A Tale of Two Droughts
A Look at the 1973/1974 and 1984 Droughts and their impacts in Ethiopia
A Look at the 1973/1974 and 1984 Droughts and their impacts in Ethiopia
Landlocked countries in the Horn of Africa
115 million people (2020)
11 federal regional states, Oromo being the most populous
2 administrative states
Currently engaged in a civil war
ITCZ
Decline in overall precipitation
Universally understood to be the cause of drought
ENSO - La Niña - causes drier than average conditions in the long rainy season
Agriculture is rainfed and depends on the long rainy season
Relationship between rainfall shortage and food production
Population Increase
Rainfall was one of many drivers of drought
The drought escalated into a crisis for political, economic and social reasons
These factors increased vulnerability to drought among certain groups
Climate, geography, and the political economy worked together to create the conditions for drought and increase vulnerability to drought in rural communities.
North-Eastern Highlands
Eritrea and Tigray (Tigre)
Drought prone region heavily dependent on pastoralism and rain-agriculture
Eastern-Plateau
The Awash Valley
Located in modern-day Afar
Arid, dry climate prone to drought
Occupied by pastoralists and agro-pastoralist tribes: Jile Oromo, Arsi, Kereyu, and the Afar
Agricultural development schemes displaced pastoralists and reduced access to land
Precarious situation worsens due to successive droughts
Hunger was in the Awash basin was pervasive, despite commercial farms producing non-essential food stuff for global consumption
Lost 25-30% of their population and a portion of their livestock
Kids 0 - 5 had a higher mortality rate
Loss of cattle, land, life, and livelihood
TPLF and EPLF vs the Derg
Fundamental changes to agriculture industry under the new regime
Repeat of the 1973/1974 drought, but on a much larger scale
Eritrea and Tigray
Never quite recovered from the intermittent drought of the 1970s
Drought led to declines in crop production and in rangeland vegetation
Precarious food insecurity was capitalized on by the government
Create conditions of famine and used it expand control over rebel group teritory
Wollo (Welo)
To pacify urban centers, cattle and crops were confiscated or purchased at extremely low rates in rural Wollo
The extractive policies multiplied the situation of food insecurity, creating conditions of famine.
Famine Relief Tax
Farmer financial assistance attempt
Such attempts were ineffective
Aid donors
Politics motivated impact response
Aid distribution
Mass Migration
Dependence on Aid amidst continued civil war
The Ethiopian droughts of 1973/1974 and 1984 illustrate four things about droughts: