Kafta Humera
Encyclopedia
Kafta Humera is one of the 36 woreda
s in the Tigray Region
of Ethiopia
. Part of the Mi'irabawi Zone
, Kafta Humera is bordered on the south by Tsegede
, on the west by Sudan
, then by the Tekezé River
which separates Kafta Humera from Eritrea
on the north and Tahtay Adiyabo
on the east, and on the southeast by Wolqayt
. Its administrative center is Humera
; other towns in Kafta Humera include Addi Hirdi.
Kafta Humera, was selected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
in 2003 as an area for voluntary resettlement for farmers from overpopulated areas. Along with Tsegede woreda, the other woreda selected in Tigray that year, welcomed that year a total of 7334 heads of households and 618 total family members.
In August 2006, the Tekeze flooded Kafta Humera, displacing 450 households. However, subsequent visits by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs found no need for emergency services. In November of that year, a wild fire near the resettlement sites in Kafta Humera destroyed approximately 10 hectares of forest.
of Ethiopia (CSA), this woreda has a total population of 92,167, an increase of 48,690 over the 1994 census, of whom 47,909 are men and 44,258 women. With an area of 4,542.33 square kilometers, Kafta Humera has a population density of 20.29, which is less than the Zone average of 28.94 persons per square kilometer; 30,234 or 32.80% are urban inhabitants. A total of 23,449 households were counted in this woreda, resulting in an average of 3.93 persons to a household, and 22,259 housing units.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 48,690 of whom 25,456 were men and 23,234 were women; 16,442 or 33.77% of its population were urban dwellers. The three largest ethnic groups reported in Kafta Humera were the Tigrayan
(86.26%), the Amhara
(7.76%), and foreign residents from Eritrea (2.96%); all other ethnic groups made up 3.02% of the population. Tigrinya
is spoken as a first language by 89.36%, and 7.74% speak Amharic
; the remaining 2.9% spoke all other primary languages reported. 92.69% of the population said they were Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and 6.35% were Muslim
. Concerning education
, 19.28% of the population were considered literate, which is greater than the Zone average of 9.01%; 25.37% of children aged 7-12 were in primary school, which is greater than the Zone average of 11.34%; 1.89% of the children aged 13-14 were in junior secondary school, which is also greater than the Zone average of 0.65%; and 0.41% of children aged 15-18 were in senior secondary school, which is less than the Zone average of 0.51%. Concerning sanitary conditions
, about 91% of the urban houses and 58% of all houses had access to safe drinking water at the time of the census; about 22% of the urban and 9% of all houses had toilet facilities.
, and 1.19% was devoted to other uses. For the land under cultivation in this woreda, 31.24% is planted in cereals, 0.94% in pulses, 60.87% in oilseeds, and 0.03% in vegetables. The number of hectares planted in fruit trees is missing. 68.8% of the farmers both raise crops and livestock, while 27.97% only grow crops and 3.23% only raise livestock. Land tenure in this woreda is distributed amongst 74.74% owning their land, 25.09% renting, and those holding their land under other forms of tenure 0.17%.
The economy of this woreda is centered on the production of sesame
, which by 1996 replaced cotton
as the primary cash crop. Sesame is a high-value edible oil that is exported to Israel, Turkey, the Middle East, Japan and China. Over 400 large-scale investors cultivate an average 600 hectares of sesame, while local farmers cultivate up to 12 hectares each. Investors cultivate 58% of the 186,000 hectares of cultivable land, and local farmers the remaining 42%. Sesame production is labor intensive, especially during the weeding and harvesting period, attracting an average of 200,000 workers from the rest of the Tigray Region, northern Amhara, and Sudan each year. Another important crop in Kafta Humera is sorghum
, which both investment and local farmers cultivate as both a cash and a food crop.
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 Tigray Region
Tigray Region
Tigray Region is the northernmost of the nine ethnic regions of Ethiopia containing the homeland of the Tigray people. It was formerly known as Region 1...
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...
. Part of the Mi'irabawi Zone
Mi'irabawi Zone
Mi'irabawi is one of four Zones in the Ethiopian Tigray Region. Mi'irabawi is bordered on the east by the Mehakelegnaw Zone, the south by the Amhara Region, the west by Sudan and on the north by Eritrea...
, Kafta Humera is bordered on the south by Tsegede
Tsegede
Tsegede is one of the 36 woredas in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. It is named after the historic province of Tsegede. Part of the Mi'irabawi Zone, Tsegede is bordered on the south and west by the Amhara Region, on the northwest by Kafta Humera, and on the north by Wolqayt...
, on the west by Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, then by the Tekezé River
Tekezé River
The Tekezé River, also known as the Takkaze River, is a major river of Ethiopia, and forms a section the westernmost border of Ethiopia and Eritrea for part of its course. The river is also known as the Setit in Eritrea, western Ethiopia, and eastern Sudan. According to materials published by the...
which separates Kafta Humera from Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
on the north and Tahtay Adiyabo
Tahtay Adiyabo
Tahtay Adiyabo is one of the 36 woredas in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Mi'irabawi Zone, Tahtay Adiyabo is bordered on the south by the Asigede Tsimbela, then by the Tekezé River which separates Tahtay Adiyabo from Wolqayt and Kafta Humera on the southwest, on the north by Eritrea,...
on the east, and on the southeast by Wolqayt
Wolqayt
Wolqayt is a woreda and region in northwestern Ethiopia...
