Emergency Food Aid in Chad
In June 2005, IRD completed Emergency Food-for-Work and Agricultural Assistance Initiatives for Affected Villages in eastern Chad. These programs provided emergency food security and agriculture improvement opportunities for villages in eastern Chad affected by the influx of Darfur refugees fleeing neighboring Sudan.
In June 2005, IRD completed Emergency Food-for-Work and Agricultural Assistance Initiatives for Affected Villages in eastern Chad. These programs provided emergency food security and agriculture improvement opportunities for villages in eastern Chad affected by the influx of Darfur refugees fleeing neighboring Sudan.
This program was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office for Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) in conjunction with the United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP), which provided 1,000 metric tons of food. Using a community-based approach, IRD mobilized communities in villages affected by drought and refugee flows to undertake agricultural improvement projects primarily targeting local Wadis (river bed watersheds).
Projects included the construction and rehabilitation of:
- Barrages (dams);
- Hafirs (water catchment basins); and
- Wells for potable water.
Villages provided the manual labor to restore these local irrigation systems and water wells. More than 12,000 beneficiaries were employed under this program and received food parcels as salary supplements in the targeted villages surrounding the Iriba District.
In addition, IRD distributed seeds from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and provided short-term technical assistance for improving planting, harvesting and processing techniques. IRD also provided basic agricultural kits (up to four varieties of seeds, planting tools and one wheelbarrow) to the most vulnerable families. The program reached approximately 80,000 people.
