Drought in the Horn of Africa has killed the livestock of nomadic herders and forced thousands of pastoralists into refugee camps, dependent on food aid. Authorities in Ethiopia, while dealing with the crisis, are looking into longer-term adaptations, such as introducing irrigated agriculture and small farms in the country’s Somali region, “a land long known for just herding animals,” says the Washington Post.
“It is getting worse and worse and we are trying to raise awareness to tell people to change their lifestyle to agro-pastoralist,” a local administrator told the Post. The goal is to persuade people to use irrigation to grow food and fodder while keeping smaller herds that would be easier to carry through a drought. “Local officials have been trying to show community elders examples of farms where people have made the transition.”
One of the people living in a refugee camp told the Post, “Turning to a new life would be very hard. I was living with my animals and we moved from place to place.” When Marxists ruled Ethiopia, the government sometimes forcibly re-located inhabitants of drought-hit regions and told them to take up farming, often with poor results. “Current efforts rely on people being ready for a change,” said the newspaper.