GRAD Annual review meeting held
50,000 chronically food insecure HHs graduate by the end of the project period.

20 Oct. 2015, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

Graduation with Resilience to Achieve Sustainable Development (GRAD) is a USAID-funded project through CARE Ethiopia that aims to support the livelihood options of chronically food insecure households in Ethiopia. The project emphasizes resilient strategies related to nutrition, gender, and climate change adaptation, aspiration to graduation, learning and dissemination of the lessons that work in lifting households (HH) out of extreme poverty.

The total budget of the project has been US$ 23,400,000.00. The goal for GRAD is to contribute significantly to sustained food security for chronically and transitory food insecure households in rural Ethiopia. The program intends to reach 65,000 PSNP HHs directly with the strategic objective of graduating 50,000 chronically food insecure HHs from PSNP food support in the 16 targeted Woredas and increase each HH’s income by $365/ year by the end of the project period.

ORDA has been carrying 30 developmental projects to improve the livelihood of the people in the Amhara region. In this regard, ORDA-GRAD funded by USAID through CARE Ethiopia played a significant role to help PSNP woredas come out from extreme poverty.

GRAD partners annual review meeting held from 16-20 Oct. 2015 at Homeland, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.

  During the review meeting, Executive Director of ORDA, Dr. Amlaku Asres remarked that the Organization has achieved magnificent finger-prints on various developmental agendas of the region closely working with the regional government, multilateral and bilateral agencies, donors, NGOs, and the target community in the fight against poverty and vulnerability.

Wishing participants a nice stay at the beautiful city-Bahir Dar, Dr. Amlaku calls up on new partners/donors to bring about sustainable development and social transformation.

Agreement Officer Representative (AOR) to USAID Ato Reta Asegid on his part exclaimed the review is quite critical to see what has achieved so far and fill in the gaps of project activities.

During the field visit, Participants witnessed that ORDA-GRAD has achieved impressive results with regard to onion, potato, malt barley and livestock fattening value chains, strengthening VESAs, IGAs, financial institutions, agro-dealers, and cooperatives, attitudinal and practical changes of gender, nutrition, climate change adaptation and aspiration to graduation in Libo kemkem and Lay Gayint woreda  s.

Farmer Habtamu Aragaw a resident at South Gondar zone Lay Gayint woreda was among the target beneficiaries who are dramatically changing their livelihood after the intervention of ORDA-GRAD project.

This young farmer disclosed he passed 7 challenging years under extreme poverty. Though he was benefited from safety- net, he was not escaped from the hard-hitting poverty. The imminent of GRAD has made their life simpler and brighter.

Habtamu explained his engagement in malt barley, sheep fattening and potato helped him build assets. According to farmer Habtamu, he now owns 7 ewes and lambs, 21 quintals of malt barley per annum, ¼ hectare potato, 7,851 birr deposited at ACSI, saved more than 4,000 from VESAs. He is well aware of gender, nutrition and climate change adaptation. Habtamu verified he started to earn 57 thousand birr per annum and is making a difference in his life.

Mr. John Mayer, country representative of CARE Ethiopia on his concluding remark stressed to focus on activities not yet performed before the finish line of the project. Eventually, a thorough discussion was conducted on exit strategies and sustainability issues of GRAD intervention areas.

Partners composed from USAID, CARE Ethiopia, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Agri Service Ethiopia, REST-GRAD, ORDA-GRAD, SNV across Oromia, SNNP, Amhara, Tigray were active participants in the 4th round joint learning review.