Sustainable land management in a Sahelian country
- background
- a dual challenge
- the basic concept of our program
- the concept of partnership
as a program approach
- program activities
by Hans Hurni and Thomas Koller
1 Background
Eritrea is a new member of the international community of sovereign
states. The country gained its independence on May 24th
1993, following a war of liberation with Ethiopia that
lasted more than 30 years: Eritrea had previously been
the northernmost province of Ethiopia. Almost three
times the size of Switzerland, with a total land area
of 120,000 square kilometers, Eritrea is among the smallest
countries in Africa. The newly independent nation has
not been treated favorably by nature, which endowed
it with a Sahelian climate. Rainfall is minimal and
varies greatly from year to year. Most of Eritrea consists
of savannah, steppes, and deserts, particularly in the
south-western lowlands and in the east, near the Red
Sea. Only the central highlands, where altitudes range
between 1500 and 2000 meters above sea level, are somewhat
more humid and can be used for agriculture. Most of
Eritrea's 3.5 million inhabitants live in this part
of the country.
2 A dual challenge: Raising
levels of production and maintaining the natural resource base
Like most countries in the South, Eritrea is an overwhelmingly agricultural
nation. Approximately 90% of the population is engaged in agriculture,
which is dominated by traditional forms of cultivation in smallholder
systems. Under these conditions development of the agricultural sector
is of central importance, and both the government and the population
are making great efforts to foster this development. One aim is to raise
overall production levels. This has become an increasingly important
political goal as a result of the war with Ethiopia and the strategic
importance of greater self-sufficiency (which is currently below 50%).
Maintenance of the natural resource base used for production - especially
the land - is also an issue of great importance. The
highlands of Eritrea are among the oldest areas cultivated
by man and, like many other such areas, they show signs
of overuse. This is evident primarily in the form of
severe and widespread soil erosion, the extent of which
is inestimable. This is where the Syngenta Foundation
intends to make a contribution to development. Our development
program in Eritrea is based on the conviction that sustainable
improvement of agricultural production - and hence improvement
in the living conditions of the rural population - can
only be achieved through a combination of development
and preservation of the natural resource base.
3 The basic concept of our program
is research partnership and project partnership to preserve
the resource base and foster sustainable land management
The main goal of the program is to support public
authorities and the population in their efforts to maintain
the resource base and improve living conditions among
the rural population. The program supports sustainable
forms of land management based on appropriate use of
soil and water - the country's two key resources. Program
activities focus on ensuring self-sufficiency among
farmers as well as maintaining - and where possible,
improving - agricultural productivity.
The program pursues these goals through three lines of activity:
- It supports research and development in sustainable land management,
with a particular focus on questions pertaining to soil and water
conservation.
- It supports specific local and regional development projects and
initiatives.
- It supports and strengthens Eritrean institutions that are active
in the area of sustainable land management.
4 The concept of partnership
as a program approach
Our program is based on the principles of partnership
and participation. It is administered jointly by the
Syngenta Foundation and the Center for Development and
Environment in the Institute of Geography at the University
of Berne (Switzerland). Each program component has an
Eritrean partner organization which is responsible for
execution and is included in program planning and evaluation.
The program will initially run for five years. Program
progress is evaluated annually by a steering committee
consisting of the most important partners, and procedures
for continuation are laid down in a jointly negotiated
annual plan.
Previous experience has shown that the concept of development partnership
is especially well received in Eritrea. Eritreans want to control their
country's development themselves. They especially do not want to be
forced to pursue a particular course of development, since they are
quite familiar with the disastrous consequences of development cooperation
in Africa, which has all too often been guided by the interests of donors.
5 Program activities
5.1 the afdeyu research station: fostering sustainable
management of soil and water - the key resources
The Afdeyu Research Station is located in the barren hills of the
central highlands of Eritrea, 30 kilometers north of Asmara, the country's
capital. The station's modest external appearance - two simple clay
structures surrounded by a few trees and encircled by a stone wall -
contrasts with the significance of the data being collected there. Afdeyu
is the only place in all of Eritrea for which there are long-term data
on sustainable use of soil and water - Eritrea's key resources.
