Impact Assessments of Livelihoods-based Drought Interventions in Moyale and Dire Woredas

The Pastoralist Livelihoods Initiative (PLI) is a two-year program funded by USAID Ethiopia which combines field level implementation and learning in pastoral areas, with the development of national guidelines for livelihoods-based livestock relief interventions with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. From late 2005 into 2006 a severe drought affected some pastoral areas of southern Ethiopia, and PLI government and NGO partners intervened with various types of livestock-related assistance. With the intention of informing policy dialogue and contributing to the national guidelines, impact assessments were then conducted in two woredas. The impact assessments combined descriptions of project activities (sometimes called ‘process monitoring’) with the systematic use of participatory methods to capture local perceptions of benefits.