FROM THE FIELD
moment, but over the past couple of weeks it has been raining more than during the rainy season. I was worried for the past few days that this downpour may hinder our visit to Arsi Negele, one
of the most dominant agricultural areas of Ethiopia, only a few hours from the capital, Addis Ababa. On the way, the fields full of crops (maize, wheat and teff - a crop which Ethiopians use to
produce a local bread known as ‘injera') held promise of a better year for Ethiopian farmers. The mounds of harvested crops stacked in the fields gave me hope that the hunger
and misery of the last year was truly a matter of the past. Once we arrived at the village of Bausi Guddinia, my worries about a rain-drenched trip seemed rather insignificant compared to the concern
of the community. Everyone from the village was talking about the untimely heavy rains, fearful of another season of ruined crops.
Arsi Negele is an agro-pastoralist area. People depend on
crops for their subsistence and animals are the main source of extra cash. Due to the prolonged drought of the past two years, most of the families of Bausi Guddinia have lost their crops. Large
number of animals died due to a lack of food and pasture. It has been a year of hunger and suffering for everyone in the village.
Radia Bulie (40, pictured), a widow with nine children, has
been struggling to get by since then. "I don't have much land, about one hectare. I planted maize and teff last year. I got nothing," she said. Like most of her neighbours, she tried
to gather wood to sell on the market, make charcoal and collect salt from the lake to feed her family.
Recalling the hardest months during the drought, Radia says: "Everyone went around
and collected weeds 
from the land to
feed their families. I walked miles to the lake to collect salt to sell on the market. You get only 3-4 birr [around 20 pence] for 50 kg of salt. What can you buy with that money?" She remembers
that with high price of things it was hard to get enough food for her family. "At the beginning of this year, 100 kg of rice cost 850 birr [nearly £60]. Every day, I bought a hand
full of sorghum and cooked it with the weeds we collected from the field." Since Radia does not have any oxen, she borrowed one from her neighbour to plough her land. She prayed and
hoped that this year the crop would be better. "I looked at my field and thought our misery is almost over now. But if the rains continue like this, I may lose half of the crop. Without the
crop, I can't feed my family."
Wariso Wake (30), another villager, explains: "Rains in November are very rare. There are few showers, but usually only for two or three days. However, this year the rains over the past few weeks were really heavy. And they may ruin the crop. You see, teff is a very delicate crop. If you do not have sufficient water, it will not grow. If you have too much water, it will rot in the field." Like many farmers from his village, Wariso lost his entire crop for last two seasons as a result of the drought. He has been supporting his family of eight on savings from the previous year. With the increasing food prices, his savings are running out quickly. He fears that without this crop his family might go hungry. When I ask what should be done, he says that "we ask the local government to close down the school, so that all our families can go out and get the harvest."
It seems that the memory of hunger this year still lingers with people in Ethiopia. People are taking drastic measures to ensure not to fall into the same desperate state again. It is still not clear how successful they are going to be.[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
