El Niño impact in Ethiopia and FAO destocking activity

One of the most devastating El Niño events on record continues to affect the lives and livelihoods of farmers and herders in Ethiopia.
Food insecurity and malnutrition rates are alarming. 10.2 million people are a risk, a number that has tripled since the beginning of 2015.
Fifty to ninety percent of crop and livestock losses have been reported. After years of insufficient rainfall, Afar and Somali regions have been the hardest hit by the worst drought in decades.
Losses suffered last year have also severely diminished purchasing power. So to cope, many households have sold their remaining assets.
The coming long-cycle rains are expected to replenish pasture and water points.
In order to address both the emergency and long-term recovery, some 3.3 million herders are in need of immediate support to resume production activities.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is begun providing assistance through a destocking programme, aimed at assisting the most vulnerable communities in parts of Somal Region.
Bisle village, in Shinile district, which hosts an Internally Displaced Population camp - has been selected as one of the target communities for implementation of the de-stocking intervention supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
FAO is calling for 3 million US dollars by the end of March for survival animal feed, as part of the larger 50 million appeal for its El Niño Response Plan in Ethiopia. But currently, less than 10 percent of that plan has been funded.
Further information: http://www.fao.org/emergencies/en/

LOCATION #1: Elidaar and Gewane Districts, Afar Region, Ethiopia
SHOT: 10-11 February 2016
LOCATION #2: Shinile and Erer districts, Somali Region, Ethiopia
Bisle and Aydora villages
SHOT: 29 February-1 March 2016
SOUND: Natural, Somali, English

SHOTLIST
1. Wide shot of dry landscape with man on motorcycle, Somali region
2. Herder with undernourished cattle on a country road, Afar region
3. Woman walking across dry field, Somali region
4. Group of beneficiaries of FAO destocking programme, Somali region
5. Young man feeding water to sheep by a manmade pond, Afar region
6. Herder walking across a dry field with mules, Somali region
7. Group of beneficiaries of FAO destocking programme, Somali region
8. Young man with goats, Somali region
9. Selection of beneficiaries of destocking programme, Somali region
10. Breeder being paid for his livestock, Somali region
11. Wide of women herders with goats with village in the distance, Somali region
12. Herder picking up a sheep for slaughter, Somali region
13. Selection of beneficiaries of destocking programme, Somali region
14. Wide of Bisle village in Shinile district
15. Various of women handling animals after slaughter, Somali region
16. Woman at a large pond of muddy water. Afar region
17. Animals drinking from large pond of muddy water, Afar region
18. Women walking through a village, Somali region
19. Herder with mules, Somali region
20. Various of people taking away meat received through destocking programme, Somali region
21. SOT Asha Abdulahi Riyale, Beneficiary of Destocking programme (Somali): The drought has made the pasture field totally dry. We haven’t had any good rains in the last years. This is the worst drought we have ever seen. People don’t have food, animals don’t have pasture.
22. SOT Pierre Vauthier, FAO Ethiopia Surge Response Team Leader (English): FAO did the slaughter with 5.200 pastoralist households, from whom we bought sheep, cattle and goats at a fair price, at a normal price and we slaughtered them in order to redistribute the meat to the most food insecure families, in particular women and children affected by malnutrition.
23. SOT Duale Oumer Kahin, Livestock Breeder (Somali): Today I brought one goat to sell. I sold it for 600 Birr (28 USD). With the money I will buy food for my family. I will spend the money to feed my children.

ENDS

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