Your search found 35 records
1 Amede, Tilahun; Taboge, E. 2007. Optimizing soil fertility gradients in the Enset (Ensete ventricosum) systems of the Ethiopian highlands: Trade-offs and local innovations. In Bationo, A.; Waswa, B.; Kihara, J.; Kimetu, J. (Eds.). Advances in Integrated Soil Fertility Management in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and opportunities. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer. pp.289-297.
Ensete ventricosum ; Cultivation ; Plant growth ; Soil fertility ; Fertilizers ; Nutrients ; Food security / Ethiopia
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: 631.422 G136 AME Record No: H040591)
Ensete ventricosum is a perennial, security crop that feeds about 13 million people in Ethiopia. It is grown in the homesteads, covering about 18% of the farm, in mixture with Coffee, kale, and other vegetables. The recent shift from enset to cereals and continual soil fertility decline in the outfields caused food deficit for at least 3 months in a year. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of soil fertility gradients on enset growth, identify the major growth limiting nutrients, and identify farmers’ decision making criteria in allocating resources to various enterprises. The research was conducted on farmers fields of resource rich (G1) and poor (G3) for four years (2001- 2004). Enset transplants were planted in homestead and outfields. Application of fertilizers by farmers to different units over seasons and years was recorded. Enset growth and nutrient content was measured. The results showed that the G1 group roduced about 2xs more organic waste than G3, and purchased chemical fertilizers 5xs more than the G3 farmers. About 80 % of the organic resource produced was allocated for maintaining soil fertility, while 20% being allocated as cooking fuel. Of this 65% is allocated for the enset field in the homestead. There was significantly higher N, P, K and Ca contents in the home stead soils than in the outfield, regardless of farmers’ resource endowment. The P content of the outfield was the lowest, less than 25% of the P content of the homestead. Similarly organic matter in the outfield was only about 40% of the homestead. Enset plants grown in the outfields experienced about 90% height reduction and 50% reduction in pseudo stem diameter, regardless of resource categories, while the NPK content of the plant tissues grown in the outfield was significantly higher, in some case up to150% than those planted in homestead. We thus concluded that growth reduction in the outfield was not directly related to NPK deficiency, but it could have been caused by off-season moisture stress in the outfields, manifested by low soil organic matter. The attempt to attract resources to the outfield using enset as an attractant crop failed, not because of labour shortage but because of unavailability of enough organic resources in the system. Hence on spot management of nutrients was initiated by farmers.
2 Amede, Tilahun; Kassa, H.; Zeleke, G.; Shiferaw, A.; Kismu, S.; Melese, T. 2007. Working with communities and building local institutions for sustainable land management in the Ethiopian highlands. Mountain Research and Development, 27(1):15-19.
Land management ; Land degradation ; Rehabilitation ; Watershed management ; Social participation ; Development projects / Ethiopia
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 333 G136 AME Record No: H040592)
3 German, L.; Mansoor, H.; Alemu, G.; Mazengia, W.; Amede, Tilahun; Stroud, A. 2007. Participatory integrated watershed management: Evolution of concepts and methods in an ecoregional program of the eastern African highlands. Agricultural Systems, 94:189-204.
Watershed management ; Participatory management ; Water users ; Natural resources management / East Africa / Africa South of Sahara / Ethiopia / Kenya / Madagascar / Tanzania / Uganda
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 333.91 G132 GER Record No: H040593)
This paper focuses on the conceptual evolution of watershed management within the context of an action research program operating in the highlands of eastern Africa, as informed by both theory and practice. Following a review of the watershed management literature, and brief program and methodological overviews, the paper explores in detail the concepts of ‘‘participation’’ and ‘‘integration’’ in watershed management. Conceptual and methodological dimensions of the terms are discussed in the context of a watershed implementation process, clarifying how ‘‘watershed issues’’ are defined by local users, how ‘‘stakeholders’’ are defined with respect to those issues, and how participation and integration may be operationalized in practice. Data are selectively chosen from different pilot sites to illustrate how concepts underlying watershed management have been refined, and methods improved. It is clear that ‘‘participation’’ n problem diagnosis and program implementation must move beyond community-level fora to socially- disaggregated processes and explicit management of trade-offs to diverse groups. Secondly, integration does not come about through implementation of parallel interventions, but rather through an explicit analysis of potential trade-offs and synergies of interventions to diverse system components, and strategies to define and reach systems-level goals. Each approach requires attention to ways to optimize returns to diverse social groups and system components while minimizing negative spin-offs. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications for agricultural research and development in the eastern African region.