The Afdeyu Research Station was first established
in the mid-1980s by the Center for Development and Environment
at the University of Berne. In the final phase of the
war of liberation between Eritrea and Ethiopia in the
early 1990s, contact with Afdeyu was broken off. Surprisingly
enough, when it was once again possible to visit the
station during a mission to Eritrea in 1994, it was
found to be fully functional. The two Eritrean field
technicians at the station had continued to compile
data with no outside support, and sometimes without
receiving their salaries. This impressive commitment
by local specialists convinced the Center for Development
and Environment to continue operating the station. Moreover,
the newly created Ministry of Agriculture of Eritrea
was prepared to incorporate the station into its research
program
The program of data compilation at Afdeyu includes
measurements related to soil erosion and soil conservation,
as well as data on rainfall, temperature, land use,
and surface runoff. The significance of the program
can be illustrated by the two examples below.
Example one: The struggle against soil erosion: experiments
reveal that sustainable land use is possible
Although the national government has recognized soil erosion as one
of Eritrea's most urgent environmental problems and has undertaken great
efforts to combat it in cooperation with farmers, there is no basis
for assessing the extent of the problem. Evaluations of measurements
made at the Afdeyu Research Station have provided the first such basis.
These data reveal that soil erosion on average slopes can be greater
than 100 tonnes per hectare per year - a very high figure in terms of
international comparison. To put this figure in perspective, it must
be borne in mind that soil regeneration through the formation of new
soil takes place at a rate of approximately 10 tonnes per hectare per
year - only a fraction of what is lost each year to erosion. Broad areas
of the Eritrean highlands can clearly be seen to be composed of very
barren landscape. Fertile topsoil has worn extremely thin, and in many
places bare rock can be observed. The extensive lack of tree stands
and forests intensifies the impression of extensive overuse.
Meanwhile, experiments conducted in Afdeyu have shown that sustainable
resource use is definitely possible. This can be seen in the following
overview of statistics for the year 1988:
The above table compares soil erosion on terraced plots under conservation
with soil loss on plots where there are no conservation
measures. Soil loss on the terraced test plots was reduced
from 115 tonnes to 20 tonnes per hectare annually, a
tolerable level in light of natural soil regeneration.
Moreover, the terraces retain rainwater as well as soil.
In can be seen from the table that surface runoff of
rainwater was cut in half. Rainwater that infiltrates
into the ground rather than draining off is available
to cultivated plants. This is a crucial and welcome
side effect of terracing. Although Afdeyu is one of
the most favorable regions for agriculture, thanks to
its location in the highlands, the amount of rain needed
for cultivation is at critically low levels in many
years. In these years the water stored in terraced areas
can make the difference between successful cultivation
and crop failure.
Our program will continue and intensify its efforts
to evaluate data from the Afdeyu Research Station in
coming years, in collaboration with Eritrean partners
in the agricultural research service (Department of
Agricultural Research and Human Resources Development).
In addition, the most important findings will be elaborated
and disseminated throughout Eritrea in a user-friendly
fashion, together with appropriate soil conservation
techniques. This process will also include evaluation
and consideration of traditional conservation measures
employed by farmers. The target public meant to benefit
from these efforts includes agricultural extension services,
training and research centers, and projects operating
in Eritrea.
Example two: optimizing the use of water, Eritrea's scarcest
resource
Eritrea's dry climate has disastrous impacts on the water budget.
There is only one river in the entire country which
contains water throughout the year: the Setit River,
which also forms the border with Ethiopia. All other
rivers contain water only during the rainy season and
are dry for the rest of the year. These are extremely
limiting conditions in terms of national development.
Hence optimal use of water, Eritrea's scarcest resource,
is all the more important. The measurements made at
the Afdeyu station provide a basis for optimizing the
use of water. This can be illustrated by the example
of the Mayketin River, which flows through the region
around Afdeyu. The graph below presents daily runoff
values for the Mayketin River compiled by the measuring
program at the station. The figures are for the years
1984-1990.
We can see that the Mayketin is not a river at all for most of the
year: during the period of measurement, it was without
water for an average of 338 days. The graph also shows
large amounts of runoff on single days during the rainy
season (July to October). The situation is similar for
other rivers in the highlands, although there are no
data available to illustrate this. Up to now, runoff
from these rivers has gone unused and been absorbed
by the lowlands. The government of Eritrea recently
launched an ambitious development program that aims
to make better use of this water. The goal is to construct
small local dams to store peak runoff which can be used
for irrigation and as drinking water. The runoff measurements
that have been carried out in Afdeyu for more than ten
years now permit precise estimates of the amount of
water available for storage. Dams can thus be constructed
in the proper dimensions, and realistic assessments
can be made of the potential for irrigation and for
water supplies to settlements.
Empirical field data on runoff are important for optimal
use of water, which is Eritrea's scarcest resource.
