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USAID in Ethiopia: Creating a Secure and Sustainable Future

USAID in Ethiopia
Ethiopia once had some of the highest poverty rates in the world. Since 2000, the poverty level in Ethiopia has been steadily decreasing due to agricultural and economic growth and education.

Although progress is being made towards creating a secure and sustainable future for a majority of Ethiopians, 34 percent of Ethiopians are still living in poverty and facing challenges such as having adequate food to feed their families. Thankfully, organizations such as USAID in Ethiopia and various programs are positively providing solutions to the poverty cycle. 

Productive Safety Net Program

Based on the successes of the Graduation with Resilience to Achieve Sustainable Development program (GRAD) that ran from 2011 to 2016, the government of Ethiopia continues to address food insecurity through the fourth phase of the rural Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP 4).

Through USAID’s Feed the Future Ethiopia program, Livelihoods for Resilience is a program that supports PSNP 4 by addressing farming, agricultural and other non-work-related problems keeping Ethiopians without a secure food source. 

Livelihoods for Resilience

Livelihoods for Resilience is another five-year program that’s been in existence from 2016 to 2021. The goal is to continue the successes of GRAD by educating communities on finance, business, agriculture, climate change and gender equality.

With a $48 million budget, Livelihoods for Resilience is led by CARE, a U.S.-based charity organization that partners with local organizations to implement the most effective strategies for positive change in communities. These efforts can then lead to a secure and sustainable future for those working their way out of poverty.

The VESA Model

The foundation for GRAD and Livelihoods for Resilience is a community-based education model — Village Economic and Social Associations (VESAs). Through VESAs, communities are educated in finance, business and agricultural trainings.

The VESA model allows a large number of people to be helped and educated at a low cost. With the goal of increasing sustainable skills and income, VESAs proved successful as 80 percent of GRAD participants graduated from government-sponsored safety net programs.

Financial security and savings are a new and foreign concept to many families living in poverty. Livelihoods for Resilience makes sure financial and business education are at the core of VESAs to ensure families possess a secure and sustainable future.

Nature and Crop Loss

The unpredictable nature of Ethiopian weather can wipe out entire crops and ruin farmer’s income in an instant. By providing half of all participants with new agricultural training and better seeds and working with agro-dealers to provide families with the inputs necessary to make lucrative changes, GRAD reduced weather-related crop loss by 40 percent.

By distributing seed vouchers with women’s names on them after El Nino hit, women were able to easily replant crops after droughts wiped out their previous ones.

Saving through VESAs is a safe, low-risk way for poor families to invest. Gradually, families pay off loans as they make more money from small businesses or farming while they continue to invest financially in a secure and sustainable future.

Benefits of the GRAD Program

GRAD participants’ savings increased by 12 percent and their assets doubled by increasing family savings and building the family’s assets.  Income for family’s using the GRAD program went up on average of $353 a year. In fact, some family’s incomes rose by nearly $1,000.

In addition to business and farming tips, families also learn how to safely feed infants, and about gender equality and food insecurity. Also, 77 percent of GRAD participants were able to save their money in VESAs and get access to loans. Livelihoods for Resilience supports 5,000 VESAs and 350 youth VESAs.

Promoting and Possessing Gender Equality

Gender equality is a key factor in Livelihoods for Resilience. By promoting gender equality, GRAD empowers women to make the same wages as men. GRAD believes that poverty reduction processes cannot be truly made until women are providing just as much income and decision-making as the men in the house. Not only does gender equality raise the income for the family, but it also creates a community built upon respect and understanding.

In addition to women leadership training, men are taught how to be respectful and change behaviors damaging to the family and themselves.  Not only were women able to make more decisions in the house by seven times what they previously had, but the number of women who were able to make a living increased by ten times its prior.

USAID in Ethiopia

Programs like GRAD and Livelihoods for Resilience give poor communities the reigns for creating a secure and sustainable future. By educating communities on gender equality, smart agriculture and livestock practices and business, families now have the tools they need to become independent from government assistance — no matter what the future holds.

Although families and communities continue to graduate from government assistance programs like PSNP 4, the importance of USAID in Ethiopia will remain until all families have the tools necessary to sustain their lives out of poverty.

