Integrated watershed development work has officially started in the Southern Region

The 2021 Regional Integrated Basin Development Project has officially started in Hadiya Zone, Soro Woreda.

Deputy Chief of the Regional State, Ato Ristu Yirdaw, who started the regional basin work; State Minister of Agriculture Sani Redi, Southern Prosperity Party Office Head Tilahun Kebeden and other senior officials of the region were present.

Deputy Chief of the State, Ristu Yirdaw, on the occasion said 357,000 hectares of land in the state is planned to be developed through integrated watershed development and 3,284 sub-basins have been identified.

He said the people of the state should play their part in the one-month soil and water conservation work.

He said 1.6 billion seedlings are planned to be planted in the state.

State Minister for Agriculture, Sani Redi, said the success of the previous environmental protection and conservation work has led to an increase in groundwater and surface water levels.

Despite being the most diverse ecosystem in the country, it is said to have failed to produce and feed its citizens due to centuries of distorted policies and improper land tenure.

According to Anteneh Fekadu, Rural Cluster Coordinator and Head of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Bureau in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR). He said the moisture content has increased and productivity has increased due to reduced erosion.

He said the income of farmers has not only increased but also increased.

More than 5 million people in the state will participate in the integrated watershed development, Anteneh said, according to the state government’s communication bureau.

Source: ebc