Adama (woreda)
Encyclopedia
Adama is one of the 180 districts (woreda
s) in the Oromia Region
of Ethiopia
. It is named after the woreda capital Adama
, also known as Nazaret. Part of the Misraq Shewa Zone
located in the Great Rift Valley
, Adama is bordered on the south by the Arsi Zone
, on the southwest by Koka Reservoir
which separates it from Dugda Bora
, on the west by Lome
, on the north by the Afar Region
, and on the east by Boset
; the Awash River
, the only important river in this woreda, defines the woreda boundaries on the east and south. Other towns in this woreda include Awash Melkasa, Shewa Alemtena, Sire Robi, Sodere
and Wenji Gefersa.
and Gergedi hot springs, and Boku Femoral. A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 30% is arable or cultivable, 6.5% pasture, 5.2% forest, and the remaining 58.3% is considered swampy, degraded or otherwise unusable. Fruits, vegetables and sugar cane are important cash crops.
Adama has a severe invasive species
problem with Eichhornia crassipes
, the water hyacinth. Locals believed the weed was introduced to the woreda through the 1996 flood of the Awash, which brought plants from the Koka Reservoir
into both residential areas and the Wonji Sugar Plantation, where it has infested 116.4 hectares of irrigation structures, causing water loss, increased labor, and providing an environment that encourages malaria
-carrying mosquitos and schistosomiasis
.
Industry in the woreda includes 12 government-owned industries, and 192 small industries which employed a total of 1181 people. There were 41 Farmers Associations with 13,929 members and 10 Farmers Service Cooperatives with 8631 members. Adama has 18 kilometers of dry-weather road and 110 kilometers of all-weather road, for an average road density of 127 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers. About 24% of the rural, 100% of the urban and 69% of the total population has access to drinking water
.
in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 422,490, of whom 210,168 are men and 212,322 are women; 273,842 or 64.82% of its population are urban dwellers, which is greater than the Misraq Shewa Zone's average of 32.1%. With an estimated area of 1,007.66 square kilometers, Adama has an estimated population density of 419.3 people per square kilometer, which is greater than the Zone average of 181.7. It is considered the most populous woreda in the Misraq Shewa Zone.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 261,341, of whom 129,538 were men and 131,803 women; 153,134 or 58.60% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The six largest ethnic groups reported in Adama were the Oromo
(46.07%), the Amhara
(31.6%), the Silt'e
(4.54%), the Sebat Bet
Gurage
(4.05%), the Tigray
(3.47%), and the Soddo Gurage (2.02%); all other ethnic groups made up 8.25% of the population. Amharic
was spoken as a first language by 55.05%, 35.08% spoke Oromiffa
, 2.43% Silt'e
, 2.1% Sebat Bet Gurage
, and 1.99% spoke Tigrinya
; the remaining 1.88% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants were Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 78.39% of the population reporting they practiced that belief, while 13.64% of the population said they were Moslem
, 4.33% were Protestant
, 1.85% were Catholic
, and 1.32% practiced traditional beliefs.
Woreda
Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...
s) in the Oromia Region
Oromia Region
Oromia is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia...
of Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. It is named after the woreda capital Adama
Adama
Adama , better known as Nazret or Nazreth , is a city in central Ethiopia and the previous capital of the Oromia Region. It is located in the Misraq Shewa Zone of Oromia, at at an elevation of 1712 meters, 99 km southeast of Addis Ababa...
, also known as Nazaret. Part of the Misraq Shewa Zone
Misraq Shewa Zone
Misraq Shewa is one of the 12 Zones of the Ethiopian Region of Oromia. This zone takes its name from the kingdom or former province of Shewa. Misraq Shewa is located in the middle of Oromia, connecting the western regions to the eastern ones...
located in the Great Rift Valley
Great Rift Valley
The Great Rift Valley is a name given in the late 19th century by British explorer John Walter Gregory to the continuous geographic trench, approximately in length, that runs from northern Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in South East Africa...
, Adama is bordered on the south by the Arsi Zone
Arsi Zone
Arsi is one of the 12 zones of the Oromia Region in Ethiopia. Arsi is also the name of a former province. Both the Zone and the former province are named after a subgroup of the Oromo, who inhabit both...
