Info Note: Pastoralist Areas Resilience Improvement through Market Expansion (PRIME) in Ethiopia: Mitigation co-benefits of livestock productivity

This info note provides information on the Pastoralist Areas Resilience Improvement through Market Expansion (PRIME) project in Ethiopia. Included in the info note is information on low emissions development, the agricultural and environmental context of Ethiopia, agricultural practices that impact greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and carbon sequestration, a summary of projected GHG emissions and carbon sequestration co-benefits, GHG emissions intensity and methods for estimating emissions. 

 

PRIME launched in 2012 with funding from the Feed the Future (FTF) initiative, and employed a market-based facilitation approach to build the resilience of pastoralists in seven zones in the Afar, Oromiya and Somali regions. Implemented by Mercy Corps, PRIME targeted 250,000 households as direct beneficiaries, including 50,000 that received direct activity support for animal husbandry practices. 

 

The purpose of PRIME was to promote the viability and resilience of pastoralist communities by 1) improving the productivity and competitiveness of livestock; 2) enhancing the adaptive capacity of pastoralists to confront climate change; 3) strengthening alternative livelihoods to enable households to transition out of pastoralism; and 4) improving the nutritional status of targeted households through sustained and evidence-based interventions.