Worancha ወራንቻ

Seasonal rains have failed to materialize in some parts of  Ethiopia , causing deaths of many cattle and other animals, officials and residents said on Monday. While the government is not calling the situation in parts of northern, northeastern and eastern Ethiopia a drought, the impact is taking a toll. Adamu Kebede, a truck driver, told The Associated Press he has seen hundreds of cattle lying dead along the main road that stretches from the Addis Ababa to the Afar Region's capital, Semera. He said he has also seen dozens of trucks unloading emergency food aid. The government said it is stockpiling food to prevent a shortage. "The government has enough food stock and it is assisting farmers to continue their farming practices with improved seed items and drought-resistant crops," Wondimu Filate, a spokesman for the Agriculture Ministry, told AP. Impacts of climate change often weigh heavily on Ethiopia's smallholder farmers. Rain-fed agriculture is th

Attendants of the Annual Fiche-Chambalala celebration in Hawassa (Photo: Awramba Times) ምንጭ፦ ኣራምባ ታይምስ

Abstract Background Enset ( Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman; Musaceae) is a multipurpose drought-tolerant food security crop with high conservation and improvement concern in Ethiopia, where it supplements the human calorie requirements of around 20 million people. The crop also has an enormous potential in other regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, where it is known only as a wild plant. Despite its potential, genetic and genomic studies supporting breeding programs and conservation efforts are very limited. Molecular methods would substantially improve current conventional approaches. Here we report the development of the first set of SSR markers from enset, their cross-transferability to Musa spp., and their application in genetic diversity, relationship and structure assessments in wild and cultivated enset germplasm. Results SSR markers specific to E. ventricosum were developed through

  ADDIS ABABA Aug 4 (Reuters) - Ethiopia's inflation rose to 11.9 percent year-on-year in July from 10.4 the previous month, owing to a rise in both food and non-food prices, the statistics office said on Tuesday. The Central Statistics Agency said food price inflation increased to 13.9 percent from 12.4 percent in June, thanks largely to a rise in the prices of items such as meat, fruits, vegetables and cereals. The non-food inflation rate rose to 9.7 percent in July from 8.2 percent the previous month.