Awassa  April 22(ENA)--President Girma Woldegiorgis has indicated the need to promulgate a land management policy with the view to preventing further environmental degradation.

Chief of the South Ethiopia Peoples' State, Hailemariam Dessalegn said on his part wide ranging activities have been launched in the state in a bid to bringing about food security.

President Girma and the state administration chief made the remarks here on Tuesday in a separate press briefings they gave to journalists up on the completion of a five-day visit to the state.

President Girma said he observed worsening soil erosion and increasing hillside farming.

According to Girma, the problem has also been elsewhere in the nation. "I hope that the government will soon issue a land management and utilization policy to abate the trend."

Girma said environmental degradation remained to be the culprit behind the recurrent drought, adding activities were underway in the state to harvest water for the integrated family based backyard farming with an encouraging step to reverse the situation.

The State Administration chief ,Hailemariam Dessalegn told journalists that the state government has launched wide ranging activities to withstand drought, ensure food security and promote tourism.

According to Hailemariam, boosting production in high population density areas and voluntary resettlement were the two parallel options to withstand the drought.

He said results being gained from the pilot integrated family based agriculture package were encouraging and need to be intensified.

The chief also said the state government will exert maximum efforts to rehabilitate and utilize the tourism industry potential in the state.

Hailemariam called for increased participation of the private sector in harnessing the tourism resources the region is richly endowed with.

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