Challenges to cultivate Rice Crops

 Introduction Ethiopia is confronting diverse climate associated challenges in 2020. The main challenges are associated with the desert locust invasions in the Northeast (Tigray, Wollo and Afar areas) and South-eastern (Dire Dawa and Hararghe) regions of the nation and floods linked with constant heavy rains that has influenced the Fogera plain and the lowland areas of Afar region. In addition, the flooding in the Fogera plain was aggravated by (I) the bad management of irrigation channels of this uncompleted rib river irrigation strategy, which has been under construction since 2008, (ii) shortage of flood management structures in the districts of this Fogera simple, and (iii) the lack of proper and coordinated watershed management practices (e.g. afforestation, terracing and other flood controlling practices) on the upper catchment regions (upland areas) of the Fogera plain, and a scarcity of flood-risk mitigation and investigation to get a fast response. In addition to the extent of harm, we discuss the continuing efforts put in place to address challenges along with expected impacts on rice commercialization as well as the livelihoods of farmers at the Fogera plain.Measures underway to address the affected familiesFollowing the flooding, those severely affected have received diplomatic support to, such as supply of temporary shelter (home, blankets, tarpaulins, sleeping mats) and relief assistance (provision of food and water).Concerning rehabilitation, there's a strategy to guarantee availability of seeds from crops which may be grown while the floodwater subsides, chiefly linked to short maturing crops such as pulses and crops which can be grown with supplementary irrigation. According to respondents, the expected challenges will probably likely be (I) ensuring the supply of quality seed of favored varieties of short maturing plants, (ii) labor deficit, as all affected farmers need to plant at precisely the same time, (iii) the possible communicable disease pandemic after the flood (e.g. typhoid, cholera and Malaria), and (iv) persistent food insecurity aggravated by the flooding and COVID-19 associated food cost surge.Expected impact of the flood on rice commercialisation and farmers' livelihoodThe responses of affected farmers and specialists from the respective district office of agriculture and Early Warning and Risk Management offices signify the next brief and long-term effects related to rice commercialisation and farmers' livelihoods:The need to Guarantee food safety for the farm households during humanitarian aid, which also demands redirection of agriculture development efforts; Availability of paddy rice in the present main production will be considerably reduced leading to higher costs of paddy and milled rice.The food safety status of farm householders in rural areas and households in metropolitan areas will be considerably reduced as food prices will be very large; The projected crop production on the residual moisture from the soil after the flooding will contribute to improvement in the availability of food for farm families. However, the degree of production is expected to be affected by the shortage of labor, as all affected farmers will start farm activities at the exact same moment. Given the exacerbation of harm has been mainly due to the inefficiency in the building and lack of timely completion of noodle irrigation scheme, policy makers are likely to improve production systems with greater access to irrigation, and also the possibility of off-season creation of different crops including high value crops (vegetables). Rib irrigation is one of the major investments at the Fogera plain expected to transform the whole harvest production system covering 20,000 ha of land and reaching 40,000 farmers.The construction of Rib irrigation dam started in 2008 by a local contractor, Ethiopian Construction Works Corporation together with the financial aid of World Bank as part of the Bank's Ethiopian Nile Irrigation and Drainage Project (ENIDP) with initial estimated budget of 1.3 billion birr and was assumed to be completed in 2012. It was officially inaugurated in 2018 following 10 years in a cost of 3.8 billion birr. However, the scheme is still not finished, with the regional authorities planning to do so from the first half of 2021. The main reasons for delay are (I) layout changes, (ii) inefficiency of the contractor and public supervision, and (iii) reported corruption and delays in compensating for farmland and communal land.