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Putting food systems analysis into practice – the example of

Ethiopia’s Wag Himra Zone
The concept of food systems is well established. However, more insights are needed on how the concept can be efficiently
and effectively applied by development practitioners. The sustainable food systems approach developed by the European
Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), applied to the Wag Himra Zone in northern Ethiopia, shall provide
a reference example of how to systemically design and implement development pathways to achieve food security, food
safety and nutrition outcomes for the population.

By Patrik Aus der Au, Gebrat Kidie and David Bexte

Ensuring access to healthy diets throughout the The aim is to test the relevance and useful- Food system insights of Wag Himra Zone
year remains a challenge in large parts of Ethi- ness of applying ECDPM’s sustainable food
opia. This also holds true for the Wag Himra systems approach at zonal level. Based on the Administratively, WHZ is divided into seven
Zone (WHZ) in Amhara Region in northern findings, it is planned to develop guidelines for rural districts (woredas) and one town admin-
Ethiopia. Arid conditions have always prevailed food-system-sensitive project and intervention istration. The landscape is characterised by
there, with only 17 per cent of the land suitable planning in zonal resilience programmes. At lowlands at around 1,000 metres and highlands
for production. As a result of these and other the time of writing, final results are not yet with mountains around 4,000 metres tall. A
factors, food insecurity is a developmental chal- available. However, first insights are provided. vast, very rugged terrain of hills and gorges to-
lenge for local populations and governments. gether with escarpments dominates the area.
ECDPM’s food systems approach includes It is largely deforested, and bush scrubs, aca-
Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation has been im- four components – a food system analysis, a cia trees and gum trees can be found. In the
plementing food and nutrition security proj- sustainability analysis, a political economy north, the Tekeze River is an important water
ects in Ethiopia since the early 2000s. In the analysis and the development of transforma- system. The population density is low, and set-
beginning of 2021, it started the second phase tion pathways (see figure). Our analysis will tlements are sparse.
of its Climate Adaptation and Rural Devel- highlight key aspects of these components, fo-
opment (CARD) project in WHZ. Here, the cusing particularly on the food system compo- Over 90 per cent of households throughout the
sustainable food systems approach developed nent. Here, different elements are highlight- WHZ live on smallholder farming with land-
by the European Centre for Development ed, including the identification of food system holdings of less than one hectare. Most of the
Policy Management (ECDPM) is employed boundaries and assessing key dynamics of ac- agricultural activities are rainfed and depend on
in order to better understand challenges and tivities, drivers, outcomes, events and trends. the kremt rainy season (June to August), with
opportunities of the local food system and to The boundary of the food system in question the main harvest occurring from the end of
strengthen the systemic approach in CARD II. is the zonal boundary. September to November. Farmer households

Wag Himra is characterised by rugged terrain of hills and gorges.

Photo: Helvetas
 RURAL 21 03/21 25

produce mainly cereals (sorghum, teff, barley, THE ECDPM SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS APPROACH
and wheat), pulses and vegetables. Significant Food systems cover all stakeholders, institutions and activities that play a role in production, processing,
cash crops include perennial crops, such as distribution, preparation and consumption of food items. All those activities contribute to positive and
gesho or shiny leaf buckthorn (Rhamnus pri- negative nutrition outcomes (e.g. malnutrition), trade-offs (e.g. degradation), as well as economic out-
noides), or fruits, and in some parts also organic comes (e.g. income, employment). Various conditions (climate, power dynamics, mindsets) and human
interventions (e.g. deforestation, innovation and migration) influence food systems and their outcomes.
sesame for export. Livestock, like cattle (24 %
of all livestock), equines (6 %), shoats (50 %)
and chicken (20 %), but also bees, are kept for
the consumption of their products, ploughing,
sale (for cash income), and as savings mecha-
nism to cope with economic shocks and stress.

The transport of the agricultural products and

livestock to local markets is usually carried out
by the producers themselves or by small local
traders, on foot and with donkeys. A signifi-
cant food processing industry does not exist in
the zone. Marketing is usually done by men
(except for chickens and eggs), giving them
control over income and household decisions.
Even when households are organised into co-
operatives that operate like traders, women
often find little entry into decision-making
bodies. In addition to already participating in
large parts of the agricultural work, women are
burdened with being in charge of childcare,
collecting water and firewood, cooking and
other in-house activities.

Youth around the Tekeze Hydrodam reservoir

started to engage in fishing in 2011, when the
dam was constructed. Only seven per cent of
the catch is consumed within the WHZ, with
the remainder sold to urban centres outside the
zone. Although fish is an excellent source of
protein, less than a third of non-fishing house-
holds around the reservoir consume it. The
reasons for this are negative perceptions of fish
and the lack of a tradition to eat it.

