Livelihood Profile
Tigray Region, Ethiopia
Eastern Plateau Livelihood Zone
February 20071
Zone Description
The Eastern Plateau livelihood zone lies across Gulo
Mekeda, Ganta Afeshum, Saesie Tsaeda Emba, Hawzen,
and Wukroworedas. It shares a border with Eritrea to the
north, Afar region and Atsbi highlands to the east, Werie
Leke and Ahferom to the west and Wukro, Frewoini,
Hawzen to the south. Zalambessa, Fatsi, Adigrat, and
Edaga Hamus are the major towns in the area. It has mild
to high temperatures typical of its woina dega (midlands)
elevation, and has moderate to high density population.
Rainfall is on average 300 to 400mm per year. This is an
area with heavily deforested plains, and the remaining
vegetation is predominantly scattered bush, and acacia
trees. Cactus grows wild in the backyards of most homes.
Streams, along with the Siluh and Genfel rivers flow
through the zone. Water for human consumptions is
collected from these water sources.
The production system is mixed farming with crop and livestock production. Agriculture is dependant on the Kremti
rains that fall from June to mid-September. The soils are sandy and of low fertility, giving only minimal yields without
fertilizer. The major food crops cultivated are barley, hanfets (mixture of wheat and barley), wheat and maize. Hanfets
and wheat also serve as cash crops, in addition to cactus. Cactus is consumed during the wet season. Oxen provide
traction power for land preparation activities. Both men and women weed the fields, and men continue on to harvest.
Better-off households hire wage labour to assist with weeding and harvesting. The zone faces chronic food shortages
because of the poor quality of soil and insufficient land The main hazards to crop production are rust and shoot fly.
Rust affects barley and wheat, and shoot fly attacks maize. Treatment for these pests and diseases is available from the
Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development (BoARD) for cash or on credit.
Livestock ownership is important for livelihoods in this zone. The main livestock reared are cattle and sheep. Cattle are
the more valuable livestock as a source of draught power and cash income. Household without access to oxen are
unable to utilise their entire land holding. Mature cows reproduce and lactate, providing milk for making butter which
earns income for the household. Cattle ownership is particularly important because in addition to maintaining
household productivity, they provide a safety net: they can be sold in bad years and earn the household relatively
significant income. For these reasons, households normally avoid selling productive cattle. Aged oxen are replaced
from both within the herd, and from purchases. Aged females are replaced almost exclusively from within the herd
because females of reproductive age are rarely available on the market. Sheep are kept in greater numbers than cattle
and provide more regular access to income for the household. They are mainly sold and consumed during the festival
periods. Pasture is available in communally owned grazing lands and watering is at springs or streams. Some better-off
households purchase straw for cattle feed. Children are responsible for herding livestock. The main hazards to livestock
production are anthrax, ovine pasteurellosis, and black leg. Anthrax mainly affects cattle, shoats (sheep and goats) and
donkeys, ovine pasteurellosis affects shoat and black leg affects cattle. Treatment is available from the Bureau of
Agriculture and Rural Development ( BOARD) free of charge or for cash.
Labour sales are an important economic activity in the zone, particularly for the poor households. Agriculture labour is
available in the local farming area, and young men migrate to the highly productive lowland of Humera in western
Tigray from October to November for the sesame weeding and harvesting season.
An official rural credit programme has allowed most residents in the zone to take loans for livestock and chicken
purchases. In EC 1998 (2006), loans available ranged from 1,200-1,500 ETB for cattle purchases; 900ETB- 1,000ETB
loans for sheep or goat purchases and 150-200ETB loans for chicken purchases. The repayment period for the loans
1
Field work for the current profile was undertaken in February 2007. The information presented refers to September 2005-August
2006 (EC Tikimt 1998 to Meskerem 1999) a good year by local standards. Provided there are no fundamental and rapid shifts in the
economy, the information in this profile is expected to remain valid for approximately five years (i.e. until 2011). The exchange for
the reference year was 1USD: 8.767 ETB and all the prices refer to the reference year. The Ethiopian calendar is approximately 7/8
years behind the Gregorian calendar
Eastern Plateau Livelihood Zone
2
depended on the type of package: cattle purchases – 4 year repayment period, smallstock – 2 years, chickens to the very
poor also had a repayment period of 2 years. All the loans have a 9% annual interest rate, and the first instalment is
expected within the first year of borrowing. Repayment of the loans can be suspended in the event of a drought or other
major hazard.
