2.0. Introduction and Background

2.0. Introduction and Background

Asagirt Woreda is one of the chronically food insecure woredas of the ANRS and it has a total PSNP beneficiary of 17,554 (50% F) people under 5,577 households (34% FHH). Out of the 5,577 beneficiary households, 4,574 (82%) are public work beneficiaries, 906 (16%) are direct support beneficiaries and the remaining (2%) are temporary direct support beneficiaries. Though PSNP have been implemented in the woreda since 2005, the program was challenged to lift the beneficiary households out of chronic food insecurity due to recurrent drought, frost and other shocks the beneficiaries cannot create assets. Hence, households intervened with PSNP are unable to achieve food and nutrition security as expected and planned.

As a result, SHA has a plan to improve food and nutrition insecurity for PSNP clients with the project entitle” Unleashing the productive capacity of poor people through Graduation Approach. This project, therefore, aims at enhancing sustainable graduation of target ultra-poor households through achieving economic self-sufficiency and eventually moving out of the PSNP. To this end, livelihoods options are designed to create a productive asset base that increases income and spreads risk of the target households. For realizing of such desired result, the project includes the following objective: • The general objective of the project is to contribute to sustained food and nutrition security for chronically and transitory food insecure (vulnerable) rural households in rural Ethiopia.

• The project’s specific objective is to graduate 600 chronically food insecure households from the Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) food support in Asagirt woreda and strengthen their resiliency to cope with income and food related shocks.

Project Geographical Coverage and local context

Figure 1: Map depicting the Asagirt Woreda

Asagirt is one of the twenty-four rural woreda of the north shoa administrative zone of the Amhara region. Located approximately b/n 9 20 6 north latitude and 39 34 30 south longitude at the eastern edge of the Ethiopian highlands in the north showa zone. Asagirt is bordered on the south by Hagere Mariamna Kesem, on the west by the Angolelana Tera, on the north again by Angolelana Tera, Basona Werana and Ankober and on the east by Afar region and Berhet woreda. (it is located about 126 km from Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia and 72 KM from Debre Birhan, capital city of Zone.

Population Density: Asagirt has an estimated population of 56,254 and an area of 50563.76 ha. It has 14 rural Kebele administrations and one urban Kebele. On the contrary, based on the 2007 national census conducted by the central statistical agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this woreda has a total population of 48,371, of whom 24,674 are men and 23,697 women; 1,278 or 2.64% are urban inhabitants. The majority of the inhabitants practiced Ethiopian orthodox Christianity, with 94.92% reporting that as their religion.

Land holding hectares: The total area of the Woreda is estimated at 50563.76 ha hectares; out of which, 29605.39 hectares (58.5%) is cultivable,5868.90 hectares (11.6%) grazing land, 13989.23 hectares (27.66%) bush and forest land, 1056.33 hectares (2.08%) other/degraded and unsuitable /land and 43.89 hectares (0.086%) used for settlement. Its altitude ranges from 1107 to 3,596 meters above sea level. The temperature reaches from 7.5 to 25-degree cent grade and the annual rain fall ranges from 900 to1800 milliliters on average.

Agro-ecological zone: It has four distinct agro-ecological zones of Wurech 3867.74ha/7.6% hectares, Dega 19115.42 hectares (37.8 percent), woynadega 20611.21 hectares (40.8 percent), kola 6968.87 hectares (13.8 percent), Bereha 0.02 hectares (0.00003 percent), (source: Asagirt Woreda Agriculture office, 2010).