Seweyna

Seweyna is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Located in the eastern part of the Bale Zone, Seweyna is bordered on the south by Raytu, on the southwest by Ginir, on the northwest by Gaserana Gololcha, on the north by Legehida, and on the east by the Somali Region. [The Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Agency [http://www.dppc.gov.et/downloadable/map/administrative/Atlas_Oromiya.pdf map for Oromia] (copyright 2006) shows a woreda of the Oromia Region named Dawe Serara south of Seweyna, inside the Somali Region.] Towns in Seweyna include Hada.

The geography of this woreda is characterized by a dry plain in the western part and lowland in the east marked by low escarpments, flood plains and lava flows. Elevations extend from 400 to 1850 meters above sea level. Major rivers include the Mekenisa, Dare, Manduba and Kurkura. A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 24.4% is arable or cultivable, 46.3% pasture, 24.1% forest or heavy vegetation, and the remaining 5.2% is considered degraded, mountainous or otherwise unusable. Corn, sorghum, wheat and teff are important local crops. [ [http://oromiagov.org/Socio%20Economic%20Profile/Bale/Bale%20Zone.pdf "Socio-economic profile of the Bale Zone"] Government of Oromia Region (last accessed 1 August 2006).]

Industry in the woreda includes 2 grain mills created with funding from the Regional government, as well as one wholesaler and 18 retailers. There were 19 Farmers Associations with 7750 members and no Farmers Service Cooperatives. Seweyna has no kilometers of road. About 10% of the total population has access to drinking water. [Government of Oromia Region, "Socio-economic profile."]

Based on figures published by the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 49,381, of whom 24,750 were males and 24,631 were females; 301 or 0.61% of its population are urban dwellers, which is less than the Zone average of 13.5%. With an estimated area of 8,108.44 square kilometers, Seweyna has an estimated population density of 6.1 people per square kilometer, which is less than the Zone average of 27. [ [http://www.csa.gov.et/text_files/2005_national_statistics.htm CSA 2005 National Statistics] , Tables B.3 and B.4]

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