4 Mapedza, Everisto; Amede, Tilahun; Geheb, Kim; Peden, D.; Boelee, Eline; Demissie, T. S.; Van Hoeve, E.; Van Koppen, Barbara. 2008. Why gender matters: reflections from the Livestock-Water Productivity Research Project. In Humphreys, E.; Bayot, R. S.; van Brakel, M.; Gichuki, F.; Svendsen, M.; Wester, P.; Huber-Lee, A.; Cook, S. Douthwaite, B.; Hoanh, Chu Thai; Johnson, N.; Nguyen-Khoa, Sophie; Vidal, A.; MacIntyre, I.; MacIntyre, R. (Eds.). Fighting poverty through sustainable water use: proceedings of the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food, 2nd International Forum on Water and Food, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 10-14 November 2008. Vol.2. Increasing rainwater productivity; Multi-purpose water systems. Colombo, Sri Lanka: CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food. pp.97-100.
Gender ; Women ; Female labor ; Households ; Livestock ; Water productivity / Ethiopia / Zimbabwe / Africa South of Sahara
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 333.91 G000 HUM Record No: H041725)
5 Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Hagos, Fitsum; Amede, Tilahun; Loulseged, Makonnen. 2008. Best bets technologies for improving agricultural water management and system intensification in Ethiopia. Paper presented at the Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) Workshop on Micro-Watershed to Basin Scale Adoption of SWC Technologies and Impacts, Tamale, Ghana, 22-25 September 2008. 7p.
Crop production ; Cropping systems ; Fertilizers ; Soil fertility ; Poverty ; Households ; Water harvesting ; Rainfed farming ; Irrigated farming / Ethiopia
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H041760)
Significant part of Ethiopia and its agricultural production is affected by prolonged dry spells, recurrent drought, land degradation and consequential low productivity, extreme poverty and highly vulnerable. This paper first deals with the various technologies used with respect to agricultural water management, and provide description of suits of technologies that are common for agricultural water management (AWM) in Ethiopia. Secondly, it evaluates the poverty impact of the various technologies based on extensive data that are collected from 1,500 households that are currently practicing these technologies in four major regions of Ethiopia. The final part of the paper deals with the integrated interventions for improving crop water productivity through combination of technologies and system intensification, using the case study. In Ethiopia, both in-situ water management and ex-situ water management technologies are used. Among the in-situ water management soil and water conservation technologies use of terracing, stone bunds, trash lines etc are common. However, evaluation of their use on crop production and productivity impact is difficult and not well established in Ethiopia. Among the ex-situ including rain water harvesting technologies ponds, river diversion, micro dams, wells and pump irrigation are most common. Based on poverty analysis, the incidence, depth and severity of poverty is less among users of technology compared to non-users and the results are statistically robust. Accordingly, users AWM technology are 22 percent less poor compared to non-users or pure rain fed systems without AWM. The high impact technologies are found to be deep well, diversion and micro dams leading to 50%, 32%, and 25% poverty reductions respectively. The difference is mostly attributed to the scale effect and reliability of systems. AWM was best exploited when it was accompanied by improved soil fertility management interventions. Yield gains of upto 2000% were obtained when Zai pits (i.e. small water harvesting trenches) were augmented by application of chemical and organic fertilizers. Integrating legume cover crops increased yield of succeeding crop significantly while improving soil fertility and water holding capacity. The effect of fertilizer application was highly pronounced when legumes were integrated into the cropping system. Growing varietal mixtures of different height and maturity period increased crop yield by up to 60% through compensation effects and better use of water and soil nutrients over time and space. Therefore, in order to improve agricultural productivity, effectively reduce poverty it is essential that the rainfall and agricultural water is managed, accompanied by soil fertility management and agronomic practices.
6 Peden, D.; Amede, Tilahun; Haileslassie, A.; Taddesse, G. 2008. Strategies for improving livestock water productivity. In Humphreys, E.; Bayot, R. S.; van Brakel, M.; Gichuki, F.; Svendsen, M.; Wester, P.; Huber-Lee, A.; Cook, S. Douthwaite, B.; Hoanh, Chu Thai; Johnson, N.; Nguyen-Khoa, Sophie; Vidal, A.; MacIntyre, I.; MacIntyre, R. (Eds.). Fighting poverty through sustainable water use: proceedings of the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food, 2nd International Forum on Water and Food, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 10-14 November 2008. Vol.1. Keynotes; Cross-cutting topics. Colombo, Sri Lanka: CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food. pp.28-33.
