According to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), a protracted drought in different parts of Ethiopia has killed approximately 6.8 million livestock.
According to FAO’s latest Ethiopia Humanitarian Response Plan report, substantial livestock losses occurred in the country’s Oromia, Somali, and Southern regions.
“These drought impacts have rippled into crop production, income loss, high levels of malnutrition, and food insecurity,” according to the FAO report.
The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) warned earlier this year that the terrible effects of the multi-year drought will persist in the Horn of Africa region in 2023, leaving communities in desperate need of aid.
According to the WMO report, sections of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia will continue to have the worst drought-hit areas in the Horn of Africa region until 2023.
On a more positive note, the FAO report stated that the peace accord agreed in November 2022 between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which ended a two-year conflict, has allowed millions of people in northern Ethiopia to resume their livelihoods.
According to the research, conflict-affected households continue to have severely limited access to farm inputs like as seeds and fertilisers, which disrupts their agricultural activity.