ዛሬ ማለዳ በባሌ ዞን፣ ደሎ መና ወረዳ በመስኖ እና ቆላማ አካባቢ ሚኒስቴር አማካኝነት የተጀመረውን የወልመል ወንዝ መስኖ ልማት ፕሮጀክትን መርቀናል። ፕሮጀክቱ የወልመል ወንዝን በመስኖ በሚገባ በመጠቀም የግብርና ምርታማነትን በማላቅ የምግብ ሉዓላዊነትን ለማረጋገጥ የተከናወነ ነው። ፕሮጀክቱ ዘላቂ የገጸምድር የመስኖ ሥርዓት በመገንባት የግብርና ስራው ለዘመናት በዝናብ ውሃ ላይ ተመስርቶ የነበረውን የአካባቢውን ሕዝብ ዘላቂ የኑሮ ዘዴ ለማጎናፀፍ ታልሞ ተከናውኗል።

ፕሮጀክቱ በሙሉ አቅሙ ወደ ተግባር በሚገባበት ወቅት 20,000 ለሚሆኑ አርሶአደሮች ለሚያገለግል 9687.45 ሄክታር የእርሻ መሬት አስተማማኝ የመስኖ አቅርቦት ይኖረዋል። ይኽም የግብርና ምርታማነትን የሚያሳደግ፣ ለድርቅ የማይበገር ከባቢን የሚፈጥር ብሎም በማኅበረሰቡ አዳዲስ የሥራ እድል የሚፈጥር ይሆናል። ከነዚህ ኢኮኖሚያዊ ጥቅሞች ባሻገር የአካባቢውን የውሃ አስተዳደር ተቋማትን በማጠናከር፣ የአካባቢውን ሕዝብ ባለቤትነት በማሳደግ ብሎም የወልወልን ወንዝ ዘላቂ አጠቃቀም በማጎልበት የተሻለ የምግብ ሉዓላዊነት ጠቀሜታ ያገለግላል። Har’a ganama Godina Baalee, Aanaa Doolloo Mannaatti Piroojektii Misooma Jallisii Laga Walmal eebbifneerra. Piroojektichi Ministeera Jallisiifi Naannawaa Gammoojjiitiin jallisiitti fayyadamuudhaan homishtummaa guddisuun birmadummaa nyaataa mirkaneessuuf yaadamee kan hojjetamedha. Piroojektii kanaan bishaan lafarra jirutti fayyadamuudhaan sirna jallisii waaraa ta’e diriirsuun, hojii qonnaa hawaasa naannichaa barootaaf bishaan roobarraa argamu qofaarratti hirkatee ture jijjiiruun jireenyasaanii akka fooyyeeffataniif kan hojjetamedha. Piroojektichi wayita humnasaa guutuudhaan hojiitti seenu lafa qonnaa hektaara 9687.45 f haala amansiisaa ta’een jallisii dhiyeessuudhaan qonnaan bultoota 20,000 kan tajaajilu ta’a. Kunis homishtummaa qonnaa kan guddisu, naannawaa hongeef hin sarmine kan uumu, akkasumas hawaasichaaf carraa hojii garaagaraa kan uumu ta’a. Bu’aawwan dinagdee kanneen birattis dhaabbilee bulchiinsa bishaanii naannichaa cimsuudhaan abbummaa uummata naannichaa guddisee, faayidaa waaraa qabeenya Laga Walmal cimsuun birmadummaa nyaataa mirkaneessuuf gargaara. This morning we inaugurated the Welmel River Irrigation Development Project, located in Delo-Mena Woreda of the Bale Zone in Ethiopia’s Oromia Region, which was initiated by the Ministry of Irrigation and Lowlands, with the primary objective of enhancing agricultural productivity and ensuring food sovereignty through the efficient utilization of the Welmel River for irrigation development. By establishing a sustainable surface irrigation system, the project seeks to improve the livelihoods and resilience of local communities that have long depended on rain-fed agriculture. Upon full operation, the project will provide reliable irrigation for 9,687.45 hectares of farmland, supporting around 20,000 farming households. This is expected to substantially enhance agricultural productivity, increase resilience to drought, and create new employment opportunities within the community. Beyond these economic impacts, the project contributes to improved food sovereignty by strengthening local water management institutions, promoting community ownership, and ensuring the sustainable use of the Welmel River’s resources.