Agriculture has been practiced for more than 2000 years in the Amhara region, and is still the major source of income for most of the population.
Because it’s an industry very much dominated by tradition, most farmers depend solely on seasonal rainfall for irrigation, which means they’re able to harvest crops only once each year.
One harvest per year—instead of the three harvests the farmers could achieve with access to irrigation—leads to poverty and food shortages.
ORDA is dedicated to teaching farmers how to take full advantage of other available water sources, thus lessening their dependency on seasonal rainfall and vulnerability to drought.