Lersha

Early-warning dissemination in Ethiopia relies heavily on kebele-level committees, which can lead to delays, message distortion and limited reach to remote pastoral households. These last-mile communication gaps undermine anticipatory action, as communities do not always receive the timely, clear and actionable information they need to protect their livelihoods from drought and flood risks. In the Somali Region alone, up to 1.8 million people across 76 woredas face recurrent drought risks, while approximately 400,000 people in the Shebelle Zone are vulnerable to flooding.

Founded in Ethiopia in 2016, Green Agro-Solution PLC operates Lersha, a “phygital” platform that combines a mobile app with local agent networks to provide smallholder farmers with agro-climate advice, agricultural inputs, access to finance and market linkages. For the project with the WFP Innovation Accelerator, Lersha aims to expand its services by developing a scalable, multi-channel early-warning communication system. The system will deliver timely, localised and actionable information directly to pastoral households through SMS, IVR and agent networks, providing more reliable, wider-reaching and trackable last-mile communication to support anticipatory action.

During the pilot, Lersha aims to reach and onboard approximately 11,500 pastoral and agro-pastoral farmers across Aba-Korow and Adadle woredas in the Shebelle Zone, priority areas in Ethiopia’s Somali Region, with additional indirect reach through households and community networks. During the upcoming flooding season, communities will have better access to timely, localised early-warning information, supporting greater preparedness and earlier action in response to drought and flood risks. With additional support, Lersha will be able to expand to more locations and provide a more comprehensive package of services.