– Hope Kelly
Photo: Flickr

30 Years of Change: Coffee Market in Ethiopia Improving Lives

Coffee market in Ethiopia

Ethiopia has spent the past 30 years moving forward from a famine of biblical proportions by expanding an unlikely market. The coffee market in Ethiopia has experienced recent growth, improving both the economy and the lives of people in coffee production.

Ethiopia is currently the fifth largest coffee producer in the world, with over two million coffee farmers. With close to half of its coffee production exported, the country contributes about nine percent of the world’s total coffee production.

However, Ethiopia’s past is marked by tragedy. In 1984, BBC reporters Michael Buerk and Mike Wooldridge brought the Western world’s attention to the “biblical famine” devastating the country. More than one million Ethiopians perished due to this tragedy, and over eight million were affected.

Coffee holds great social and cultural value in Ethiopia due to its significance in the economy. The recent growth in the coffee market in Ethiopia has helped over 15 million people who directly or indirectly derive their livelihoods off of coffee production, according to the USDA.

Duromina: Coffee Farmers Invest in Local Communities

A direct example of this is the success of a coffee cooperative in southwestern Ethiopia, which has received a premium price for its internationally sold coffee. The coffee cooperative is named, Duromina, which means “to improve their lives.”

Generations of farmers had been growing coffee in this area for generations, earning a meager income. But in 2010, over 100 local coffee farmers came together to form Duromina in order to improve their lives.

Duromina skyrocketed, making good money for all of its farmers. With the new income, the farmers decided to invest their money into their community.

The nearby river often swells, making it impossible to get to the nearest clinic from their community. To fix this problem, the farmers invested in a bridge so everyone could have access to the clinic at all times and would not hurt themselves trying to cross the flooded river. After building the bridge, the farmers then invested in their homes and their children’s future.

The transformation Ethiopia went through is evident not only within communities, but also in the copious amounts of lush green farmlands and forests where there were once drought-stricken dustbowls. Individuals who saw Ethiopia 30 years ago are astonished and inspired by the improvements, according to World Vision.

– Bella Chaffey

Photo: Flickr

Poverty in Ethiopia: An Overview

Poverty in Ethiopia
Like many of the African nations that have gained their independence from a European power, poverty in Ethiopia has been exacerbated by regional conflict that caused widespread poverty to infect communities across the country.

Ethiopia was one of the first countries to claim their independence in 1896 after the Italians were rejected from the nation. Unfortunately, geopolitical conflict continued to plague the nation as the neighboring Eritrea staked a claim to its own independence in the late 20th century. The tension culminated in a border war at the turn of the century.

The social malady that most affects Ethiopia is malnourishment. In 1984, famine struck the nation which required a huge foreign aid response from the Western world. Ever since then, the Ethiopian government has had trouble feeding its large population of over 86 million. The nation remains reliant on Western nutritional support as their developing economy starts to emerge from its fledgling status.

Ethiopia’s GDP per capita began an early improvement in the 1990s, as the country began its recovery from conflict and famine in the 1980s. The Eritrean dispute forced GDP per capita down once again until the mid-2000s. Since then, Ethiopia’s growth has exploded to $541.87 up about 400 percent. The progress in the economy has helped reduce poverty rates significantly.

According to data from the World Bank, poverty in Ethiopia fell from 44 percent in 2000 to 30 percent in 2011. Fertility rate, which is highest in the poorest countries, fell from 7.0 in 1995 to 4.6 in 2011. Undernourishment, one of the biggest issues in Ethiopia, dropped from 75 percent in 1990-1992 to 35 percent in 2012-2014. These are just a few of the signs of an improving society.

Even so, there is still a long way to go. Based on the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Index, Ethiopia ranks 174th out of 187 countries. In order to improve that statistic and further fight hunger, the East African country needs to improve its use of its valuable arable land. The Rural Poverty Portal estimates that “only about 25 percent of its arable land is cultivated.”

Expanding Ethiopia’s agricultural base is, perhaps, the most efficient way of reaching the population spread out over the country. In 2014, it was estimated that over 78 million people live in rural areas, while the remaining are concentrated in urban hubs. Providing better technology for food production and better infrastructure for distribution could be an ideal way to attack malnutrition.

The International Development Research Center conducted a case study called “Ethiopia: Breaking the Cycle of Poverty in Ethiopia.” The author, Mike Crawley, investigated deeper into the “simple problem” that plagues the population, “not enough food.” His research found that individual farmers are limited in their production abilities by “too small landholdings, poor agricultural practices, and lack of potable water.”

