From Food Assistance to Food Production
In the tiny agricultural village of Mai-Genet in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, food insecurity is a way of life. Insufficient and erratic rainfall, absence of irrigation facilities, and degraded natural resources make it a struggle for farmers to grow enough to feed their families, let alone generate any income.
No one knows this better than Halefom Kiros. Just over five years ago, this farmer and father of two was receiving emergency food rations to feed his family. Then he learned about a CRS Ethiopia project that helps farmers become more productive and self-sufficient.
Halefom Kiros is now able to provide for his wife and children.
The Adidero Integrated Watershed Management, administered by CRS Ethiopia along with the Ethiopian Catholic church, is working with farming families in Halefom's community. CRS and our partners strive to increase the farmers' productivity by helping them obtain quality seeds, introducing them to small-scale irrigation and other farm technologies, and encouraging small, agriculture-based businesses that generate income. The project also helps participants manage natural resources and develop water and sanitation systems.
With support from a CRS-supported project, Halefom has made the journey from hunger to building a viable agricultural business and providing a future for his wife and two children.
From Seeds to Bees…
As one of the project's first participants, Halefom was given vegetable seeds, small farm tools and training. CRS and our local partner also developed a small-scale irrigation system for him, which diverts water from a stream and runs it into canals. Halefom now farms an acre of irrigated land and produces tomatoes, peppers, chickpeas and tef, a local grain.
Halefom was also trained in beekeeping and honey production. Through the project, he received a modern beehive with accessories and bee colonies.
As Halefom moved from subsistence to providing for his family's future, he has been able to establish a savings account with a small savings institution. Not only does this account help keep Halefom's profits secure and earning modest interest, it provides "seed" money for others to secure small loans to start up their own businesses.
…to a Bright Future
In 2003, with his newfound savings, Halefom was able to turn a corner in his family's circumstances. He purchased plot of land on the edge of the town of Mekele, a regional capital. There, he constructed a house, and later rented it out to another family for additional income.
The following year, he was able to build an iron-roofed house for his family to expand from the thatch-roofed stone hut they had lived in for years. Since then, Halefom's business has grown even more, with a second plot of land and house for rent, two modern beehives and three oxen.
Halefom is a self-sufficient farmer and businessman who is able to provide food, clothing and shelter for his family and education for his children — a long way from where he was when he first received emergency food assistance from CRS in 2001.
