News: Oromia region reports 1.3 million cattle deaths worth 26 billion ETB in eight drought-stricken zones

By Getahun Tsegaye @GetahunTsegay12

Addis Abeba – The Oromia region disaster and risk management commission reported  1.3 million deaths in livestock worth 26 billion ETB in the Oromia region, a local media reported. The commission also added that nearly 14 million animals have been affected by the drought in eight zones of the region, out of which 2 million are unable to move without support. 

Begna Duresa, the director of precaution and disaster risk reduction at the commission, told the local news outlet that the continued absence of spring and autumn in the region has led to severe drought in a total of eight zones. Begna further stated that the study the commission conducted revealed that a total of 14 million livestock were identified as severely affected. 

The director explained that providing fodder continues to be the biggest challenge as the drought continues to ravage areas in the eastern Bale and Guji zones. He stated that the government has only been able to respond to 10 percent of the total number of livestock affected by drought. 

He expressed his hope that if this spring season experiences rain the damage is expected to reduce. The director, however, underlined his worry that the weather forecast indicates that the weather in eastern and southeastern Oromia would be dry. AS