The Impact of Drought on Livelihoods, Vulnerability and Coping Mechanisms: the Case of North Shoa Zone, Oromiya
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Date
2011-03
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Agriculture is one of the sectors most vulnerable to drought impact. The impact is even stronger
in Africa, where agriculture is truly important for the daily subsistence, and where adaptive
capacity is low. Therefore, it is crucial to increase the understandings of the concerned body and
local community in the continent in general and in Ethiopia for future most likely drought
impacts. This study uses the North Shoa Zone in Ethiopia, as a case study and examines the
trends of drought and its impact on livelihood in the region. It also answers the questions who is
more vulnerable and why, what are the local and institutional coping strategies and what are the
constraints that aggravate vulnerability. The study uses personal observation, structured and
semi-structured interview to gather information from local people, government officials and
experts, and secondary data from published and unpublished sources, and systematically
analyzes this material both using qualitative and quantitative analysis. The result shows that
drought increases from time to time in the zone even if there is variation between and among
years and it challenges the livelihood of the whole region. To cope up with the impacts, societies
use savings, migration, credits, selling own assets (who own asset) and on-farm and off-farm
diversification as strategy. The coping mechanisms provided by institutions is very weak and at
its early stage in the zone. And the coping mechanisms available in the zone are not equally
important and practiced and are insufficient to cope with drought impacts. Thought all
households in the zone are vulnerable to the disaster, the problem is more acute on the poor,
women, large size family, children, old and disabled. Vulnerability is further aggravated by the
decline in the fertility of land, landlessness, unemployment, unavailability and inability of most
farmers to afford agricultural inputs, fertilizer and selected variety of crop. The study suggests a
relentless need to address these challenges both from short and long-term policy perspectiv
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North shoa zone, Oromiya region