A once-promising tree intended to combat desertification is now wreaking havoc across Ethiopia, leaving farmers alarmed and feeling overwhelmed by the scale of the challenge.
What’s happening?
According to AFP’s report summarized by Barron’s, prosopis is a thorny, drought-tolerant shrub native to Latin America. It was introduced to Ethiopia in the 1970s with the aim of stabilizing soil and providing shade. Instead, it has spread uncontrollably.
Over recent decades, the plant has expanded to cover about 20,000 square kilometers in the Afar region and is creeping into adjacent areas, based on environmental researchers’ findings. Its footprint rose from roughly 2.16% of Ethiopia’s land in 2003 to 8.61% in 2023, with projections suggesting it could reach as much as 22% of the country by 2060.
For residents like livestock farmer Khadija Humed, the consequences have been devastating. Cattle are harmed or killed by the plant’s poisonous thorns, and its hard pods can choke livestock. Humed told AFP, “Because of this plant, we have become poor.” Researchers at Haramaya University estimate that prosopis has cost Afar communities about $602 million over the last 30 years—nearly four times the region’s annual budget.
Why are invasive species so troubling?
Invasive plants like prosopis can destabilize entire ecosystems. They outcompete native species for water, nutrients, and space, eroding biodiversity and diminishing the land’s capacity to support local farming. Prosopis can withdraw up to seven liters of water per day from already dry soil, making agriculture tougher during droughts. This ecological imbalance triggers cascading effects: food supplies become precarious as crops and pastures decline, family incomes are threatened by livestock losses, and dense thickets can attract wildlife, potentially increasing conflicts with villagers and attracting predators to nearby areas.
What’s being done about it?
Despite its aggressive spread, prosopis can be controlled with persistent effort and community support. Local communities, aided by NGOs such as CARE International, have started removing the trees and replacing them with productive plants, including fruit orchards. The initiative receives partial funding from the Danish development agency, Danida, and aims to restore land to local residents while reviving native ecosystems.
Longer-term strategies under exploration include converting prosopis wood into charcoal or building materials, training residents to identify and uproot young seedlings before they spread, and replanting native vegetation to restore ecological balance. Such approaches have shown promise elsewhere: for instance, Maryland residents have developed strategies to manage invasive blue catfish, and communities in the Midwest have found ways to use invasive Asian carp as a food source to reduce populations.
Yusuf Mohammed, a 76-year-old local, summed up the challenge: “We can’t tackle it alone.” It takes a community effort to reverse the damage caused by these plant invaders.
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