, on the southwest by Koka Reservoir
Koka Reservoir
The Koka Reservoir is a reservoir) in south-central Ethiopia. It was created by the construction of the Koka Dam across the Awash River...
which separates it from Dugda Bora
Dugda Bora
Dugda Bora is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Misraq Shewa Zone located in the Great Rift Valley, Dugda Bora is bordered on the southeast by Lake Zway, on the south by Adami Tullu and Jido Kombolcha, on the west by the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples...
, on the west by Lome
Lome (woreda)
Lome is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Misraq Shewa Zone located in the Great Rift Valley, Lome is bordered on the south by the Koka Reservoir, on the west by Ada'a Chukala, on the northwest by Gimbichu, on the north by the Afar Region, and on the east by Adama...
, on the north by the Afar Region
Afar Region
Afar is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, and is the homeland of the Afar people. Formerly known as Region 2, its current capital is Asayita; a new capital named Semera on the paved Awash - Asseb highway is under construction....
, and on the east by Boset
Boset
Boset is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Misraq Shewa Zone located in the Great Rift Valley, Boset is bordered on the south by the Arsi Zone, on the west by the Awash River which separates it from Adama, on the north by the Afar Region, and on the east by Fentale...
; the Awash River
Awash River
The Awash is a major river of Ethiopia. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia, and empties into a chain of interconnected lakes that begin with Lake Gargori and end with Lake Abbe on the border with Djibouti, some 100 kilometers from the head of the Gulf of Tadjoura...
, the only important river in this woreda, defines the woreda boundaries on the east and south. Other towns in this woreda include Awash Melkasa, Shewa Alemtena, Sire Robi, Sodere
Sodere
Sodere is a spa town in central Ethiopia. Located approximately 25 kilometres south of Adama and 120 kilometres southeast of Addis Ababa in the Misraq Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 1466 metres above sea level...
and Wenji Gefersa.
Overview
The altitude of this woreda ranges from 1500 to 2300 meters above sea level. Notable local landmarks include the SodereSodere
Sodere is a spa town in central Ethiopia. Located approximately 25 kilometres south of Adama and 120 kilometres southeast of Addis Ababa in the Misraq Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 1466 metres above sea level...
and Gergedi hot springs, and Boku Femoral. A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 30% is arable or cultivable, 6.5% pasture, 5.2% forest, and the remaining 58.3% is considered swampy, degraded or otherwise unusable. Fruits, vegetables and sugar cane are important cash crops.
Adama has a severe invasive species
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
problem with Eichhornia crassipes
Eichhornia crassipes
Eichhornia crassipes, commonly known as Common Water Hyacinth, is an aquatic plant native to the Amazon basin, and is often considered a highly problematic invasive species outside its native range.-Ecology:...
, the water hyacinth. Locals believed the weed was introduced to the woreda through the 1996 flood of the Awash, which brought plants from the Koka Reservoir
Koka Reservoir
The Koka Reservoir is a reservoir) in south-central Ethiopia. It was created by the construction of the Koka Dam across the Awash River...
into both residential areas and the Wonji Sugar Plantation, where it has infested 116.4 hectares of irrigation structures, causing water loss, increased labor, and providing an environment that encourages malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
-carrying mosquitos and schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease caused by several species of trematodes , a parasitic worm of the genus Schistosoma. Snails often act as an intermediary agent for the infectious diseases until a new human host is found...
.
Industry in the woreda includes 12 government-owned industries, and 192 small industries which employed a total of 1181 people. There were 41 Farmers Associations with 13,929 members and 10 Farmers Service Cooperatives with 8631 members. Adama has 18 kilometers of dry-weather road and 110 kilometers of all-weather road, for an average road density of 127 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers. About 24% of the rural, 100% of the urban and 69% of the total population has access to drinking water
Water supply and sanitation in Ethiopia
Access to water supply and sanitation in Ethiopia is amongst the lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa and the entire world. While access has increased substantially with funding from external aid, much still remains to be done to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of halving the share of people...
.
Demographics
Based on figures published by the Central Statistical AgencyCentral Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)
The Central Statistical Agency is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...
in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 422,490, of whom 210,168 are men and 212,322 are women; 273,842 or 64.82% of its population are urban dwellers, which is greater than the Misraq Shewa Zone's average of 32.1%. With an estimated area of 1,007.66 square kilometers, Adama has an estimated population density of 419.3 people per square kilometer, which is greater than the Zone average of 181.7. It is considered the most populous woreda in the Misraq Shewa Zone.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 261,341, of whom 129,538 were men and 131,803 women; 153,134 or 58.60% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The six largest ethnic groups reported in Adama were the Oromo
Oromo people
The Oromo are an ethnic group found in Ethiopia, northern Kenya, .and parts of Somalia. With 30 million members, they constitute the single largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and approximately 34.49% of the population according to the 2007 census...
