Seka Chekorsa (woreda)

Seka Chekorsa is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. It is named after the administrative center, Seka Chekorsa.

Part of the Jimma Zone, Seka Chekorsa is bordered on the south by the Gojeb River which separates it from the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region, on the west by Gera, on the northwest by Gomma, on the north by Mana, on the northeast by Kersa, and on the east by Dedo. Towns in this woreda include Shebe; villages include Bedadi.

The altitude of this woreda ranges from 1580 to 2560 meters above sea level; perennial rivers include the Abono, Anja, Gulufa and Meti. A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 45.3% is arable or cultivable (44.9% was under annual crops), 6.1% pasture, 25.8% forest, and the remaining 22.8% is considered swampy, degraded or otherwise unusable. Khat, peppers, fruits and teff are important cash crops. [ [http://oromiagov.org/Socio%20Economic%20Profile/Djimma%20Zone/Djimma%20Zone.pdf "Socio-economic profile of the Djimma (sic) Zone"] Government of Oromia Region (last accessed 1 August 2006).] Coffee is another important cash crop for this woreda; over 50 km² are planted with this crop. [ [http://www.oromiacoffeeunion.org/production.htm "Coffee Production"] Oromia Coffee Cooperative Union website]

Industry in the woreda includes 16 grain mills, one bakery and one coffee hulling mill. Coal, oil shale, clay and salt deposits are known to exist in Seka Chekorsa, but commercial extraction has not begun. There were 53 Farmers Associations with 33,980 members and 15 Farmers Service Cooperatives with 21,413 members. Seka Chekorsa has 30 kilometers of dry-weather and 75 of all-weather road, for an average of road density of 65.6 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers, which is less than the Zonal average of 70 per 1000 square kilometers. [Government of Oromia Region, "Socio-economic profile."]

Population

Based on figures published by the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 336,277, of whom 168,863 were males and 167,414 were females; 14,574 or 4.33% of its population are urban dwellers, which is less than the Zone average of 12.3%. With an estimated area of 1,607.66 square kilometers, Seka Chekorsa has an estimated population density of 209.2 people per square kilometer, which is greater than the Zone average of 150.6. [ [http://www.csa.gov.et/text_files/2005_national_statistics.htm CSA 2005 National Statistics] , Tables B.3 and B.4]

Although the predominant ethnic group of Dedo is the Oromo people, the Yem people people are a significant minority. According to one source, in the early 1990s about 150,000 members of this ethnic group lived in 34 villages of this woreda. [ [http://www.sil.org/silesr/abstract.asp?ref=2002-052 Aklilu Yilma, "Pilot Survey of Bilingualism in Yem"] SILESR 2002-052, p. 5 (accessed 1 June 2006)]

The Zonal Food Security and Disaster Prevention Office has reported that 3,466 farmer households with 15,000 members who were part of the resettlement program have achieved food self-sufficiency within a short time. These settlers were transported from the Arsi, Bale, Mirab and Misraq Hararghe Zones. [ [http://www.waltainfo.com/EnNews/2006/Dec/01Dec06/21217.htm "Over 3,400 resettler households become food self-sufficient"] (Walta Information Center)]

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