Our program aims to make the data compiled at Afdeyu
available to public officials and projects, thus providing
them with realistic values for use in planning. We are
also participating in the planning and financing of
a dam in Afdeyu that will be constructed as part of
the Eritrean dam construction program The water provided
by the dam will be used for drinking water and for small-scale
irrigation. The long-term measurements carried out at
the Afdeyu Research Station will thus be making a concrete
contribution to local development and improvement of
the resource base on which the population of Eritrea
depends.
5.2 improving the living conditions of rural people:
support for concrete local projects and initiatives
Research and development are indispensable to sustainable forms of
land management. It would be claiming too much, however, to maintain
that the results of research and development bring direct and immediate
benefits to rural people in their daily struggle to subsist and survive.
Hence we support concrete local projects which aim to make direct improvements
in the living conditions of rural people. The example of the commune
of Deki Lefay illustrates what has been achieved to date.
Beginning with a development study
The commune of Deki Lefay is located in the southern highlands of
Eritrea near the Ethiopian border, at an altitude between
1600 and 2100 meters above sea level. An Eritrean NGO
built a primary school here in collaboration with a
Swiss partner organization, and planned to build a basic
clinic. But there was a lack of both resources and reliable
data on which to base further development. Our program
became involved at this point. At the request of the
organizations involved, a study focusing on the development
of the commune was carried out, following which specific
activities were funded.
The climate in Deki Lefay is characterized by high temperatures and
low rainfall, which occurs primarily in the main rainy season between
May and September. The commune has about 1500 inhabitants in 360 households,
overwhelmingly composed of smallholder farmers distributed among several
villages. The following chart gives an overview of the situation of
smallholder households:
The above chart shows that only small amounts of cultivable land are
owned - a typical situation in the highlands of Eritrea, where smallholders
predominate. The crops grown are also typical, in that they are characterized
by a marked resistance to drought (with the exception of maize). This
indicates that farmers have adapted to natural conditions - which represents
a cultural achievement on the part of the local community. Agriculture
is concentrated on subsistence production, i.e. securing basic needs
for one's own household. In contrast to widespread belief, surplus production
for the market is one of the goals of subsistence production. But in
contrast to the industrial agricultural production with which we are
familiar in industrialized countries, production for the market does
not have priority. Given the realities of small plots and low rainfall,
surplus production is possible only in exceptional years.
How many oxen does a household need?
Data on ownership of oxen are of particular interest, as possession
of an ox determines the size of the area that can be cultivated, and
ultimately the level of production and the well-being of the household.
The chart above shows an average of one ox per household. This corresponds
with the assertion of the local administration and the village head
that "everyone is equal" in the village of Deki Lefay. This assertion
is completely understandable as a political declaration of intent in
the context of a state structure that is striving to promote social
equality. But a closer look reveals a somewhat different picture: complete
equality is not a reality. Only a small minority - 15% of the households
- own the two oxen needed for ploughing with an ox yoke. The remaining
households must borrow oxen to do their ploughing. Households without
oxen pay for the loan of an animal with part of their harvest. Twenty-five
per cent of the households are in this situation: they comprise the
poor of Deki Lefay. Given this situation, it is not surprising that
farmers continually mention ownership of oxen as the most important
indicator of well-being.
Knowledge of relative poverty and wealth within a local society does
not reflect voyeuristic impulse on the part of external researchers.
Rather, it serves as the basis for participatory development activity.
It allows a realistic assessment of the contributions a local community
is in a position to make on its own within the context of a development
project. Our experience indicates that this indigenous capacity is wrongly
assessed with regularity, and frequently overestimated.
Wealthy smallholder households in countries of the South usually have
more agricultural resources such as land and draft animals, as well
as sources of off-farm income. This is also the case in Deki Lefay:
more than a dozen households admitted to having family members employed
as guest workers in Saudi Arabia, from whom they regularly received
support. Hence we encountered the phenomenon of international migration,
even in a marginal region of Eritrea which appears untouched by the
course of world events. This was surprising, even though it is known
that remittances from Eritreans abroad have become one of the country's
most important sources of exchange proceeds.
Construction of wells as a concrete output
One of the things evident from the foregoing presentation is that
the people of Deki Lefay certainly have clear ideas about local development,
improvement of the water supply being chief among them. The situation
is precarious in the dry season, as the only source of water in the
commune - a well that was constructed during the period of Italian colonization
- almost runs dry at this time. Women form long lines at the well to
fetch water. In order to get a good place in line, many women set out
for the well in the middle of the night so that they have a chance to
obtain their ration of water in the early morning, rather than waiting
until mid-day or afternoon.