The Productive Safety-Net Program (PSNP) was initiated in 1997 Ethiopian Calendar (E.C). It is designed to protect
the assets of chronically food insecure households through the provision of food and cash entitlements. Households
with able-bodied members get access to their entitlements through public works activities, whilst households with no
able-bodied member receive support without participating in public works. Beneficiaries have received food during the
hunger season from April to June. A wage rate of 6ETB per person per day for a 5-day working month is distributed for
3 months to all PSNP beneficiaries. Cash distributions are given from January to March in the post harvest season
when food prices are lower. All wealth groups have benefited from the PSNP, which is on-going.
Markets
The main crops on the market are hanfets, wheat, and maize. These products are mainly sold during the post harvest
season from October to April. They are supplied from Zalambesa and Edaga Hamus. Hanfets is sold to markets in
Adigrat, and wheat and maize are sold to Mekelle. They are supplied to these markets through intermediate markets in
Fatsi, Sinkata, Wukro, Hawzen and Negash.
Maize, sorghum and teff are imported into the zone from Addis Ababa, via Mekelle. Cereal imports take place from
April to September, when local food stocks have been depleted.
Pulses are imported into Adigrat throughout the year from southern Tigray, through Mekelle. Pulses are also brought
into local markets from Atsbi, through Wukro and Freiweni, and also from Migulat to Hawzen.
The main livestock sold are cattle, shoats and poultry, and they follow the same trade routes as crops. Cattle are
generally traded from December to January. Sheep are traded in September, December and April and chickens are sold
all the year round. Livestock products (butter, skins and eggs) are also sold on the local markets. Market access is good.
There is a good transport network, and the area is secure.
Seasonal Calendar
There are four seasons in this zone,
namely cold dry season (Belg/Hagai),
the from mid-December to midMarch,
warm
dry
season
(Bega/Tsidia), the from mid-March to
mid- June, the rainy season (Kiremt/
Kremti), from mid-June to midSeptember, and harvesting season
(Meher/Kew’e), the from midSeptember to mid-December.
Land preparation activities start in
February and end in June. Long cycle
crops, such as maize and sorghum are
sown dry in April and May. Short
cycle barley, wheat and hanfets are
sown when the rains begin in June.
Consumption of the new harvest
begins with green maize in September
to break the hunger season. The main
harvest of all short cycle crops in is
October. Long cycle crops are
harvested
in
November
and
December.
Paid labour opportunities in local
agriculture are mainly during the
weeding and harvesting periods. The
farming season comes with labour migration opportunities to Humera from August to October for the sesame weeding
and harvesting season.
The livestock production season starts with livestock births and milk production at the outset of the rainy season. The
lactation period lasts for 6 months from June to November. During this time, households make butter that is sold. Cattle
are sold in August, December and January. Oxen sales increase during the land preparation season. Shoat sales increase
during the festival seasons in April (Easter/Fasika), September (New Year/Meskerem), and January (Epiphany/Timket).
Eastern Plateau Livelihood Zone
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Food purchases start in May and gradually increase as the hunger season approaches. Food purchases peak from July to
August, during the hunger season.
