NBDC Diga Livelihood Survey Report
• Basic components
Important components that contributed to peoples
livelihood
– Food security issues
– Land and land related issues
– Livestock Related issues
– Crop production related issues
– Tree/plantation related issues
– Labor and labor related issues
Livelihood cont…
• Food Security
• There are some people who cam meet their food
requirements in an average year (6 months).
Most people faces seasonal food shortage on the
five kebeles.
• Months of food security times varies from kebele
to kebele and even between men and women.
For example, 5-6 ,6.5 ,6, 6, 7 months for Bikila,
Arjo, Guddisa, Lelisa Dimtu and Adugna wile the
remaining months are food insecurity months.
Livelihood cont…
• During foods insecurity time most of the
people engage in Collecting of “quncee”(forest
product that can used to make rope) and
meexii to sell in the local market( for Bikila and
Adugna ), daily laborers, borrowing, sale of
small ruminant animals such as sheep and
goat, migrant labor to engage in daily laborer
in sand stone and agricultural activities for all
kebeles
Livelihood cont…
• Sources of cash
• Bikila-Sale of some cash crops, cattle fattening
and sell, sell of livestock, People in the lower land
areas of the kebele also sell the available
vegetables such as tomato and fruits to the
market to sell, daily laborer
• Arjo-Sale of Mango, papaya, coffee, seedling
production and sell, sale of grain, sheep and goat,
cattle fattening(few individuals) and daily laborer
Livelihood cont…
• Guddisa-Sale of crops such as pea, beans,
barley (garbuu) wheat (qamadii) and teff as
well as coffee.
• Lelisa Dimtu-Mango and coffee sale, sale of
small ruminant animals, sale of eggs and hen
• Adugna-Sale of coffee, sale of animal and crop
such as teff, beans, peas, barely, wheat sale
Livelihood cont…
• Asset that determine wealth
– Bikila-Number of cattle including such as oxen,
land and labor, fruits such as mango
– Arjo-Large hectares of Fruits such as mango,
papaya, irrigation land, coffee plant, oxen and
cows as well as sheep and goat
– Guddisa-Livestock, Coffee ,eucalyptus tree and
land
Livelihood cont…
• Lelisa Dimtu-Mango, cattle and coffee, honey
making, land more than four hectare
• Adugna-Number of Oxen, cow, sheep, goat,
horse, land
Livelihood cont…
• Land, livestock, labor are important and
central and important components of the
peoples livelihoods in study kebeles.
• But, these resources are not evenly
distributed among the all households and
these leads to differences in the livelihoods of
the population the five Kebeles(Bikila,Arjo
qunanbula, Gudisa, Lelisa Dimtu and Adugna)
Livelihood cont…
• Land and land related issues
• Some of the farmers in the fives kebeles do not have
land at all except residential houses, some have few
land that even not more than half a hectare, most of
the farmers have less that 2 hectare of land that
actually can not support the livelihood of the their
families through out the year. For example an
estimates of 30% ,35%, 40%, 22%, 30% of farmers in
Bikila, Arjo, Gudissa, Lelissa Dimtu and Agugna
respectively have no any land land to cultivate for their
livelihood except their residential houses..
Livelihood cont…
• The FGD with the women group have different
estimation i.e 25%, 35% and 30% in
Bikila,Guddisa and Lelissa Dimtu respectively.
• Thus, there exist landholding variation between
household(example ,in Bikila minimum 0 and
maximum may be 4-5 hectare) which create
differences in their livelihood.
• In addition to lack and shortage of land, the
discussion in the five kebele also revealed that
even for those who have assumed to have land,
Livelihood cont…
the productively of land is significantly decreases owning to
soil erosion( a serious problem across the study area), lack
fertility of soil, problems of termite
• However, the farmers have also some indigenous coping
mechanism for shortage, lack land as well as soil erosion
due to lack of terrace ,deforestation, overgrazing, repeated
farming and the topographic nature (sloppy nature of the
land especially, Giddusa, upper Bikila, and Adugna).
• For shortage of land and lack of land, they have been using
local coping mechanisms such as qixxee (Sharecropping),
Hirbo(land rent), siso(is also and rent but the ration is
mostly 4:1), Kenna(gift) for those in close proximity.
Livelihood cont…
In some areas such as Agugna and Lelisa Dimtu, they
interchangeably use siso with Hirbo.
• To some extent inheritance of land also important
coping mechanisms for land acquisition.
• However, these local coping mechanisms are not as
such enough to generate sufficient livelihoods and
some of them are currently difficulty even to exist
• For soil erosion, the discussion reveals that mainly used
local means such as drainage furrow, soil with sack and
stone bund making on the upper parts of the cultivated
land, and so a limited extent some of them also plant
trees.
Livelihood cont…
• For the problem of soil fertility, some of them using
crop rotation, using chemical fertilizer, and cattle kraal
shifting over land to use animal manure as
fertilizer(especially for land near and round to their
homestead)
• Land is important resources upon which crops are
grown and livestock are grazed.
