Comprehensive community and household asset building approach (CCHABA)for improved food security in Tigray

Recent studies in Tigray revealed that more than 40% of the total households living in the region have to rely on food aid every year for their own survival. Thus, food insecurity has continued to be a prime challenge and to top agenda in the region. This food insecurity problem in the region has two dimensions. On the one hand, it exists in the inability of households to produce all their food requirements because of lack of access and diminishing quality and quantity of productive resources combined with unfavourable or highly variable environment. The other dimension goes to the inability to acquire food from markets because of inadequate household incomes or unreliable markets, which deliver food at very high prices. The major cause for this problem to occur is the households and communities' productive assets are depleted considerably. The theme of this paper lies on the paradigm advocated that interventions should target to build both the household and community productive assets. The new approach in this paper seeks an optimal balance between households based interventions and community ones, the aim being pointing towards bringing tangible and immediate benefits to households and at a same time recovering community assets. This approach is called: Comprehensive community and Household Asset Building Approach (CCHABA). The key characteristics of CCHABA enable the poor rural households to freely choose any options that suit their situation based on their potentials and problems. It farther attempts to provide households with a wide range of package options that meet the food security benchmark and enables households to cross up the food poverty line within specific time. In this paper the general situation analysis of the region, the rational for CCHABA and its dimension, key characteristics of the approach and possible challenges are assessed in depth. Importantly, we have to mention that this product is not a research work rather it is a consolidated experience from the last few years in the region. The practical experience shows that this approach is the one that can improve food security situation using the existing and potential resources in the country.