Wealth Breakdown
Wealth Groups Characteristics
HH size
Land area
cultivated
Crops cultivated
Livestock Holding
Very Poor
5-7
0-1 timad
Barley, wheat, hanfets, maize
1-3 sheep
Poor
6-7
0-2 timad
Barley, wheat, hanfets, maize
1-3 cattle, 0-1 ox, 3-5 sheep, 35 chickens, 2-7 eucalyptus
Middle
6-8
2-4 timad
2-4 cattle, 1 ox, 6-12 sheep, 0Barley, wheat, hanfets, maize 1 donkey110-15 eucalyptus, 02beehive
Better-off
7-8
3-5 timad
Barley, wheat, hanfets, maize
3-7 cattle, 2 ox, 10-15 sheep, 12 donkey, 4-6 chicken, 2030eucalyptus, 1-3 beehives
% of population
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
4 timad =1 hectar
The principal determinants of wealth are livestock owned and amount of land cultivated. Livestock are mainly
important for the money they bring, whether from sales of livestock or butter from the cows’ milk. But oxen hold a
special place which relates to the amount of land people can cultivate. If you own a pair of oxen you can plough your
own land and also rent in additional land from poorer neighbours without oxen in return for a 50% share of the harvest.
Alternatively, a pair of oxen can be borrowed in exchange for straw and crop residues for cattle feed; or two days of
the borrower’s labour is exchanged for one day’s loan of a pair of oxen.
Even owning one ox is a major advantage if it can be paired with that of a neighbour in similar circumstances. Healthy
oxen, like mature females, are rarely sold because they are so important for maintaining household productivity. But
households may sell oxen or mature cows if under acute financial pressure in a very bad harvest year or for some other
reason. In normal years, the middle and better off may sell an old cow or an immature male. Income from livestock is
primarily earned from sheep sales. Livestock holdings are limited by the lack of common grazing areas, and the
consequent reliance, especially for cattle, on crop residues and collected/bought straw and grasses which only the
better off can usually afford. On the other hand, the household credit package has provided a means for the very poor
and poor to build up their sheep holdings.
Middle households may have a donkey, and better off around two, and these are an important asset both for household
use and sometimes for hiring out. Another asset is beehives for the seasonal sale of honey, of which middle households
may have one and better off households two. In recent years of booming urban construction, eucalyptus poles have
been at a premium, and those with a bit more land make room for a stand: middle households may sell a dozen poles in
a year and better off households about twice that number. For the poorer households, a crucial asset is the number of
able-bodied members who can earn income from local labouring opportunities as well as from labour migration to
Humera during the sesame weeding and harvesting season and in urban construction. The number of such people often
means the difference between poor and very poor status.
Eastern Plateau Livelihood Zone
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Sources of Food – A good year (2005-2006)
The single biggest source of food for all
wealth groups is own crop production:
barley, wheat, hanfets and maize. This
contributes 40-60% of food for all
wealth groups.
Followed by food
purchase. Food is mainly purchased
from May to August. The very poor and
poor break the hunger season with
consumption of cactus for 2 months.
Cactus is mainly consumed in the wet
season.
Purchases of wheat, maize and pulses
form the second biggest source of food
for all households.
Other, non-staple foods purchased are
sugar and oil, although very poor cannot
afford these.
In the graph, food access is expressed as a percentage of minimum food
requirements, taken as an average food energy intake of 2100 kcals per
person per day.
All wealth groups receive food from PSNP from April to June when food prices are higher. The food basket is
comprised of 15 kg of wheat, 1.5 kg of pulses and 1 litre of oil per person per month. The very poor and poor have on
average 4 household members participating in the program, and the middle and better-off 3 household members.
Migrant workers (who largely come from the very poor and poor groups) are provided with meals when they are in
Humera working on the sesame farms; and when one household member migrates for labour, extra food becomes
available for the remaining household members. Because of this, available food lasts for longer periods: meals
provided to the migrant labourer and meals saved due to his absence contribute 4% and 3% for the very poor and poor
households respectively.
Livestock products (milk, eggs and meat from sheep) make a minimal contribution to the food intake of the poor,
middle and better-off households (increasing slightly with wealth) and are usually not consumed by the very poor. The
middle and better-off usually slaughter sheep only for festivals.
Sources of Cash – a good year (2005-06)
The very poor and poor earn about
half their money from paid labour,
much of it via migration to
Humera.
But
construction
employment is also available in
the major towns within the
livelihood zone, and this accounts
for the earnings of the middle
wealth group.
The graph provides a breakdown of total cash income according to income
source.