In light of this situation, the development study was useful in helping
to promote concrete steps towards development. The time spent in Deki
Lefay by the team that carried out the study, and the participatory
and communicative approach used, were very important in this regard.
The results were encouraging: the second well desired by the population
was constructed with the help of project partners, leading to a considerable
reduction in water shortages during the dry season. Particular attention
was given to the question of participation by the population, in order
to ensure that the commune regarded the project as its own - a crucial
point in view of the maintenance work that will be necessary in coming
years. The study also revealed that traditional forms of authority still
exist in the village - for example, the shimageles (village elders),
who assume responsibility and power of execution for such a project.
Political and administrative processes were also involved: the local
authorities agreed that the existing well should be enlarged, and this
has also been done. Thus the population was able to benefit from a markedly
improved water supply within a short period.
The overall aim of our program in Deki Lefay is to support concrete
development projects that improve the living conditions
of the rural population and that conform to the principles
of sustainable development. The commitment we have made
in Deki Lefay is an encouraging start. In future, we
shall continue to commit ourselves to appropriate local
projects in close collaboration with Eritrean partners.
The data compiled and the experience gained in the course of this
project will serve as the basis for long-term environment monitoring
and monitoring of rural society. These data will also be very useful
in education and training - for example, in instruction at vocational
schools and universities. It is always sobering to realize how little
students in a particular country - in this case Eritreans - know about
living conditions among the rural population in their own country, and
how unfamiliar they are with their environment. Moreover, there are
few instructional materials concerned with Eritrean themes. The experience
gained and the information collected in Deki Lefay are a start in the
direction of rectifying this shortcoming.
5.3 administration, professional associations, and institutions
of higher learning: supporting institutions in order to strengthen civil
society
Following its thirty-year war of liberation, Eritrea is making great
efforts to rebuild its civil institutions. This requires
considerable financial resources and will also take
time. In particular, the training of experienced and
well-educated specialists in both the public and the
private sectors can be accelerated only to a limited
extent. It is a goal of our development program to provide
support to our partners in training their colleagues,
in developing infrastructure, and in undertaking specific
activities and initiatives.
Our most important local partner, the Department for Agricultural
Research and Extension Services in the Ministry of Agriculture, is currently
undergoing a process of development. Within this department, we are
providing support for a group of experts concerned with soil conservation
and irrigation - in particular, with evaluation and processing of data
compiled at the Afdeyu Research Station, which is now directed by this
group of experts. To date, this collaboration has taken place on an
informal basis - Eritreans do not put much emphasis on detailed, formal
agreements, perhaps owing to their experiences in the war of liberation.
In recent months, however, the Ministry of Agriculture has shown interest
in a brief written agreement. A contract will signed along these lines
in the near future.
In the area of professional associations - a new factor in the institutional
landscape of Eritrea - our development program is supporting
the Association of Eritreans in Agricultural Sciences
(AEAS), which has an important mission in view of the
central significance of the agricultural sector in Eritrea.
In response to an appeal from this group, we supported
a workshop it held in 1998, which was devoted to the
topic of soil erosion and soil conservation. The aim
of the workshop was to gather researchers and practitioners
in order to exchange and evaluate experience, and to
increase general public awareness of the problem of
soil erosion. We can envision supporting this organization
in the future, but we do not want to preclude anything
by making such an offer. First we shall evaluate the
experience gained in cooperation during the past year.
We also have established contacts with the University of Asmara, the
only university in the country. The faculty of agriculture
has included the work of the Afdeyu Research Station
in the curriculum in recent years. A considerable number
of students have completed their studies by carrying
out evaluations of data from the station, and are now
working in the areas of public administration, agricultural
extension, and research. No contractual basis for cooperation
has been formulated to date, as the university wants
support at the faculty level (rather than at the institutional
level). The university of Asmara hopes that this policy
will reduce the number of partnerships and thus keep
administrative expenditures to a minimum. The scope
of an obligation at the faculty level, however, far
exceeds the possibilities of our program In this case,
it is necessary to continue dialogue and continue to
pursue development, and then try to determine whether
the viewpoints of the partners move closer together
in time. Our guiding principle is to understand and
respect the agenda of our partners, without loosing
sight of our own aims.
Among our programs to promote sustainable land management, we aim
to include support for institutions that are also active
in this area. Sustainable development will only be possible
if institutions can also work in a sustainable fashion.
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