Life/livelihood saving support to vulnerable rural communities and refugees in Tesseney and neighboring areas affected by the recent drought, desert locusts, and influx of the refugees and returnees Objectives: to provide Agricultural inputs to support productive capacity of 30,000 rural farming households in Tesseney and neighbouring areas affected by the recent drought, persistent desert locust invasion and, influx of refugees and returnees from Sudan.Main needs and gaps based on the sectoral needs and analysis: According to recent assessments done by the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and FAO, currently, the population of Tesseney, Hagaz Asmat, Halhale, and Habero sub regions have been facing numerous difficulties impacting crop and livestock production that is essential to their food security and livelihood, including: •	Several seasons of below normal or failed rains, which adversely affected agricultural productivity over the past years. •	High prices of staple foods due to several seasons of crop failures, limiting the ability of poor and very poor rural households to purchase the basic minimum food basket•	Loss of income from livestock and livestock product sale due to decreased livestock prices and productivity.•	Significant number of livestock deaths, primarily among small ruminants, likely to be caused by the prolonged droughtShortage of fodder in the rangelands, lack of livestock feed, and recent Desert Locust invasion also pose challenges to the livelihoods of pastoralist and agro-pastoral communities. The situation has been exacerbated by the high number of Sudanese refugees and Eritrean returnees crossing the border from the neighbouring Sudan through these sub regions, adding to increased competition for scarce resources and price inflations for food and essential agricultural inputs.Given that the agriculture sector is the mainstay of the economy in these rural areas, the MoA requested for UN’s support to prioritize upscaling responses to save lives and crucial livelihood assets of the affected population while enhancing the resilience of agriculture-based livelihoods. Urgent life and livelihood support is needed to mitigate the compounding threats posed by these multiple and re-enforcing shocks. As a result, FAO envisages multifaceted approach (life and livelihood saving and resilience) that encompasses various aspects of agriculture, including provision of essential agricultural inputs (seeds, tools, and livestock feed). In addition, the MoA has been promoting energy saving stoves (Adhanet), which serves women for baking bread and injera and cooking. This stove is a lifesaving tool that enhances the beneficiaries’ immediate and direct access to fuel and energy for making food, using husks and trash papers instead of using junk firewood for consumption.  It also relieves women from housekeeping loads and reduces their exposure to toxic and smokey cooking environments. In support of the MoA’s request, FAO will purchase 1500 adhanet stoves to be distributed to beneficiary women.Based on the findings of the recent joint assessment by FAO and staff of the Ministry of Agriculture, FAO envisages support to 30,000 households (147,000 people) in three affected regions: Anseba, Northern and Southern Red Sea regions by providing them with the pelleted animal feed that can serve both small and big ruminants to sustain their livestock for the agro-pastoralists, distribution of  agricultural tools and improved seeds (cereals, pulses and oil seeds) that are adaptive to climate smart agriculture to farmers affected by the distressful situation, and energy saving stoves that can be utilized with minimum fuel, which will be duly distributed to vulnerable beneficiary women-headed households.Main project activities:•	Procurement and Distribution of animal supplementary feed to 107,800 individuals.•	Purchase and distribution of assorted seeds (cereals, oil seeds, and pulses) to 6,500 households 31,850 individuals.•	Purchase and distribution of locally made energy saving stove (adhanet) as an alternative source of clean energy to 1,500 women.•	Procurement and distribution of farm tools to 7,350 individuals.