Shashamene (woreda)

Shashamene is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. It is named after the woreda capital, Shashamene.

Part of the Misraq Shewa Zone located in the Great Rift Valley, Shashamene is bordered on the south by the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region, on the west by Seraro, on the north by Arsi Negele, and on the east by the Arsi Zone. Towns in Shashamene include Kuyera.

Except for the eastern portion, the altitude of this woreda ranges from 1500 to 2300 meters above sea level; Mount Abaro is the highest point. Rivers include the Dedeba Tina, Melka Oda and Laftu; small parts of Lakes Awasa and Chelaka lie in Shashamene. A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 65% is arable or cultivable, 15% pasture, 2.4% forest, and the remaining 16.6% is considered swampy, degraded or otherwise unusable. Potatoes and corn are important cash crops. [ [http://oromiagov.org/Socio%20Economic%20Profile/East%20Shewa/East%20Shewa.pdf "Socio-economic profile of East Shewa"] Government of Oromia Region (last accessed 1 August 2006).] . Although Coffee is also an important cash crop of this woreda, less than 20 km² is planted with this crop. [ [http://www.oromiacoffeeunion.org/production.htm "Coffee Production"] Oromia Coffee Cooperative Union website]

Industry in the woreda includes one saw mill owned by the government, 76 small indutries employing 249 people, 384 wholesalers 979 retailers and 630 service providers. There were 36 Farmers Associations with 21,545 members and 8 Farmers Service Cooperatives with 13,762 members. Shashamene has 40 kilometers of dry-weather and 91 all-weather road, for an average road density of 172 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers. About 9% of the rural, 100% of the urban and 33% 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 339,981, of whom 171,161 were males and 168,820 were females; 105,929 or 31.16% of its population are urban dwellers, which is less than the Zone average of 32.1%. With an estimated area of 759.53 square kilometers, Shashamene has an estimated population density of 447.6 people per square kilometer, which is greater than the Zone average of 181.7. [ [http://www.csa.gov.et/text_files/2005_national_statistics.htm CSA 2005 National Statistics] , Tables B.3 and B.4] It is the most densely populated woreda in the Misraq Shewa Zone.

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