Diversifying livelihoods through water conservation and irrigation

In Dewe woreda in Afar region, the organisation Support for Sustainable Development (SSD) is assisting farmers in improving irrigation structures in order to increase production and thus improve food security and enable more people to engage in irrigated agriculture. While water channels from the river so far have had to be re-dug by hand on an annual basis, SSD has recently completed building a river diversion and is establishing more permanent water canals. The organisation is simultaneously setting up a community-anchored participatory mechanism to oversee the management and utilisation of the water resources.

 

The Dewe Small Scale Irrigation project is part of the UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification) programme of the Norwegian Development Fund (DF), financially supported by the Norwegian Embassy. The SSD is one of 13 implementing organisations partnering with DF to implement the programme in the Afar and Somali regions.

 

Another local implementer, the Action for Integrated Sustainable Development Association (AISDA), are supporting soil and water conservation practices, as well as area closure and water cistern construction, in Dalifage woreda. By organising closure of degraded areas from continued grazing, combined with construction of structures hindering soil erosion, AISDA aims to improve vegetation cover and support sustainable land use. This activity is contributing to the reclamation of degraded rangeland.

 

The Norwegian Embassy recently visited the SSD, AISDA and other implementers in Afar. Click here to read more about the UNCCD project.