Hardship causing abnormal migration to urban areas

Migration to lowland in search of wage labour - a typical coping mechanism in ‘the hungry season’ before harvest time - has been abnormally high recently in many areas of Ethiopia visited by humanitarian assessment missions, with 13,000 people out-migrating in South Tigray and North Welo alone, and reports from several urban areas of an increasing number of destitute people, according to a UNDP situation report received by IRIN on Tuesday. With food distribution underway, people were expected to return to those areas, but a grave situation was feared in Hararghe where large number of destitute people have been moving to urban areas in search of relief assistance, the report warned.

Though forecasts suggested a normal to better than normal rainy season (kiremt) to come, poor belg rains failed to adequately replenish pastures and water supplies for livestock in lowland and agro-pastoral areas such as West and East Hararghe, and East Shewa, the report said. The low rainfall also delayed planting for this year’s meher season, which means the opportunity to plant high-yielding crops has passed and farmers will be forced to plant short-cycle, low-yielding crops. With 43 percent of rural, crop-based households estimated to be food insecure even in relatively good years, the UNDP report suggested that prospects were already for a poor harvest and increased need for food relief.