In the Chadian part of the Sahel band, agricultural livelihood produce dropped 56% in 2011, because of rainfall shortage. The lack of water has had a direct impact on the quality of pasture, agricultural crop yield, as well as livestock access to water sources. Crops have either been destroyed or pillaged by insect and bird attacks. We meet with the populations enduring these conditions every day.
One December morning in eastern Chad’s Batha region, the sun is high in the sky. There is no wind nor breeze. All around, the scarce grass is yellow and burnt by lack of water. Along the road, ponds are either dry or drying up, and many large herds of livestock are seen, southbound, to regions less hardly hit by the drought. This year, existing natural resources will not suffice to keep livestock alive until the next rainy season, and farmers are leaving the Sahel earlier than expected. However, in the south, as the herds clutter the greener pasture, the race for access to ponds and pasture could create tension.
First stop Drungulu, an ACTED village of intervention. Some ten men are busy digging in the sand around a plot of land. They are looking for water, an essential element for the pilot, high-yield “Superfarm” project they are benefiting from. Several holes of varying depths around the plot have been abandoned, by failure to strike groundwater. After days of hard work, their luck finally comes: they find water eight meters deep. Relief can be seen in their eyes. The village leader shows us around: “If this works, and if we follow the instructions given by Pro Natura International [creators of the Superfarm] and ACTED, we will be able to produce gombo, eggplant, and tomatoes for the next ten years! This is an investment for the future of our children. That’s why there are so many of us working here today.”
Further on up the road, in the village of Affanine, food distributions are taking place to compensate the work done by project beneficiary households for building community infrastructure. The village’s energy is put into its access to water. Villagers identified a large pond that tends to overflow during the rainy season. By digging under it, thus increasing its capacity, they should have access to water for a longer period to feed their cattle and plant bere bere, a variety of millet that grows in the winter. The sand and earth gathered is then placed in large burlap sacks to help build a dam in the wadi, and therefore create another water source for the following season. A hajji woman explains: “We are very happy we did not receive cash for this work, because with food, we decide how it is managed. Money can be more complicated within a household...”