Overgrazing and excessive firewood collection pered. The reasons for this will be explored in
Food system outcomes and drivers are major factors for deforestation. Because of the in-depth analysis.
vegetation being thus decimated, critical eco-
The food system analysis revealed that house- system services such as the maintenance of soil The recent influx of larger groups of internally
holds cover between 30 and 60 per cent of health, fixing nutrients, providing protection displaced persons and returnees from various
their food consumption through their own and preventing soil degradation are lost. Com- conflict-prone regions of the country is ex-
production and rely on buying additional staple bined with consequences of climate change, acerbating pressure on food supplies and land
foods. Poorer households do so early as April. like low and erratic rainfall patterns, the food availability, creating the risk of distributional
This requires selling assets, such as livestock. system’s capacity of providing decent liveli- conflicts.
Especially between June and September, peo- hoods is critically restrained. WHZ is already
ple suffer food-deficient months. Overall, half considered the most drought-prone area in
of the households in WHZ are assumed to be Amhara Region. Sketching sustainability issues and the
food-insufficient. In this regard, female-head- political economy
ed households appear to be the most vulnera- Innovations such as early maturing pearl millet
ble group. COVID-19 restrictions have fur- varieties and home orchard development (al- The ecosystem’s reduced carrying capacity
ther limited some additional income sources, ready part of CARD I) are being introduced under current management systems challenges
such as labour migration. Support through mainly through externally funded projects and the economic viability of farming communi-
the government’s Productive Safety Net Pro- in collaboration with Ethiopia's Sekota Dry- ties and the food system’s longevity. The way
gramme (PSNP) and emergency programmes land Agricultural Research Centre. However, agriculture is still primarily practised in WHZ
is essential for up to 50 per cent of all house- the widespread adoption of such innovations does not ensure sustainable management of
holds in WHZ. within the zone often turns out to be ham- natural resources and does not provide the op-
26 FOCUS

Strengthening multi-purpose cooperatives is

an entry point to accelerate dissemination of
the above-mentioned improved crops and
improve access to markets and input supplies.
Furthermore, the reinforcement of local credit
and savings mechanisms ensures access to fi-
nance for smallholders for investing into these
value chains and to adapt agricultural produc-
tion systems.

Also, increasing consumer awareness of the

nutritional value of, for example, fish and veg-
etables through cooperative-led information
campaigns can contribute to further systemic
transformation. Therefore, trainings on busi-
ness skills, nutrition and communication for
cooperatives through the government exten-
sion system should be considered. In addition,
public schemes such as the PSNP provide an
entry point to distribute nutrition-sensitive
messages and to enhance the knowledge of
consumers.
Ring-basin infiltration pit with plantation of drought-tolerant and high-value crops (gesho).
Photo: Helvetas
Next steps

portunity to build savings to absorb frequent chains and limited consumer nutrition aware- In the coming months, the detailed food sys-
livelihood shocks. Market failures such as in- ness. Access to water can be increased through tem analysis will be further deepened, and
formation asymmetries and impeded market introduction of new technologies and land- simplified guidelines for its replication will
access further inhibit the economic sustainabil- scape management. For instance, ring-basin be developed. Although Helvetas’ interven-
ity of the food system and disadvantage pro- infiltration pits (already promoted in CARD I; tions aim for change at the system level to
ducers in particular. see Photo) and area closure allow the vege- improve livelihoods and food security, they
tation to recover, enhance water infiltration, lack a common food systems perspective. The
Strengthening the local food and nutrition se- reduce erosion and improve soil fertility. This ECDPM approach creates a process frame-
curity enjoys a remarkably good status in the lowers dependency on scarce water resources, work for project staff, local researchers and
governmental political development agen- the costs of water extraction as well as associ- local government partners to better identify
da. Policy components such as de-stocking ated risks. Depending on the method, infra- interlinkages between parts of the food system
of livestock, zero or controlled grazing and structure construction and maintenance can and recognise interventions in their systemic
strengthening agricultural cooperatives and provide employment opportunities for youth. embeddedness. The in-depth testing of the ap-
community watershed institutions are among This development can be catalysed by inter- proach will also show how the approach can
those widely supported. However, practical ventions such as transferring knowledge and identify root causes of food system challenges
implementation still lags behind the theoretical technology through the government’s exten- and mobilise system actors to plan strategic in-
claims in terms of effectiveness. sion system. Furthermore, by strengthening terventions at scale. Strengthening approaches,
the governance capacity of community-based tools and guidelines for effective and efficient
Local governments at the regional and local organisations, they are able to develop strong application of the food systems approach can
levels carry the political and economic agenda bylaws. This will ensure an effective manage- only be achieved jointly. Therefore, Helvetas
down to the lowest administrative level (ke- ment and control of implemented measures looks forward to discussing the concrete results
beles) through an elaborate extension service such as area closures. expected in 2022 with interested parties.
system via development agents. Through joint
efforts, community institutions such as kebele Another pathway focuses on transforming
development committees or watershed com- existing and facilitating new value chains Patrik Aus der Au is Junior Professional at
mittees were strengthened for the people’s po- that generate positive livelihood outcomes. Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation (HSI) in Ethiopia.
litical empowerment. However, women don’t There are ongoing efforts in agricultural pro- Gebrat Kidie is Project Manager of CARD at HSI in
enjoy significant participation and influence duction to introduce climate-smart practices Ethiopia.
on actions and decisions. including early maturing, drought-tolerant David Bexte is Advisor at HSI in Switzerland.
and market-oriented crops like pearl millet, Contact: [email protected]
mung bean and lentils. In addition, multipur-
Potential transformation pathways pose crops like pigeon pea serve as livestock
forage and food, and contribute to soil con-
As shown above, major food system-relat- servation (part of CARD II). Honey value
Further reading: www.rural21.com
ed challenges are access to water, weak value chains also have potential for improvement.