Wereda Disaster Risk Profiling Programme: SNNPR
Disaster Risk Profile: Hamer Wereda
HOUSEHOLD AND COMMUNITY
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In this Wereda, 4/5th of the households did not recover from the
disasters they faced indicating weak resilience of the community.
Livestock rearing is the main livelihood activity followed by crop
production and bee keeping. January (Tir) is the most problematic
month in terms of water and pasture availability for livestock. During
the same period, water availability for human consumption is also very
scarce.
The exposure of the community to hazards is reported increasing
because of deforestation, degradation of other natural resources and
conflict with Dasenech. Households’ dependence on traditional,
subsistent and rain fed agriculture including heavy dependence on
single enterprise (livestock), focus on few non-cash crops (sorghum
and maize), poor adoption rate of improved technologies (such as
seeds, fertilizer, pesticides), poor utilization of irrigation facilities and
improved agronomic practices are generally the major factors
enhancing households’ vulnerability towards major disasters in the
Wereda. During the time of survey, 62% and 89% of the households
reported receiving food aid and agricultural inputs.
Most Problematic Months for Pasture & Water Availability for Livestock
Accessibility:
Road: about 71% of the households reported to have no access to road. On average, it took households 70 minutes to reach the nearest paved road
Electricity: all kebeles do not have access to electricity
Agricultural inputs: 97% and 92% of the households did not use fertilizer and pesticide respectively. On the other hand, 54% of the households have
used improved seed varieties, and 87% of the households reported receiving agricultural extension service.
Urban centre: household access to urban centre is very poor. It took households almost five hours to reach the nearest urban centre.
Water: river stream is the main source of water, from which 58% of the households obtain water for households’ consumption. On average, it took
households about 49 minutes to fetch water.
Access to sanitation: of the total households surveyed, 92% of them reported that they have no toilet facility.
Veterinary facilities: Majority of households (more than 78% of them) reported to have poor access to veterinary services and livestock drugs
Access to market: Access to market is very poor, and the communities indicated that grain traders bring crops (mainly sorghum) to their area and
exchange 50 kg sorghum with one goat (which is estimated to be Birr 400).
Level of Awareness and Institutional Development
The general literacy level of the Wereda is very low, where, of the total population above 7
years of age, only 4.8% of them are literate out of which 92% did not complete first grade level.
With regard to gender parity in education, the number of male to female students is almost
equal below first grade level indicating women’s equality and even better participation in
education with men at the beginning. However, as the education level attained gets higher, the
number of males by far dominates the corresponding number of females. This implies the
majority of females discontinue their education even before completing first grade and many of
the remaining females dropout as the level gets higher.
On the other hand, awareness of the community on disaster risk management system and
actors seem to very poor. There are various cooperatives and associations engaged in different
activities including helping members during disasters. These include purchasing cooperatives,
women associations, youth groups and farmers’ multipurpose cooperatives. Presence of NGOs
like GTLI (Global Team for Local Initiatives) and Farm Africa is additional capacity in the area.
InfoBits:
Population
Sex ratio
Urban Population
Mean Altitude
Mean Slope
: 59160 (2007)
: 992 F/1000 M
: 3210 (2007)
: 787.153 m
:2.91%
Measles caseload
PLWHA on ART
Under-five children eligible
for supplementary feeding
: 3 (2004-2009)
:
:
Sources: Various Secondary Sources
Community Capacity to Cope
Collection of wild food, selling more livestock and reducing the number of meals eaten per a day are the major coping mechanisms used by households
in the Wereda. Poaching and park encroachments are also among the coping strategies used by households.
In time when more resources are available, households opted for storage of more foods and other necessities (by 86% households) and adaptation of
economic activities to hazards season (by 12% households) as the major coping mechanisms to disaster effects
Households’ access to credit from formal credit institutions is almost negligible. Only 1.1% of the households interviewed in Hamer Wereda reported
obtained credit from relatives, friends and neighbours and all of them used it for consumption purposes
Good traditional cooperation and participation is available in the community to help each other in time of disaster
There is possibility of livelihood diversification in terms of growing food and cash crops by using irrigation. Average land holding in the area is high
(which is 3.74 hectares) but average land actually cultivated is very low (which is 0.77 hectare) indicating availability of more land for crop cultivation.
Of the total surveyed households, 89% of them have received formal transfers in the form of seeds and tools which shows good intervention that can
enhance their capacity to cope with disasters in the future
Better income can be obtained from tourists visiting the area and invested towards building the capacity of the community towards preventing
disasters.
Major crops grown in the area are sorghum, maize and pulses, while types of livestock reared by households include cattle, goat, sheep and donkey.