The Ultimate Weed Control Solution
The African Development Fund has donated US$46 million to Ethiopia to implement phase 2 of the Borana Resilient Water Development for Improved Livelihoods Programme. The programme aims improve water supply and sanitation services for pastoral communities in the Oromia region, in the south of Ethiopia.
The grant from the concessional rates loan window of the African Development Bank (AfDB) will be used to build and optimise water production and transmission systems over more than 85km. It will also be used to build nine reservoirs, 143km of distribution systems and connections to give 36,000 new users access to drinking water and install 99 watering troughs for 109,000 head of livestock.
In addition to modernising sanitary facilities in schools and health centres, the programme will fund the construction of 10 public sanitary facilities and run hygiene awareness campaigns. An estimated 21,000 people will benefit from improved access to sanitation services.
To fund the maintenance of the rural supply systems, the programme will also help the rural water utility to develop appropiate tariffs.
Borana’s estimated population of 1.2 million people is growing rapidly and projected to reach 1.8 million by 2030. Most rely on pastoralism for their livelihood and are subject to the effects of varying rainfall levels and recurrent droughts that lead to water insecurity and loss of livelihoods.
The climate impacts on pasture and water availability also tend to exacerbate tensions over land and water resources. Drought years in Ethiopia’s Borana Zone, for example, are linked to an increase in conflict over grazing areas, water points, cattle theft, and boundary disputes.
“This is a peace-building programme in an environment where the extremes of climate change are increasingly manifesting, millions of livestock are lost, and conflicts are increasing among pastoralists due to limited pastures and water supply,” said Beth Dunford, vice-president, agriculture, human and social development, AfDB.
Phase one of the programme, also supported by the AfDB, focused on the development of well-field infrastructure and a backbone transmission pipeline to transfer water to a storage tank. The contract for the trunk main works was awarded to Oromia Construction Corporation.
Photo: Farmers in Ethiopia (Source: AfDB)
