“Adaptation through Livelihood Diversification & Irrigation: A Case Study of Agro-Pastoralist Youth in South Omo, Ethipoia" by Rebecca Merrifield at the 2023 Water for Food Global Conference. A recording of the presentation can be found on the conference playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSBeKOIXsg3JNyPowwJj6NDSpx4vlnCYj.

1. 1
Adaptation through Livelihood
Diversification & Irrigation: A Case
Study of Agro-Pastoralist Youth in
South Omo, Ethiopia
Presented by: Rebecca Merrifield, Senior Designer, iDE Ethiopia

2. Background: Ethiopian Lowlands
● Increasing frequency of drought and
other natural disasters - flooding,
desert locust infestation
● Traditional rangeland management
and governance system has
weakened
● Limited infrastructure and weak
markets (minimal commercial
orientation)
→ threatening the viability and sustainability
of pastoralism
→ leading more pastoralists to decrease
their reliance on livestock and agricultural
production for sustenance and income
generation
→ changing livelihood system –higher
diversification
2

3. Background: Resilience in Pastoral Areas (RIPA)
Project
WHO: iDE is implementing a USAID Feed the Future
project with other partners - Global Communities and
GOAL
WHERE: lowlands of Ethiopia, inhabited by pastoralists
and agro-pastoralists
WHAT: improving agro-pastoralists’ resilience - ability to
recover, adapt, and mitigate against the effects of
climate change
OUTCOME: improve the lives of people transitioning out
of pastoralism (ToPs) by maximizing their livelihood
diversification and financial inclusion opportunities
3

4. Our Approach: Human-Centered Design
4
Solution-focused - focused on designing a solution
with the end-user
Empathy based - gathers insights that understand
why someone conducts a behavior
Iterative - celebrates changing the design approach,
tools, techniques to best understand the problem
and adjust solutions
Creative - continuously creating and making low-
high fidelity solutions
Leading with people to design to context
Solutions
DESIRABILITY
VIABILITY
FEASIBILITY
Solutions

5. Our Approach: Human-Centered Design
5
Currently piloting youth
engagement in different Income
generating activities (IGAs) and
value chains
Understand agro-pastoral
youths’ latent needs,
challenges, motivations, and
aspirations, and the barriers
and opportunities in market
system
Ideated, designed, and tested more
sustainable and market based
livelihood opportunities
DISCOVER EXPERIMENT DELIVER

6. Irrigated Commercial Fodder Production
6

7. Irrigated Commercial Fodder Production
7

8. Youth Group in Dassanech, South Omo
Name of the
group
Harif Commercial Fodder Producer
Enterprise
Location Dasenech woreda, Lobet kebele
Group
formation date
01 July 2020
Total members 34 (20 Female and 14 Male)
Monthly
savings
50 ETB per member per
month group saving (~$1)
Crops Panic (Panicum maximum) and
Rhodes grass

9. Youth Group in Dassanech, South Omo
Average profit per youth per sale
$117
From the total production, 70% of
the fodder is sold, while remaining
30% is used to feed own livestock
5 harvests since January, 2021
Harvest Seed
sales
(kg)
Profit
(USD)
Herbage
sales
(bales)
Profit
(USD)
1st – – – –
2nd 233 1,553 958 1,804
3rd 255.5 1,988 1150 2,044
4th 300 2,000 1700 3,400
5th 225 1,500 850 1,700

10. ● Prevents livestock death or offtaking measures, can
maintain livestock health
● Contributes to family food security and nutrition
(maintain key nutrient sources)
● Generates income to support a changing lifestyle which
requires purchase of more goods, less reliance on own
cereal and livestock production
● Increases entrepreneurship and market connectivity
through producing and selling to customers
● Decreases dependency on government and organizations
for aid; addresses free hand-out mentality
Impact

11. Lessons Learned
Working on existing experience: piloted fodder production in
previous project, allowing for development of partnership with
research center, selection of best species, and improved
practices
Collaboration with a research institution: research
organization's technical support and co-investment was
essential for the effective startup of commercial fodder
production
Strong government support: The woreda agriculture office
gave commercial fodder-producing organizations land,
irrigation water access, and technical assistance

12. What's Next
Potential for seed certification for multiplication: extensive process that requires supervision
throughout all stages and meeting stringent requirements - could allow youth support to scale up
and sell to out growing companies
Reduce post-harvest loss: Develop seed and fodder storage facilities - help extend shelf life and
increase transportability
Improve irrigation water management: managed by local government Water, Mineral and Energy
office - address issues with administration to improve access and use
Improve pump use & maintenance: pumps often out of operation for more than 10 days a month
due to a lack of fuel, spare parts, and skilled workers to perform repairs - improve training for fodder
producers and other youth
Explore crop rotation and intercropping: pilot rotating and/or intercropping fodder species with
other nitrogen fixing crops