Watershed Management in Ethiopia

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Mt. Damota in Ethiopia

Ethiopia: Watershed Management Contribute for Sustainable, Effective Agricultural Yields

By Zelalem Girma

Some years ago, due to erosion, Damota Mountain surrounding dwellers used to be advised to leave their farms and move to other places at the expense of farming activities they carried out. Wolayta farmers recently visited watershed works in the environs of Damota Mountain. Currently, the mountain looks beautiful green land and completely opened and known for various activities which potentially assists a great variety of economic activities.

Wolayta Zone Administrator Eyob Wate said that the watershed management activities carried out in the zone could enable local farmers to move back to their farmlands. This could be due to the rational and socially acceptable utilization of all the natural resources for optimum production to fulfill the present need.

Local farmers and the wider community who depend on the land were engaged in the planning process in the move to rehabilitate the degraded land, he said.

Eyob also said that participatory watershed management in the State assists to generate greater cohesion within the society and enable the newly settled farmers to benefit from various assets created and eventually to overcome their food insecurity. More than 11,132 hectares of land in all weredas were identified for youths and the utilization of improved farming methods are now being undertaken for improved agricultural production, he added.

Read the full article: allAfrica