Livestock ; Water productivity ; Assessment ; Investment ; Water management ; Animal feeding ; Drinking water / Africa / Nile River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 333.91 G000 HUM Record No: H041770)
7 Descheemaeker, Katrien; Amede, Tilahun; Haileslassie, A. 2009. Livestock and water interactions in mixed crop-livestock farming systems of Sub-Saharan Africa: interventions for improved productivity. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 34p. (IWMI Working Paper 133) [doi: https://doi.org/10.3910/2009.316]
Farming systems ; Livestock ; Water productivity ; Water scarcity ; Land degradation ; Feed production ; Fodder ; Grazing systems ; Animal production ; Food production ; Policy / Africa South of Sahara
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 636 G110 DES Record No: H042205)
(445KB)
Focusing on mixed crop-livestock farming systems of sub-Saharan Africa, this review brings together the available knowledge in the various components of the livestock and water sectors. Through an analysis of livestock-water interactions, promising strategies and interventions to improve Livestock Water Productivity are proposed. In the biophysical domain, the numerous interventions relate to feed, water and animal management. These are interlinked with interventions in the socio-political-economic domain. The paper identifies critical research and development gaps in terms of methodologies for quantifying water productivity and integrating different scales, and also in terms of institutions and policies.
8 Amede, Tilahun; Descheemaeker, Katrien; Peden, D.; van Rooyen, A. 2009. Harnessing benefits from improved livestock water productivity in crop–livestock systems of Sub-Saharan Africa: synthesis. Rangeland Journal, 31(2):169-178. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ09023]
Water scarcity ; Livestock ; Crop production ; Water productivity ; Water conservation ; Institutions ; Policy ; Water market ; Local government / Africa South of Sahara
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 636 100 AME Record No: H042279)
(0.22 MB)
The threat of water scarcity in sub-Saharan Africa is real, due to the expanding agricultural needs, climate variability and inappropriate land use. Livestock keeping is the fastest growing agricultural sector, partly because of increasing and changing demands for adequate, quality and diverse food for people, driven by growing incomes and demographic transitions. Besides the economic benefits, rising livestock production could also deplete water and aggravate water scarcity at local and global scales. The insufficient understanding of livestock–water interactions also led to low livestock productivity, impeded sound decision on resources management and undermined achieving positive returns on investments in agricultural water across sub-Saharan Africa. Innovative and integrated measures are required to improve water productivity and reverse the growing trends of water scarcity. Livestock water productivity (LWP), which is defined as the ratio of livestock outputs to the amount of water depleted, could be improved through: (i) raising the efficiency of the water inputs by integrating livestock with crop, water and landscape management policies and practices. Improving feed water productivity by maximising transpiration and minimising evaporation and other losses is critical; (ii) increasing livestock outputs through improved feed management, veterinary services and introducing systemc ompatible breeds; and (iii) because livestock innovation is a social process, it is not possible to gain LWP improvements unless close attention is paid to policies, institutions and their associated processes. Policies targeting infrastructure development would help livestock keepers secure access to markets, veterinary services and knowledge. This paper extracts highlights from various papers presented in the special issue of The Rangeland Journal on technologies and practices that would enable improving water productivity at various scales and the premises required to reverse the negative trends of water depletion and land degradation.
9 Amede, Tilahun; Geheb, Kim; Douthwaite, Boru. 2009. Enabling the uptake of livestock–water productivity interventions in the crop–livestock systems of sub-Saharan Africa. Rangeland Journal, 31(2):223-230. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ09008]
Livestock ; Water use ; Crop production ; Water productivity ; Water conservation ; Institutions ; Gender ; Leadership ; Policy ; Furrow irrigation ; Case studies / Africa South of Sahara / Kenya / Zimbabwe / Tanzania
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 636 100 AME Record No: H042280)
(0.21 MB)
Livestock–water productivity (LWP) refers to a set of innovations that could contribute towards reducing the amount of water needed per unit of output generated. But what does it take to get these ideas adopted by livestock keepers in crop–livestock systems? In this paper, we treat LWP as an innovation, and consider in what ways it may be introduced and/or developed among the crop–livestock agricultural systems by drawing on successful examples of change. In the first part of this paper, we introduce relevant tenets of the innovation systems literature, and introduce a three-component conceptual framework for the adoption of LWP technologies. In the second part, we describe three successful cases of resources use change. In the final section,weidentify what we consider to be necessary components in successful change, and relate these to LWP. We argue that, in the under-regulated crop–livestock systems of eastern Africa, key areas for focus include social institutions, political systems, gender and leadership.
