also revealed that even for those who have assumed to have land,

Livelihood cont…the productively of land is significantly decreases owning to soil

erosion( a serious problem across the study area), lack fertility of soil, problems of termite

• However, the farmers have also some indigenous coping mechanism for shortage, lack land as well as soil erosion due to lack of terrace ,deforestation, overgrazing, repeated farming and the topographic nature (sloppy nature of the land especially, Giddusa, upper Bikila, and Adugna).

• For shortage of land and lack of land, they have been using local coping mechanisms such as qixxee (Sharecropping), Hirbo(land rent), siso(is also and rent but the ration is mostly 4:1), Kenna(gift) for those in close proximity.

Livelihood cont…

In some areas such as Agugna and Lelisa Dimtu, they interchangeably use siso with Hirbo.

• To some extent inheritance of land also important coping mechanisms for land acquisition.

• However, these local coping mechanisms are not as such enough to generate sufficient livelihoods and some of them are currently difficulty even to exist

• For soil erosion, the discussion reveals that mainly used local means such as drainage furrow, soil with sack and stone bund making on the upper parts of the cultivated land, and so a limited extent some of them also plant trees.

Livelihood cont…

• For the problem of soil fertility, some of them using crop rotation, using chemical fertilizer, and cattle kraal shifting over land to use animal manure as fertilizer(especially for land near and round to their homestead)

• Land is important resources upon which crops are grown and livestock are grazed.

• Crops, fruits and vegetables gown for foods in the kebeles show slight variation. Example in Bikila Maize, sorghum, Millet, oil seeds(selix and Nug), Anchote, Gelebi, and to some extent teff, coffee of which

Livelihood cont…

Oil seeds, coffee for the upper kebeles and Mango, papaya and totmato for the lower kebele are cash crops

• In Arjo Maize, sorghum, Millet, oil seeds(selix and Nug), Gelebi, Ruze, to some extent teff,

mango, papaya ,Pauper, coffee, Cabbages, Abukado, Anchote, onion, potato, carrot of which Mango, papaya, oil seed and coffee are important cash crops

• In Guddisa Maize, barely, wheat, ,enset, sorghum, potato, Galabii and coffee of which Coffee, and to some extent peans and beans and potato

Livelihood cont…• In Lelisa Dimtu Sorghum, maize Millet, Salix, mango,

papya and coffee of which Selix, Papaya and mango• In Adugna Teff, Maize, barely,

wheat ,enset,sorghum,potato,Galabii,maiz,millet,beans,peans,potato,anchote, of which Wheat, coffee, beans, pean,

• Crop production is mainly affected by Termite, Shortage of land, infertility of land, limited or lack of draft animals, increasing price of fertilizer, wild animals such as baboon, monkey and soil erosion, Weed and variability of rainfall

Livelihood cont…

• Irrigation is rarely practiced in almost all kebeles and even the practice is also dominated by the traditional one which they call it bone. Ownership to irrigation land is passed from generation to generation through inheritance but few areas such as Guddisa there is allocation by the government during Derge’s regime. There is no formal water user associaltion

Livelihood cont…

• Conflict over water is less except in Arjo area where some farmer create dispute over access to water waterways can easily be solved by elders.

• Livestock• Is the crucial resources of the study for their

livelihoods. Oxen, cow, sheep, goat, hen are the common livestock across kebeles but in addition to these donkey exist in Arjo,Lelisa Dimtu,Guddisa and Adugna. Moreover, in Adugna horse also a common animal for transportation

Livelihood cont…

• Cow: for reproduction, meat, milk and milk product for consumption and their hide also used for cash income and their manure used as fertilizer;

• Oxen: For plough, thresh meat, for consumption and their hide also used for cash income and their manure used as fertilizer;

• Sheep, goat and hen: Used as sources of cash income to cover costs of fertilizer, clothing of family members, cover educational materials for children and finally if slaughted for foods;

Livelihood cont…• Hen: used to cover small expenditure in the home and

managed by women. Their meet also used for consumption.• All population do not have such animals for their livelihood.

Especially the participant estimated percentage of population who do not have any oxen as 40% , 30%, 30%, 35% , 33% in Bikila, Arjo, Guddisa, Lelisa Dimtu and Adugna respectively.

• Those who do not have any oxen to plough their land enter into some local arrangement fort their livelihood.

• Risk sharing: when animal especially oxen die from some households, they lent out oxen for a day or two to three days for ploughing depending on close proximity in social and geographical distances

Livelihood cont…• Araso: sharing arrangement between oxen owners and a

person who don’t have oxen but have sufficient labor. The agreement is 2:1 ration i.e he plough two days for oxen owner and one day for himself

• Gatiitii: This is draft ox or oxen labor exchange in kind between ox or oxen owner and labor and landowner.

• Pairing: this sharing occurs between two equal status individuals especially in oxen

• Dhala: provision of small ruminant animal for reproduction to others households. The agreement is that the offspring is shared among the two households while maintain the original female livestock for the owner.

Livelihood cont…

• Sirbisiisaa: Animal sharing arrangements to walk over prepared land for sowing teff, and millet as well as for threshing of crops.

• Grazing land is also important for the survival of livestock. In Bikila and Lelisa Dimtu, Community arrange communal grazing land during the rainy season but in other kebeles they arrange private grazing land. In both cases, there is seasonal release of animals (dry seasonal)

Livelihood cont…

• Common tree species are Waddessa, Qararo, Sokorruu, Baddeessaa, Abbayyii, Dabaqaa,Goosuu, Qilxuu, Daannisa, Harbuu, Liilluu, Gambeela, Mixoo, Ambalta, Mukarbaa, Laaftoo, Reejjii, Botoroo, Balansofii, Dhoqonnuu, Xaaxessa, Odaa, Homii, Eebbicha, Qilinxoo, Birbirsa, Basaqa, Buna, Alalee, Alaltuu, Gaatira, Tidii, Muze, Tasbaania

Livelihood cont…

• The importance of tree species are many • Waddeessa for making of xaa’ula to for sale,

door and window for houses, Qararo for house construction, making of agricultural tools, Bakkannisa for firewood, making of agricultural tools, Caatii for sale, Buna for consumption and cash income, Eucalyptus tree for cash, construction of houses, making of agricultural tools

Livelihood cont…

• Farmers want to plant these trees near their home, along web river, on the border between two farmers land

• But farmers face shortage of land, seedling problems, skill on how to plant and protect,

• Labor and migration• In majority of the Kebeles, months of workload

are almost similar. Major activities are:

Livelihood cont…• clearing the land, ploughing, weeding, sowing,

protecting ,planting, harvesting ,collecting and threshing .• Besides this, women also revealed some activities which

consume much of their time through out the year such as Looking after Livestock ,Preparing foods and care for children

• .Division of labor also exist in which men do such activities as plough, harvest clear land plant, and thresh, protect(keep crops and livestock from wild animals) while women engage in weed, clear, harvest (even though not as men), collecting crops

Livelihood cont…

• There are some local arrangements labor cooperation in agricultural and other activities. These are daboo, Daadoo, Dudga, Ergamuu

• Labor migration is common in search for wage labor and land in the low land areas where settler from Wollo and Harar to regions of Gumuz community except rare case in Arjo. There is also few daily laborer (mostly women and children)within the same community

Livelihood cont…

• Major problems the area