This paper investigates the spatial and temporal aspect of seasonal agricultural drought in Ethiopia during the cropping season using Vegetation Condition Index. SPOT-VGT S10 NDVI time-series for the period 1998 to 2013 was employed. Five hundred and sixty-seven dekadal images were administered in order to produce the multi-temporal agricultural drought maps. Accordingly, the analysis showed different causes for the nation-wide drought events occurred in the years 1998, 2000, 2002, 2009, and 2010.

In semi-arid highlands of northern Ethiopia, episodes of droughts of varying severity and duration occur. The occurrence of these droughts is associated mainly with the seasonal rainfall variability. This study attempts to investigate the temporal and spatial variability of climate parameters, particularly rainfall and temperature for the period 1954-2008. Standardized rainfall anomaly was used to examine the temporal characteristics of climate variability and determine the prevalence of droughts.

This research investigates farmers’ cognitive perceptions of risk and the behavioral intentions to undertake farm-level risk-reduction measures. It has been observed that people who are susceptible to natural hazards often fail to act, or do very little, to protect their assets or lives.