(46.07%), the Amhara
Amhara people
Amhara are a highland people inhabiting the Northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. Numbering about 19.8 million people, they comprise 26% of the country's population, according to the 2007 national census...
(31.6%), the Silt'e
Silt'e people
The Silt'e people are an ethnic group in southern Ethiopia. They inhabit today's Silt'e Zone which is part of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region. A considerable number of Silt'e live in Addis Ababa, Adama and other cities and smaller urban centres of southern Ethiopia where...
(4.54%), the Sebat Bet
Sebat Bet Gurage language
Sebat Bet is a Gurage language, spoken in several dialects found in the western Gurage Zone:*Chaha is spoken in Cheha woreda, and is the best studied of these dialects;*Ezha is spoken in Ezhana Wolene woreda,...
Gurage
Gurage
Gurage is an ethnic group in Ethiopia. According to the 2007 national census, its population is 1,867,377 people , of whom 792,659 are urban dwellers. This is 2.53% of the total population of Ethiopia, or 7.52% of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region...
(4.05%), the Tigray
Tigray-Tigrinya people
Tigray-Tigrinya are an ethnic group who live in the southern, central and northern parts of Eritrea and the northern highlands of Ethiopia's Tigray province. They also live in Ethiopia's former provinces of Begemder and Wollo, which are today mostly part of Amhara Region, though a few regions...
(3.47%), and the Soddo Gurage (2.02%); all other ethnic groups made up 8.25% of the population. Amharic
Amharic language
Amharic is a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia. It is the second most-spoken Semitic language in the world, after Arabic, and the official working language of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Thus, it has official status and is used nationwide. Amharic is also the official or working...
was spoken as a first language by 55.05%, 35.08% spoke Oromiffa
Oromo language
Oromo, also known as Afaan Oromo, Oromiffa, Afan Boran, Afan Orma, and sometimes in other languages by variant spellings of these names , is an Afro-Asiatic language, and the most widely spoken of the Cushitic family. Forms of Oromo are spoken as a first language by more than 25 million Oromo and...
, 2.43% Silt'e
Silt'e language
Silt'e is a Semitic language spoken in central Ethiopia, mainly within the Silte Zone, in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region and by speakers of the language , who have settled in Ethiopian cities, especially Addis Ababa.-Speakers and dialects:Dialects of the language include:...
, 2.1% Sebat Bet Gurage
Sebat Bet Gurage language
Sebat Bet is a Gurage language, spoken in several dialects found in the western Gurage Zone:*Chaha is spoken in Cheha woreda, and is the best studied of these dialects;*Ezha is spoken in Ezhana Wolene woreda,...
, and 1.99% spoke Tigrinya
Tigrinya language
Tigrinya , also spelled Tigrigna, Tigrnia, Tigrina, Tigriña, less commonly Tigrinian, Tigrinyan, is a Semitic language spoken by the Tigrinya people in central Eritrea , where it is one of the two main languages of Eritrea, and in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia , where it...
; the remaining 1.88% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants were Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 78.39% of the population reporting they practiced that belief, while 13.64% of the population said they were Moslem
Islam in Ethiopia
According to the latest 2007 national census, Islam is the second most widely practised religion in Ethiopia after Christianity, with over 25 million of Ethiopians adhering to Islam according to the 2007 national census, having arrived in Ethiopia in 615...
, 4.33% were Protestant
P'ent'ay
P'ent'ay or Pentay is a slang term widely used in modern Ethiopia, and among Ethiopians living abroad, to describe Ethiopian Christians who are not members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo, Ethiopian Orthodox Tehadeso, Roman Catholic or Ethiopian Catholic churches...
, 1.85% were Catholic
Roman Catholicism in Ethiopia
The Catholic Church in Ethiopia is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.The Ethiopian Catholic Church, the primary organization of Catholicism in the country, is especially close to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, whose doctrine and...
, and 1.32% practiced traditional beliefs.