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Actionaid works to enable poor and marginalised people and communities to realise food security at the household level and build their resilience to disaster.
Implementation Strategies
- Supporting sustainable livelihood security strategies of poor people including investment in health, water education, environmental protection, and off-farm activities.
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Advocating for secure access to land and strengthening tenure policies.
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Monitoring the implementation and impact of government food security programmes on poor people.
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Advocating for eradication of cultural and traditional barriers that inhibit women's economic and political empowerment.
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Developing emergency monitoring and early warning system for emergency response and mitigation and providing support.
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Working with AAI regional and international groups towards increased aid, debt cancellation, food rights and fair trade.
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Assisting and actively participating in the global movement to reduce hunger and famine.
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Food security
Over 50% of the total population of Ethiopia face food shortage. More than 85% of the population of the country reside in rural areas depending on subsistence rain-fed agriculture, and mixed farming (crop and livestock production).
Lack of appropriate and sufficient agricultural inputs, reliable and timely information, and responsive extension services coupled with environmental problems like pests crop and livestock diseases as well as environmental degradation have been among the major causes of food insecurity.
Women, children, female-headed households and, older and disabled people and PLWHA are among the hardest hit of food insecurity problems.
To AAE, food insecurity is not only the question of adequate supply of food but also a question of attaining effective demand, stability of supply and access. Ethiopia's food insecurity is exacerbated by various factors at community, national and international levels which are associated with trade, aid, aid conditionality, debt and debt servicing, landlessness, weak private sector, tradition and culture, weak link between food security-related policies and strategies and practices. Hence, AAE approaches food security issues from entitlement perspective and attempts to deal with structural and institutional problems. To this end, we work with various actors including government as appropriate. During emergency situations, AAE works to save lives and rehabilitate affected people mainly in areas it works.
Hence, to reverse the situation and to contribute to the overall national development of the country, AAE, among many other things engages in:
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Monitoring the implementation of government policy and strategies at national and local level for their effectiveness towards the proposed goals and objectives
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Policy development process
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Promoting productivity of the livelihood system of small farmers at grassroots level through irrigation development and introduction of income diversification options and appropriate technology
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Improving the food habit and other cultural transformation activities with influencing and awareness raising options.
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Zimma Tse Tse Contol Co-op
The period AAE came to our area was the gloomiest in our life. We had lost our cattle to a disease caused by tse tse fly. Even chicken and dogs died and we were simply waiting for our turn to come.
Think of a farmer with out cattle. We had no oxen to plough our fields with neither a cow to milk. No sheep or even chicken to sell and earn some money so that we could buy things we wanted for the house hold.
The first time people from AAE came they asked us about problems. The cattle disease was the worst of problems we had. They asked us to choose between school for our children which never existed in our area and medicine for the cattle. We choose the medicine as our children couldn't go to school when we had nothing to eat.
On this, they came with the medicine and treated cattle of 628 peasants free of charge. But we did not trust them until we saw the cattle cured. Later they took 50 of our children and trained them on how to treat cattle and to control the disease. They also gave them the medicines and equipments to control the disease. The trainees trained others and now we have many more trained on how to control the decease.
At present, we have succeeded in putting the disease under control and each farmer here has a number of cows, oxen, and flocks and consequently, our life has improved a lot.
This was what a resident of Zima Yallo area of Dawro Zone in the South region, Ato Barena Shalla said in an interview at a ceremony held in relation to the legalization of Zima Yallo Tes-Tes Fly Control Cooperative, 5 June 2004.
AAE initiated the cooperative with membership of 1118 family heads 10 years ago when many peasants were displaced due to the problem.
The community's contribution in strengthening the cooperative which is the first of its kind in the country was immense.
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