Sustainable Land Management Programme

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Despite impressive growth in Ethiopian agriculture for more than a decade, the predominantly small-scale, subsistence-based sector does not produce enough food to feed the population. Poverty, undernourishment and malnutrition are widespread consequences. Food aid for millions of rural households is still routine. In addition, inappropriate farming methods, increasing pressure on land use and climate change are leading to deforestation, soil impoverishment, erosion and ultimately soil loss, particularly in the densely populated highlands and even in regions designated as potential areas. The decline in natural production potential is endangering the income and employment base of farming families and preventing sustainable economic growth in large parts of rural areas. The aim of the project is to protect against erosion and to capitalize on agricultural production. The farms in the affected areas are to be protected from the progressive deterioration of the soil and production conditions through appropriate measures and to be given a sustainable economic basis by increasing agricultural production and income. The project or program is in its fifth phase and complements the previous program phases SLM I-IV. Key measures to achieve the objectives are land rehabilitation and watershed management, climate-adapted agriculture and the promotion of income-generating measures and value chains. The project is sponsored by the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture (MoA). The target group of the project are small-scale, predominantly poor agricultural producers in the catchment area of Lake Chamo.