10 Haileslassie, A.; Peden, D.; Gebreselassie, S.; Amede, Tilahun; Wagnew, A.; Taddesse, G. 2009. Livestock water productivity in the Blue Nile Basin: assessment of farm scale heterogeneity. Rangeland Journal, 31(2):213-222. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ09006]
Livestock ; Feeds ; Water productivity ; Farming systems ; Crop management ; Evapotranspiration ; River basins ; Land use ; Poverty ; Water depletion ; Households ; Surveys / Ethiopia / Egypt / Sudan / Blue Nile Basin / Gumera Watershed
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 636 100 AME Record No: H042281)
(0.37 MB)
A recent study of the livestock water productivity (LWP), at higher spatial scales in the Blue Nile Basin, indicated strong variability across regions. To get an insight into the causes of this variability, we examined the effect of farm households’ access to productive resources (e.g. land, livestock) on LWPin potato–barley, barley–wheat, teff–millet and rice farming systems of the Gumera watershed (in the Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia). We randomly selected 180 farm households. The sizes of the samples, in each system, were proportional to the respective system’s area. Then we grouped the samples, using a participatory wealth ranking method, into three wealth groups (rich, medium and poor) and used structured and pretested questionnaires to collect data on crops and livestock management and applied reference evapotranspiration (ET0) and crop coefficient (Kc) approaches to estimate depleted (evapotranspiration) water in producing animal feed and food crops. Then, we estimated LWPas a ratio of livestock’s beneficial outputs to water depleted. Our results suggest strong variability of LWP across the different systems: ranging between 0.3 and 0.6 US$ m3 year1. The tendency across different farming systems was comparable with results from previous studies at higher spatial scales. The range among different wealth groups was wider (0.1 to 0.6 US$ m3 year1) than among the farming systems. This implies that aggregating water productivity (to a system scale) masks hotspots and bright spots. Our result also revealed a positive trend between water productivity (LWPand crop water productivity, CWP) and farm households’ access to resources. Thus, we discuss our findings in relation to poverty alleviation and integrated land and water management to combat unsustainable water management practices in the Blue Nile Basin.
11 Blummel, M.; Samad, Madar; Singh, O. P.; Amede, Tilahun. 2009. Opportunities and limitations of food-feed crops for livestock feeding and implications for livestock-water productivity. Rangeland Journal, 31(2):207-212. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ09005]
Livestock ; Productivity ; Assessment ; Crop residues ; Feeds ; Fodder ; Feed conversion efficiency ; Feed quality ; Water requirements ; Water productivity / India / Gujarat
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 636 100 AME Record No: H042322)
(2.10 MB)
The paper discusses the contribution of crop residues (CR) to feed resources in the context of the water productivity of CR in livestock feeding, using India as an example. It is argued that crop residues are already the single most important feed resource in many livestock production systems in developing countries and that increasing their contribution to livestock feeding needs to be linked to improving their fodder quality. Using examples from multi-dimensional crop improvement, it is shown that CR fodder quality of key crops such as sorghum, rice and groundnut can be improved by genetic enhancement without detriment to grain and pod yields. Improving crop residue quality through genetic enhancement, agronomic and management interventions and strategic supplementation could improve water productivity of farms and systems considerably. The draw-backs of CR based feeding regimes are also pointed out, namely that they result in only moderate levels of livestock productivity and produce higher greenhouse gas emissions than are observed under feeding regimes that are based on high quality forages and concentrates. It is argued that feed metabolisable energy (ME) content should be used as an important determinant of livestock productivity; water requirement for feed and fodder production should be related to a unit of feed ME rather than feed bulk. The paper also revisits data from the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) work on livestock–water productivity in the Indian state of Gujarat, showing that water input per unit ME can vary several-fold in the same feed depending on where the feed is produced. Thus, the production of one mega joule of ME from alfalfa required 12.9 L of irrigation-derived water in south Gujarat but 50.7 L of irrigation-derived water in north Gujarat. Wheat straw in south Gujarat required 20.9 L of irrigation-derived water for 1 MJ ME and was in this instance less water use efficient than alfalfa. We conclude that water use efficiency across feed and fodder classes (for example crop residue v. planted forages) and within a feed is highly variable. Feeding recommendations should be made according to specific water use requirement per unit ME in a defined production system.
12 Amede, Tilahun; Norton, B. E.; Bossio, Deborah. (Eds.) 2009. Livestock water productivity. Rangeland Journal, 31(2):169-265. Special issue with contributions by IWMI authors.
