By Meron Belay, Communications Specialist, World Vision Ethiopia

The most serious challenge facing farmers in semi-arid Ethiopia is how to capture, store and make efficient use of the little rainfall that comes. The Drylands Development programme, with funding from the Dutch government and from World Vision Australia, is addressing this in various ways – but perhaps the simplest approach is by merely diverting run-off water. Mr Girma Galan, teff and haricot bean producer from Boset woreda in Oromia region, worked with project staff to install a 60 m³ (or 60,000 L) concrete-lined ring tank. The underground tank is fed by a channel that collects and diverts runoff water from the nearby track. Read more…