Bananas and Food Security - Bioversity International

Afrique / Africa : D. Shamebo
Methodology of the study
The study was based on Rapid Rural Appraisal technique, comprising primary and secondary
data collection, in April-June 1996.
Primary data collection
Questionnaires were prepared and dispatched to agricultural development offices at all
zonal, special districts (“woredas”) and selected woredas and were completed by appropriate
experts.
Farmer interviews: Three to five farmers per “woreda” were interviewed in
22 randomly selected woredas in the region.
Visual assessment: The farming system in the region was thoroughly assessed visually
to supplement the interview.
Institutional interviews: Interviews were made with the following institutions and
enterprises: Chamber of commerce, National Bank of Ethiopia, Ministry of Agriculture,
Ethiopian Fruit and Vegetable Trade Enterprise (Etfruit) and agricultural research
centres.
Secondary data collection
Besides the primary data, a literature review was also made to complete the report.
Description of the region
SRE has a total area of about 118,000 km 2 accounting for 10% of the total area of the
country. The region is divided into nine zones having 72 woredas and five special woredas
based on ethnicity and language. The zones found in the region are, Hadiya, Gurage,
Kambata-Alaba-Tambaro (KAT), Sidama, Gedio, North Omo, South Omo, Kefficho/
Shakicho and Bench/Maji. The special woredas within the region are, Burji, Amaro,
Konso, Derashe and Yem (Figure 1).
Agro-ecology and socio-economic background
SRE lies between 4° 27’ and 8° 30’ latitude north and 34° 21’ and 39° 11’ longitude east.
The elevation in the region ranges from 376-4207 masl with the lowest elevation
found near lake Rudolf in South Omo zone and the highest peak on mount Guge in North
Omo. The region has various agro-ecologies.
The mean annual temperature and rainfall range from 15°C to 30°C and 500-
2000 mm, respectively (National Meteorological Service Agency).
On the basic of the 1991/92 census, by 1994 the population of the region was
projected to be around 11,3 million, constituting 20% of the total for the country. Of this
number, about 5,6 million were male and 5,7 million female. The rural and urban
populations are 93.2 and 6.8%, respectively (Table 1).
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