Annual
income
1,250-1,750
1,550-2,050
2,500-3,000
3,000-3,500
(ETB)
Crops sold include barley, wheat
and garden produce including
cactus. By contrast with their tiny,
contribution to food intake,
livestock are the single largest
source of income for the middle
and better off, and far from
negligible for poorer households. Income from livestock is primarily earned from sheep sales ranging from one animal
by the very poor to about 4 by the better off. Chicken and egg sales also make an important contribution to incomes
particularly for the poor and very poor. The middle and better-off also own beehives and sell honey. It is striking how
in this zone despite the difficulty in feeding animals, livestock nevertheless bring in much more money than crop sales.
This reflects both the low production of crops per capita and the very high value of livestock and their products,
answering urban demand in a time of steeply rising meat prices across Ethiopia.
The PSNP is an important income source for all wealth groups. A wage rate of 6ETB per day for a 5-day working
month is distributed for 3 months to all PSNP beneficiaries. Cash distributions are given from January to March in the
post harvest season when food prices are lower.
Overall, the income differential between the poorest and best off groups is not very high: this perhaps especially
reflects the lack of a major cash crop which would add value to the cultivation by middle and better off. Cactus are also
collected from the wild and sold by the very poor and poor (included here under self-employment).
Eastern Plateau Livelihood Zone
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Expenditure Patterns – a good year (2005-06)
All wealth groups spend substantial
income on staple food purchases,
but the proportion would be
significantly higher without the
PSNP food support. Wheat and
maize are the main staple foods
purchased. Staple food is purchased
towards, and during the hunger
season. Non-staple food expenditure
is between 5-10% of expenditure for
all wealth groups., and includes the
pulses which are the almost
exclusive addition to cereals by the
very poor.
The graph provides a breakdown of total cash expenditure according to category
of expenditure.
Expenditure on inputs includes animal drugs, seeds, fertiliser, labour hiring, credit repayment and tools – in fact the
better off invest more than 50% on fertiliser purchases and hiring labour. Only the very poor purchase seed and do not
spend money on fertiliser. Other expenditure includes credit repayments, gifts, social support. Household items
purchases comprise the largest non-food expenditure for the very poor and poor households, including kerosene,
utensils, coffee, salt and pepper, soap and grinding costs. Overall, by far the greater part of ‘social services’
expenditure is school costs.
Hazards
The main hazards to crop production are recurrent shortage of rain, sporadic hailstorms and recurrent attacks by crops
pest: rust and shoot fly. Rust affects barley and wheat, and shoot fly attacks teff.
The main hazards to livestock production are anthrax, ovine pasteurellosis, and black leg. Anthrax mainly affects
cattle, shoats and donkeys, ovine pasteurellosis affects shoats, and black leg affects cattle.
Coping Strategies
Poorer households respond to hazards by intensifying their search for employment. More household members will
migrate for longer periods, and they may even seek opportunities in further places than usual. The sale of additional
shoats is the secondary strategy, since their stock is meager and soon depleted.
Wealthier households increase the sale of livestock, including if necessary some cattle. Their secondary response
strategy is to seek additional income from migrating for work - a sign of a serious situation, since they do not normally
migrate for work, if they do casual labor at all.
Summary
This is a severely deforested zone in north eastern Tigray with a woina dega (middle altitude) ecology, prone to
frequent rain failure of some degree. Available land resources are strained under the pressure of the increasing
population. Landholdings are small, but the middle and better-off get harvests from bigger size of land from renting-in
land from the very poor and poor who do not have oxen to utilise their entire landholding. The soil is mainly of low
fertility and accordingly reduces the productivity of the land. The main crops cultivated are barley, maize, hanfets, and
wheat. All households have to depend on purchasing upwards of one third of their annual food needs. The PSNP
supplements household food for all wealth groups. To cope with food shortages, the very poor and poor consume
cactus in the wet season. The better off complement their living from the income they earn from the sale of livestock
and crop sale. The very poor and poor depend on paid labour opportunities, especially in the sesame cultivation in
western Tigray to earn their income. Whilst the middle and the better-off depend livestock/livestock product sales for
about half of their income.
Eastern Plateau Livelihood Zone