The solution? Change the way these individual farmers operate so that they can help themselves and their community. The organization’s team sought to convince “farmers to think about whether they could begin to make some positive changes on their own rather than wait for assistance from outside.” The mentality that helping the community is not outside the purview of helping oneself is one that will be essential in the fight against poverty in Ethiopia.

– Jacob Hess

Photo: Flickr

How Ethiopia Reduced Poverty

EthiopiaEthiopia is the second most populous country in Africa, with 94.1 million people. Poverty has long been an issue for Ethiopia, and while many remain under Ethiopia’s poverty line of earning $1.25 a day or less, the nation has made great strides in the past 10 years to reduce poverty and improve health.

Ethiopia’s economy has been thriving in the recent past. Between 2004 and 2011, the economy grew at a rate of 10.6 percent per year. Ethiopia increased exports in order to help it account for this economic growth, and that has led to more prosperity throughout the country.

This decrease in poverty can also be attributed to strides in agriculture. In 2005, Ethiopia introduced new agricultural practices which resulted in increased production. As The World Bank states, this agricultural growth has allowed for a 4 percent reduction in poverty each year. The use of fertilizer, along with high food prices and good weather, has given poor farmers with access to markets a higher income.

Ethiopia also instituted the Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP). The World Food Program writes that there are 7.4 million people participating in the PSNP. The program works to end chronic food insecurity through transfers of food or cash (or a combination of both).The PNSP asks that those who are able-bodied in the households who receive their help participate in activities which will help them have more resilient livelihoods and less chance of food insecurity. These activities include building community infrastructure, such as building schools, roads, and hospitals, and rehabilitating land and water resources. The PSNP has helped 1.5 million people who were in poverty to be lifted out of poverty.

Economic growth, an increase in agricultural production, and programs such as the Productive Safety Net Program have paid off. From 2000 to 2011, poverty in Ethiopia declined from 44 percent to 30 percent. As the World Bank says, this “translates to a 33 percent reduction in the share of people living in poverty”.

This decrease in poverty has helped the health of Ethiopians as well. From 2010 to 2015, the level of child mortality has been lowered by two-thirds. The average lifespan has also increased by about an year annually from 2005 to 2011, making an Ethiopian’s lifespan 63. Malnutrition rates have come down as well. 75 percent of the population was malnourished in Ethiopia in 1990, while today it has fallen to 35 percent.

Since 2004, four million Ethiopians have been able to rise above the poverty line. However, there is still work to be done. 25 million people in Ethiopia are still suffering from poverty. The World Bank suggests that in order for the trend of a decrease in poverty to remain, ongoing efforts to promote self-employment have to continue. Firms have to enter Ethiopia, and urban migration has to be encouraged.

– Ashrita Rau

Sources: The WFP, World Bank 1, World Bank 2, The Sudan Tribune, Voice of America, BBC
Photo: Needpix.com

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10 Facts About Poverty in Ethiopia

Poverty in Ethiopia Poor Facts
Poverty in Ethiopia remains a major concern, but the country has also seen great progress. Ethiopia has the second largest population of all African countries and has only once, for a brief period of time, been colonized. One of Africa’s oldest independent countries, Ethiopia has a rich culture and long history. However, it is currently considered one of Africa’s poorest countries despite a rapid population boom in recent decades. Read how Ethiopia reduced poverty.

 

10 Key Facts on Poverty in Ethiopia

 

  1. Ethiopia is located in East Africa and is historically a rich country.
  2. Agriculture accounts for more than half of its economy, and employs 80% of its population.
  3. With an estimated population of 86 million people, 78% of Ethiopians struggle with an income below US$2 a day.
  4. The life expectancy of the average Ethiopian was 59 years old in 2011.
  5. The State Health expenditure is approximately $3 per person in Ethiopia.
  6. For every 1,000 children five years old and younger, there are 166 deaths.
  7. Preventable diseases, including Malaria, account for at least 60% of health problems in the country.
  8. Approximately 34% of the rural population in Ethiopia has access to an improved water source.
  9. Ethiopia’s main exports are coffee, hides, oilseeds, beeswax and sugarcane. Ethiopia’s main source of income comes from its agricultural economy that is often affected by drought.
  10. Almost two-thirds of its people are illiterate.

– Kira Maixner

 

Source: The World Bank , Merlin USA , BBC
Photo: World Vision

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