Fogera

Fogera is one of the 105 woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Debub Gondar Zone, Fogera is bordered on the south by Dera, on the west by Lake Tana, on the north by the Reb which separates it from Kemekem, and on the east by Farta. The administrative center for this woreda is Wereta; other towns in Fogera include Amed Ber. Also located in this woreda is the community of Awra Amba, an Ethiopian grass-roots experiment in egalitarian living.

The altitude of this woreda ranges from 1774 to 2410 meters above sea level. Rivers in Fogera include the Gumara and the Reb, both of which drain into Lake Tana. A survey of the land in Fogera shows that 44.2% is arable or cultivable and another 20% irrigated, 22.9% pasture, 1.8% forest or shrubland, 3.7% covered with water, and the remaining 7.4% is considered degraded or other. Some 490 square kilometers of land adjacent to Lake Tana is subject to regular and severe flooding. Teff, corn, sorghum, cotton and sesame are important cash crops. Fogera is also known for its breed of cattle, which has a large frame and is one of the best native milk cows in Ethiopia; however because other breeds of cattle are brought from Dera and Kemekem woredas to the Fogera plains in the dry season, the local breed is at risk of genetic dilution.

There are 16 co-operatives, 9 of which are multi-purpose, 4 irrigation and 3 financial cooperatives. The multi-purpose cooperatives provide milling service, sell basic household goods, distribute agricultural inputs in collaboration with the Agricultural Input Supply Corporation and the Ambasel and Merkeb Union cooperatives. One micro-finance institution operates in this woreda, the Amhara Credit and Saving Institution SC (ACSI), established in 1998. ACSI has extended loans totaling 8,678,581 Birr to 5,484 people for farm-related purposes; of these, 53 people defaulted on loans totaling 24,725.30 Birr. Fogera has 55 kilometers of dry-weather and 67 of all-weather road, for an average of road density of 111 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers.

Fogera is known as the birthplace of the well-known Ethiopian dabtara and wit, Aleqa Gebre Hanna. The woreda was heavily affected by the flash floods in Ethiopia that started 6 September and receded by 26 September 2006. The heavy rain caused Lake Tana to overflow its banks, making thousands of people homeless. "Thousands of heads of cattle, whole silos of grain, and significant tracts of grazing and farmland have been washed away," according to IRIN.

Demographics

Based on figures published by the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 256,496, of whom 125,530 are men and 130,966 are women; 5,517 or 2.15% of its population are urban dwellers, which is less than the Zone average of 8.3%. With an estimated area of 1,095.00 square kilometers, Fogera has an estimated population density of 234.2 people per square kilometer, which is greater than the Zone average of 169.21.

The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 185,280 in 37,258 households, of whom 95,084 were men and 90,196 were women; 18,375 or 9.92% of its population were urban dwellers. The largest ethnic group reported in Fogera was the Amhara (99.83%). Amharic was spoken as a first language by 99.89%. 94.71% of the population practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and 4.55% of the population said they were Muslim.