Synthesis of Existing Knowledge and Experience on the Provision of ...

ureaus 25 . The ministry’s intervention priorities, as outlined in the country’s national water policy(adopted in 1999) are water supply <strong>and</strong> sanitation followed by irrigation, hydropower, <strong>and</strong> floodcontrol. It is responsible for producing plans <strong>and</strong> strategies for the provision <strong>of</strong> water supply, <strong>and</strong>also for planning <strong>and</strong> implementing large-scale irrigation projects. For pastoral regions specifically(especially the emerging regions <strong>of</strong> Afar <strong>and</strong> Somali), the ministry provides technical <strong>and</strong> institutionalsupport through the Water Development Works Affirmative Support Coordination Department,whose task it is to ensure that there is sufficient technical capacity <strong>and</strong> skilled human resources atregional level to plan <strong>and</strong> implement projects.The Ministry <strong>of</strong> Agriculture <strong>and</strong> Rural Development (MoARD)The MoARD’s m<strong>and</strong>ate includesplanning, developing <strong>and</strong> managingthe country’s agriculturalBox 2: The Livestock Policy Forum under MoARDresources, developing policies, The Livestock Policy Forum, established with support from theFeinstein International Centre (FIC) at Tufts University, is a first <strong>of</strong> itsstrategies <strong>and</strong> programs, <strong>and</strong>kind platform which brings together 70 NGO representatives, theproviding support to regional rural private sector, bilateral <strong>and</strong> multilateral donors, Ethiopian research<strong>and</strong> agricultural bureaus. The institutions, pr<strong>of</strong>essional associations <strong>and</strong> government departmentsministry is responsible for the (Behnke et al, 2008). It allows members to share <strong>and</strong> learn from fielddevelopment <strong>of</strong> small <strong>and</strong> some experience <strong>and</strong> develops guidelines on emergency livestockinterventions, which introduce a more livelihoods based approach tomedium scale irrigation in pastoral emergency relief. The five working groups under the forum includeregions, <strong>and</strong> also for supporting emergency water supply, veterinary care, supplementary feeding forlivestock production 26 . It developswater for both irrigation <strong>and</strong> forlivestock, market <strong>and</strong> destocking support, <strong>and</strong> restocking <strong>and</strong> theforum is a strong vehicle for policy dialogue (Pantuliano, 2008).watering livestock, the latterprovided primarily through harvesting surface water, which includes pond <strong>and</strong> birkad construction.Special support for pastoral regions is provided through a coordinating body within the ministrycalled the Emerging Regions Development Coordination Office. This <strong>of</strong>fice coordinates small-scaleagriculture activities in emerging regions (Afar <strong>and</strong> Somali) <strong>and</strong> also provides technical backstoppingfor SNNPR <strong>and</strong> Oromia when needed. The recently established Livestock Policy Forum under theMoARD is also a strong platform where critical issues related to pastoral livelihoods are discussed(Box 2).The Ministry <strong>of</strong> Federal Affairs (MoFA)The Ministry <strong>of</strong> Federal Affairs was established in 2001, <strong>and</strong> its duties include supportingdevelopment in the emerging regions <strong>of</strong> Afar <strong>and</strong> Somali (among others). MoFA’s Pastoral AreasDevelopment Department (PADD) supports development <strong>and</strong> capacity building in these emergingregions, assists in appropriately structuring government institutions from regional down to locallevel, drafts pastoral policies, <strong>and</strong> designs specific development programs for pastoral regions basedon the country’s rural development vision <strong>and</strong> strategies (Tekele, 2005). It also actively participatesin preparing regional down to woreda level action plans, provides technical backstopping, <strong>and</strong> isdirectly involved in the monitoring <strong>and</strong> evaluation <strong>of</strong> development activities (Ibid).25 http://www.mowr.gov.et/26 The focus has been on livestock products divorced from the livelihood system producing these products.However, recent developments like the Livestock Policy Forum indicate that there is better recognition <strong>of</strong> therole <strong>of</strong> the pastoral livelihood system <strong>and</strong> the need to support it to achieve positive outcomes in terms <strong>of</strong>productivity.39