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Ethiopia: Ministry Sees Minimized Risk From 'Belg' Rain Shortage
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The Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa)
23 March 2008
Posted to the web 24 March 2008
Rose Mestika
Addis Ababa
Less rain predicted in upcoming Belg season will no be much of a problem as it will not affect the greater part of the country, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD) said on Wednesday.
Calling for necessary precautions to be made to mitigate negative consequences associated with water shortage,the National Metrology Agency last month predicted less rainfall both in terms of intensity and distribution in the upcoming 'Belg' season.
The Belg season, under normal circumstance, is a primary source of rainfall to significant parts of the country, an agrarian economy heavily dependent on rainfall agriculture.
Eastern Tigray, Eastern Amhara, Afar, Middle Ethiopia, Eastern South Oromia, North SNNPR and most of the Somali regions get their fair share of rainfall during the season.
The ministry said Tigray, Amhara, Afar, Oromia and some parts of the SNNP regional state will face shortage of rain during the Belg season but preparations were underway to mitigate possible challenges.
"We have already statrted distributiong some aids like water and fodder for the needy regions aimed at mitigating the consequences,"Wondirad Mandefro, Agricultural Extension Department Coordinator, told a press conference at the Ministry's premise.
Wondirad said what the ministry emphasising right now was to give to the public the right picture as the existing situation in the country as regards to water shortage and agriculture and outlining ways of working in parnership with the regions for the effective handling of the situation.
Saving water resources, helping farmers to plant other crops and food staff which grown rapidly are among the starategies the ministry is carying out currenly, the coordinator said.
The agency said farmers need to also take maximum care in the selection of seeds to see that seeds which can resist water shortages during dry seasons are chosen during the period under discussion.
More over, the agency called for effective utilization of available water resources and warned of harmful consequences of water mismanagement.
The 'Belg' season, one of the three seasons, runs from mid February to mid May, according to Ethiopian agricultural calendar.
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It is a secondary rainfall season for Eastern parts of the country. Some parts of the country in the regions of South - West and West get rain at the last months of the season.
Wondirad also added that the ministry hopes the affected regions will have more rain in the meher season that comes after the Belg in such a way the it will compensate for the shortage in the preceeding season," even if we are not going to collect the major amount of production which is 7.1 percent." He said the ministry will do all it can to see that the "abundant rain" hoped in the Meher season was utilized effectively.
Wondirad said the ministry was trying to convice and help the pastoralist community to sell their animals before they lose weight and their health in-tact.
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