Project ID: 1097
Executive Board Document: EB-2002-75-R-18-REV-1

Gash Barka Livestock and Agricultural Development Project

The project will provide a range of development options that communities can choose from and help shape in the light of their experience, resources and interests. On the basis of an initial mapping of key resources in the zoba, government staff will work with villagers and their informal leaders to examine the local resource situation and identify and document the interests and possibilities of the various groups of people within the villages, assist them to develop proposals with a substantial beneficiary contribution, technically screen those proposals, including with regard to self-reliance in subsequent management and maintenance, arrive at an agreed action plan, and monitor its implementation and impact. Key investments will be: community-managed rangeland development, including establishment of exclusion areas, construction of water points, and village-based livestock support services; small stream and river diversion and water harvesting for supplementary irrigation; farmers field-based crop research, including selection of acceptable drought-resistant varieties; drinking-water-supply development; and improved community-based and public health services.

Informal village leaders will receive initial training and assistance to enable them to facilitate local assessment of the priorities of the various groups of villagers. Villagers and government staff will work together to assess how best to address those needs and priorities through the project. Informal village leaders and local government staff will review the feasibility of their proposed activities and help villagers prioritize in view of the likely response time, develop an action plan prior to implementation, and monitor implementation and impact at annual review workshops.

The target population of the projects livestock, crop-production and water-supply activities comprises about 64 000 people, living in 16 400 households in Gash Barka zoba (administrative region). An additional 46 000 people in 13 400 households will benefit from improved community-based health care services, while the entire rural population of Gash Barka zoba, about 474 000 people, will benefit from improved public health services. Smallholder agricultural production systems vary greatly in the zoba. In the arid lowlands, semi-sedentary pastoralists rely almost exclusively on livestock. On the fringes of the highlands, where rainfall is higher and more reliable, sedentary agro-pastoralists rely equally on crop and livestock production. The majority of households produce sufficient food for 8-10 months in years of good rainfall, and 5-7 months in years of poorer rainfall. Partial or complete crop failure occurs as frequently as one year in three on average, and more often in arid areas. In years of crop failure, nine out of ten households are food insecure and must sell livestock to ensure household survival. Households with few or no livestock must rely on food donations for survival, and many such households are headed by women and have particularly poor access to other means of income generation.

Loan amount:

SDR 8.10 million (equivalent to approximately USD 10.00 million) on highly concessional terms

Total project costs are estimated at USD 16.14 million

Cooperating Institution:

United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)