. Its administrative center is Humera
Humera
Humera is a town in northern Ethiopia, near the borders of Sudan and Eritrea. Located in Mi'irabawi Zone of the Tigray Region, this town has a latitude and a longitude of . Humera is the administrative center of Kafta Humera woreda.- Overview :Humera is served by Humera Airport...
; other towns in Kafta Humera include Addi Hirdi.
History
Prior to the Ethiopian Revolution, Kafta Humera was the site of a government program to provide land to landless peasants from Tigray and Eritrea. By the end of 1971, some 500 farmers occupied about 7,000 square kilometers, and a further 50,000 were employed as seasonal workers. Although the program was intended for landless citizens, much of the available land had been taken by absentee landlords from the aristocracy -- one estimate is as high as 55% of all grants.Kafta Humera, was selected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Ethiopia)
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is the Ethiopian government ministry which oversees the agricultural and rural development policies of Ethiopia on a Federal level...
in 2003 as an area for voluntary resettlement for farmers from overpopulated areas. Along with Tsegede woreda, the other woreda selected in Tigray that year, welcomed that year a total of 7334 heads of households and 618 total family members.
In August 2006, the Tekeze flooded Kafta Humera, displacing 450 households. However, subsequent visits by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs found no need for emergency services. In November of that year, a wild fire near the resettlement sites in Kafta Humera destroyed approximately 10 hectares of forest.
Demographics
Based on the 2007 national census conducted 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...
of Ethiopia (CSA), this woreda has a total population of 92,167, an increase of 48,690 over the 1994 census, of whom 47,909 are men and 44,258 women. With an area of 4,542.33 square kilometers, Kafta Humera has a population density of 20.29, which is less than the Zone average of 28.94 persons per square kilometer; 30,234 or 32.80% are urban inhabitants. A total of 23,449 households were counted in this woreda, resulting in an average of 3.93 persons to a household, and 22,259 housing units.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 48,690 of whom 25,456 were men and 23,234 were women; 16,442 or 33.77% of its population were urban dwellers. The three largest ethnic groups reported in Kafta Humera were the Tigrayan
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...
(86.26%), 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...
(7.76%), and foreign residents from Eritrea (2.96%); all other ethnic groups made up 3.02% of the population. 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...
is spoken as a first language by 89.36%, and 7.74% speak 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...
; the remaining 2.9% spoke all other primary languages reported. 92.69% of the population said they were Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and 6.35% were Muslim
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...
. Concerning education
Education in Ethiopia
Education in Ethiopia has been dominated by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church for many centuries until secular education was adopted in the early 1900s. Prior to 1974, Ethiopia had an estimated illiteracy rate well above 90% and compared poorly with the rest of Africa in the provision of schools and...
, 19.28% of the population were considered literate, which is greater than the Zone average of 9.01%; 25.37% of children aged 7-12 were in primary school, which is greater than the Zone average of 11.34%; 1.89% of the children aged 13-14 were in junior secondary school, which is also greater than the Zone average of 0.65%; and 0.41% of children aged 15-18 were in senior secondary school, which is less than the Zone average of 0.51%. Concerning sanitary conditions
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...
, about 91% of the urban houses and 58% of all houses had access to safe drinking water at the time of the census; about 22% of the urban and 9% of all houses had toilet facilities.
Agriculture
A sample enumeration performed by the CSA in 2001 interviewed 11,606 farmers in this woreda, who held an average of 1.89 hectares of land. Of the 21,950 hectares of private land surveyed in Kafta Humera, 93.19% was under cultivation, 0.03% pasture, 4.85% fallow, 0.73% woodlandForestry in Ethiopia
In the late nineteenth century, about 30% of Ethiopia was covered with forest. The clearing of land for agricultural use and the cutting of trees for fuel gradually changed the scene, and today forest areas have dwindled to less than 4% of Ethiopia's total land. The northern parts of the highlands...
, and 1.19% was devoted to other uses. For the land under cultivation in this woreda, 31.24% is planted in cereals, 0.94% in pulses, 60.87% in oilseeds, and 0.03% in vegetables. The number of hectares planted in fruit trees is missing. 68.8% of the farmers both raise crops and livestock, while 27.97% only grow crops and 3.23% only raise livestock. Land tenure in this woreda is distributed amongst 74.74% owning their land, 25.09% renting, and those holding their land under other forms of tenure 0.17%.
The economy of this woreda is centered on the production of sesame
Sesame
Sesame is a flowering plant in the genus Sesamum. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for its edible seeds, which grow in pods....
, which by 1996 replaced cotton
Cotton production in Ethiopia
Cotton is grown throughout Ethiopia at elevations above 1000 meters and below 1400 meters. Because most of the lowlands lack adequate rainfall, cotton cultivation depends largely on irrigation.-History:...
as the primary cash crop. Sesame is a high-value edible oil that is exported to Israel, Turkey, the Middle East, Japan and China. Over 400 large-scale investors cultivate an average 600 hectares of sesame, while local farmers cultivate up to 12 hectares each. Investors cultivate 58% of the 186,000 hectares of cultivable land, and local farmers the remaining 42%. Sesame production is labor intensive, especially during the weeding and harvesting period, attracting an average of 200,000 workers from the rest of the Tigray Region, northern Amhara, and Sudan each year. Another important crop in Kafta Humera is sorghum
Sorghum
Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...
, which both investment and local farmers cultivate as both a cash and a food crop.