• Crops, fruits and vegetables gown for foods in the
kebeles show slight variation. Example in Bikila Maize,
sorghum, Millet, oil seeds(selix and Nug), Anchote,
Gelebi, and to some extent teff, coffee of which
Livelihood cont…
Oil seeds, coffee for the upper kebeles and Mango,
papaya and totmato for the lower kebele are cash
crops
• In Arjo Maize, sorghum, Millet, oil seeds(selix and
Nug), Gelebi, Ruze, to some extent teff,
mango, papaya ,Pauper, coffee, Cabbages, Abukado,
Anchote, onion, potato, carrot of which Mango,
papaya, oil seed and coffee are important cash crops
• In Guddisa Maize, barely, wheat, ,enset, sorghum,
potato, Galabii and coffee of which Coffee, and to
some extent peans and beans and potato
Livelihood cont…
• In Lelisa Dimtu Sorghum, maize Millet, Salix, mango,
papya and coffee of which Selix, Papaya and mango
• In Adugna Teff, Maize, barely, wheat
,enset,sorghum,potato,Galabii,maiz,millet,beans,peans
,potato,anchote, of which Wheat, coffee, beans, pean,
• Crop production is mainly affected by Termite,
Shortage of land, infertility of land, limited or lack of
draft animals, increasing price of fertilizer, wild animals
such as baboon, monkey and soil erosion, Weed and
variability of rainfall
Livelihood cont…
• Irrigation is rarely practiced in almost all
kebeles and even the practice is also
dominated by the traditional one which they
call it bone. Ownership to irrigation land is
passed from generation to generation through
inheritance but few areas such as Guddisa
there is allocation by the government during
Derge’s regime. There is no formal water user
associaltion
Livelihood cont…
• Conflict over water is less except in Arjo area
where some farmer create dispute over access to
water waterways can easily be solved by elders.
• Livestock
• Is the crucial resources of the study for their
livelihoods. Oxen, cow, sheep, goat, hen are the
common livestock across kebeles but in addition
to these donkey exist in Arjo,Lelisa
Dimtu,Guddisa and Adugna. Moreover, in Adugna
horse also a common animal for transportation
Livelihood cont…
• Cow: for reproduction, meat, milk and milk
product for consumption and their hide also
used for cash income and their manure used as
fertilizer;
• Oxen: For plough, thresh meat, for consumption
and their hide also used for cash income and
their manure used as fertilizer;
• Sheep, goat and hen: Used as sources of cash
income to cover costs of fertilizer, clothing of
family members, cover educational materials for
children and finally if slaughted for foods;
Livelihood cont…
• Hen: used to cover small expenditure in the home and
managed by women. Their meet also used for consumption.
• All population do not have such animals for their livelihood.
Especially the participant estimated percentage of population
who do not have any oxen as 40% , 30%, 30%, 35% , 33% in
Bikila, Arjo, Guddisa, Lelisa Dimtu and Adugna respectively.
• Those who do not have any oxen to plough their land enter
into some local arrangement fort their livelihood.
• Risk sharing: when animal especially oxen die from some
households, they lent out oxen for a day or two to three days
for ploughing depending on close proximity in social and
geographical distances
Livelihood cont…
• Araso: sharing arrangement between oxen owners and a
person who don’t have oxen but have sufficient labor. The
agreement is 2:1 ration i.e he plough two days for oxen owner
and one day for himself
• Gatiitii: This is draft ox or oxen labor exchange in kind
between ox or oxen owner and labor and landowner.
• Pairing: this sharing occurs between two equal status
individuals especially in oxen
• Dhala: provision of small ruminant animal for reproduction to
others households. The agreement is that the offspring is
shared among the two households while maintain the original
female livestock for the owner.
Livelihood cont…
• Sirbisiisaa: Animal sharing arrangements to walk
over prepared land for sowing teff, and millet as
well as for threshing of crops.
• Grazing land is also important for the survival of
livestock. In Bikila and Lelisa Dimtu, Community
arrange communal grazing land during the rainy
season but in other kebeles they arrange private
grazing land. In both cases, there is seasonal
release of animals (dry seasonal)
Livelihood cont…
• Common tree species are Waddessa, Qararo,
Sokorruu,
Baddeessaa,
Abbayyii,
Dabaqaa,Goosuu, Qilxuu, Daannisa, Harbuu,
Liilluu, Gambeela, Mixoo, Ambalta, Mukarbaa,
Laaftoo,
Reejjii,
Botoroo,
Balansofii,
Dhoqonnuu, Xaaxessa, Odaa, Homii, Eebbicha,
Qilinxoo, Birbirsa, Basaqa, Buna, Alalee,
Alaltuu, Gaatira, Tidii, Muze, Tasbaania
Livelihood cont…
• The importance of tree species are many
• Waddeessa for making of xaa’ula to for sale,
door and window for houses, Qararo for
house construction, making of agricultural
tools, Bakkannisa for firewood, making of
agricultural tools, Caatii for sale, Buna for
consumption and cash income, Eucalyptus
tree for cash, construction of houses, making
of agricultural tools
Livelihood cont…
• Farmers want to plant these trees near their
home, along web river, on the border between
two farmers land
• But farmers face shortage of land, seedling
problems, skill on how to plant and protect,
• Labor and migration
• In majority of the Kebeles, months of
workload are almost similar. Major activities
are:
Livelihood cont…
• clearing the land, ploughing, weeding, sowing,
protecting ,planting, harvesting ,collecting and
threshing .
• Besides this, women also revealed some activities
which consume much of their time through out the
year such as Looking after Livestock ,Preparing foods
and care for children
• .Division of labor also exist in which men do such
activities as plough, harvest clear land plant, and
thresh, protect(keep crops and livestock from wild
animals) while women engage in weed, clear, harvest
(even though not as men), collecting crops
Livelihood cont…
• There are some local arrangements labor
cooperation in agricultural and other activities.
These are daboo, Daadoo, Dudga, Ergamuu
• Labor migration is common in search for wage
labor and land in the low land areas where settler
from Wollo and Harar to regions of Gumuz
community except rare case in Arjo. There is also
few daily laborer (mostly women and
children)within the same community
Livelihood cont…
• Major problems the area