The Drought of 1984-1985

Since 1974 Ethiopia has been affected by natural disaster due to drought, which caused great famine. The most affected areas were the northern and central part of Ethiopia. Areas that were affected by the drought include: Tigrai, Wollo, Western Gondar, Northern Shewa provinces and to the South east of the country Ogaden and Borena. (Please refer to the map). In particular, the 1984/1985 drought/famine and the size of the population affected were unparalleled in this century. Neither the indigenous survival mechanisms nor the government's efforts could handle a problem of such magnitude. Hence, relief centers, unknown in Ethiopia prior to the 1970s, became a major means of treating famine victims. Nothing dramatized the plight of the starving people to the world community as much as the relief centers in Bati and Korem during the 1984/1985 famine. This publicity inspired human generosity and saved many lives.

Since then, Ethiopia has recovered and is doing great. To counteract the drought and the famine situation great steps have been taken at different levels to improve the agricultural production of the farmers and situations are encouraging. Some of the steps that have been taken to improve and control situations are the following:

1. Establishing an Early Warning System: This office establishes metrological stations in vulnerable areas at local levels, and has employees at local levels to collect all agricultural information on a monthly basis. The main office then, based on the information collected, issues monthly warning reports on the agricultural activities of the farmers. This way the people and the government are conscious of the situations.

2. Food Security System: In order to be ready in time of food shortages the government has established a Food Security system in food shortage areas. Food grain storages have been built in different areas and over 180,000 mt. tons of grain are stored and are being replenished.

3. A Development strategy is now in place at the government level of policies and legislation conducive to peasant participation in conservation projects and appropriate technical packages at the local level. These are geared to conservation and meeting the basic necessities of peasant households depletion and environmental degradation.

4. The Rural Development policy guideline regards environmental rehabilitation as an essential factor in increasing productivity and self-reliance. Key elements of the policy cover soil husbandry and sustainable agriculture, and can support the development of more specific policy and regulations for organic agriculture.

5. People who are living on marginal lands or in over crowded areas are being settled in areas that are much more fertile on a voluntary basis and that is hoped to create self-reliance. This, in addition to reducing pressure in the areas they left, can make such people self-sufficient over a short period of time.

6. The most ambitions work now underway is training agriculture extension workers in large numbers. To this end, twenty-eight Junior Colleges of Agriculture have been built. The colleges located in the different Regions are providing a three year diploma level training in crop and animal science. Meanwhile every kebele (local district) is building a farmers training center. The students of the colleges will be placed in groups of three in local farm centers. This activity is expected to motivate and encourage farmers to be more productive.

7. Finally, there has been cash available to give loans to the farmers to help them start a new scheme. Farmers can take loans to purchase the initial input and use towards the cost of their farms. This coupled with strong technological support is already showing good results and is bringing about change.