Summary
Eritrea currently suffers from Africa’s highest level of food insecurity (and attendant high levels of malnutrition), a situation expected to be exacerbated by climate change via increasing temperature, drought, weather variability, and a decrease in water stores.
This project aims to promote greater food security through ecologically sustainable and climate-resilient improvements in agricultural production. The objective of the programme is to increase community resilience and adaptive capacity to climate change through an integrated water management and agricultural development approach in the sub-regions of Hamelmalo and Habero. Stakeholders include community, civil society and government representatives. The success of this project will be felt through its status as a demonstration project, and through the development of a national climate change strategy.
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Project Components
This programme's objective is to increase community resilience and adaptive capacity to climate change through an integrated water management and agricultural development approach in the sub-zobas of Hamelmalo and Habero, Anseba Region, Eritrea. The programme will adopt a participatory approach working with vulnerable groups in particularly drought-prone areas of Anseba Region, including small-scale farmers, agro-pastoralists and rural women.
Flood water will be harvested, water storage will be developed and soil erosion control measures and irrigation will be introduced. Climate-smart technology will be implemented, including drought-resistant and early maturing crops, by means of enhanced extension services. Rangeland management systems will be enhanced. Improved information on climate change risks will be generated and integrated into farmer and pastoralist practices. The programme will improve knowledge and understanding of climate change impacts among stakeholders, develop a community-based early warning system to reduce climate risks, and an action research approach linking traditional and scientific knowledge through the use of seasonal forecasts.
The programme will additionally have a strong learning and knowledge management component to capture and disseminate lessons learned. Every effort will be made to institutionalise this within the processes of the Ministry of Agriculture at the Zoba Anseba level, the executing agency.
The programme will be led by the Anseba Zoba Administration, working with local communities in Hamelmalo and Habero sub-regions, with support and oversight by central government.
Expected Outputs
Component 1: Increased water availability for farmers
Construct and introduce infrastructure and technology improvements, including a sub-surface dam within the Anseba River (Output 1.1), flood water harvesting (Output 1.2), two micro dams (Output 1.3), and soil and water conservation infrastructure (Output 1.4).
Component 2: Climate-resilient production
Climate-resilient agricultural technologies developed and transferred to farmers, including drought- and disease-resistant varieties, crop-livestock production systems, conservation agriculture, and agroforestry (Output 2.1). Farmer-led collaborative action learning process developed to enhance adaptive capacity and utilize seasonal forecasts (Output 2.2).
Component 3: Improved climate risk information and community preparedness
Improved climate risk information and monitoring capacities developed (Output 3.1) and disseminated through awareness-raising (Output 3.2) and community-based early warning system (Output 3.3).
Component 4: Knowledge management and policy advocacy
Knowledge management system established and knowledge management activities implemented (Output 4.1), along with policy advocacy activities (Output 4.2).
Project Status:
Under Implementation

Resources
There are no related resources for this project.

Eritrea
Theme(s)
Financing Amount
AF Project Grant: US$6,520,000 (as of November 2012)Cofinancing Total
N/AContacts
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Jessica Troni
Regional Technical Advisor for CCAUNDPjessica.troni@undp.org
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Yoseph Admekom
Program ManagerUNDPyoseph.admekom@undp.org
Primary Beneficiaries
Farmers; Agro-pastoralists; Rural Eritreans living in the Anseba region, subzobas: Habero & Hamelmalo.