Feeding millions

Project goal: Food security and climate adaptation

Measures: Training farmers to use the right seeds

Project size: Eight regions in Ethiopia

The famine in the Horn of Africa has put some 12 million people at risk of starvation. Though it’s one of the worst droughts in the region for decades, the reasons for it aren’t new. Rising populations, worsening soil erosion and extreme weather have created huge pressures on agriculture. People are using agricultural land much more intensively despite increasingly dry conditions in the region. The result has been failed harvests which can ruin entire livelihoods.

But how should people in such drought-prone regions feed themselves in future without relying on food aid in the long run? That’s a question that national governments and international charity groups have long been grappling with. They’re all pushing sustainable agriculture to tackle the region’s food production problems.

It involves several different approaches – right from encouraging more efficient irrigation techniques to choosing the right crops for the region. But farmers often don’t know which types of seeds to order that are best suited to their needs and to the existing soil conditions.

That’s where the Ethiopian organization “Ethio Organic Seed Action” plays a key role. It trains farmers in the use of traditional seeds and maintains extensive seed banks. In addition, farmers are urged not to rely on just one type of seed in order to minimize harvest failures. The project has already had some success. It claims that food security has improved in the rural highlands.

A film by Bastian Hartig (sp)