Livestock ; Water productivity ; Crops ; Feeds ; River basins ; Water balance ; Water harvesting ; Sloping land / Africa / Africa South of Sahara / Ethiopia / Blue Nile River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 636 100 AME Record No: H042383)
(0.05 MB)
13 Haileslassie, A.; Peden, D.; Gebreselassie, S.; Amede, Tilahun; Descheemaeker, Katrien. 2009. Livestock water productivity in mixed crop–livestock farming systems of the Blue Nile Basin: assessing variability and prospects for improvement. Agricultural Systems, 102(1-3):33-40. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2009.06.006]
Livestock ; Water productivity ; Farming systems ; River basin management ; Cereals / Africa / Ethiopia / Blue Nile River Basin / Gumera Watershed
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H042535)
(0.46 MB)
Water scarcity is a major factor limiting food production. Improving Livestock Water Productivity (LWP) is one of the approaches to address those problems. LWP is defined as the ratio of livestock’s beneficial outputs and services to water depleted in their production. Increasing LWP can help achieve more production per unit of water depleted. In this study we assess the spatial variability of LWP in three farming systems (rice-based, millet-based and barley-based) of the Gumera watershed in the highlands of the Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia. We collected data on land use, livestock management and climatic variables using focused group discussions, field observation and secondary data. We estimated the water depleted by evapotranspiration (ET) and beneficial animal products and services and then calculated LWP. Our results suggest that LWP is comparable with crop water productivity at watershed scales. Variability of LWP across farming systems of the Gumera watershed was apparent and this can be explained by farmers’ livelihood strategies and prevailing biophysical conditions. In view of the results there are opportunities to improve LWP: improved feed sourcing, enhancing livestock productivity and multiple livestock use strategies can help make animal production more water productive. Attempts to improve agricultural water productivity, at system scale, must recognize differences among systems and optimize resources use by system components.
14 Descheemaeker, Katrien; Amede, Tilahun; Haileslassie, A. 2010. Improving water productivity in mixed crop–livestock farming systems of Sub-Saharan Africa. Agricultural Water Management, 97(5):579-586. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2009.11.012]
Livestock ; Feeds ; Animal husbandry ; Water productivity ; Water management / Africa South of Sahara
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H042572)
(0.57 MB)
In sub-Saharan Africa problems associated with water scarcity are aggravated by increasing demands for food and water, climate change and environmental degradation. Livestock keeping,an important livelihood strategy for smallholder farmers in Africa, is a major consumer of water, and its water consumption is increasing with increasing demands for livestock products. At the same time, current low returns from livestock keeping limit its contribution to livelihoods, threaten environmental health and aggravate local conflicts. The objectives of this review are to: (1) synthesize available knowledge in the various components of the livestock and water sectors in sub-Saharan Africa, (2) analyze livestock–water interactions and (3) identify promising strategies and technological interventions for improved livestock water productivity (LWP) using a framework for mixed crop–livestock systems. The interventions are grouped in three categories related to feed, water, and animal management. Feed related strategies for improving LWP include choosing feed types carefully, improving feed quality, increasing feed water productivity, and implementing grazing management practices. Water management for higher LWP comprises water conservation, watering point management, and integration of livestock production in irrigation schemes. Animal management strategies include improving animal health and careful animal husbandry. Evidence indicates that successful uptake of interventions can be achieved if institutions, policies, and gender are considered. Critical research and development gaps are identified in terms of methodologies for quantifying water productivity at different scales and improving integration between agricultural sectors.
15 Descheemaeker, Katrien; Mapedza, Everisto; Amede, Tilahun; Ayalneh, W. 2009. Effects of integrated watershed management on water productivity in crop-livestock systems in water scarce areas of Ethiopia. [Abstract only]. In 10th WaterNet/WARFSA/GWP-SA Symposium, IWRM: Environmental Sustainability, Climate Change and Livelihoods, Entebbe, Uganda, 28-30 October 2009. Volume of abstracts. Entebbe, Uganda: Waternet, GWP, WARFSA.
Watershed management ; Water productivity ; Water scarcity ; Farming systems ; Livestock ; Feeds / Africa / Africa South of Sahara / Ethiopia / Lenche Dima watershed
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H042712)
(0.35 MB)
16 Descheemaeker, Katrien; Mapedza, Everisto; Amede, Tilahun; Ayalneh, W. 2010. Effects of integrated watershed management on livestock water productivity in water scarce areas in Ethiopia. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, 35(13-14):723-729. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pce.2010.06.006]
Watershed management ; Water harvesting ; Water balance ; Livestock ; Feed production ; Energy ; Water productivity ; Ecosystems / Ethiopia / Lenche Dima Watershed
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H042377)
(0.31 MB)
In the water scarce Lenche Dima watershed in the northern Ethiopian highlands community based integrated watershed management was implemented to fight land degradation, raise agricultural productivity and improve farmers’ livelihoods. The effects of two interventions, namely exclosures and water harvesting structures, were assessed based on data from farmers’ interviews, measurements of feed biomass production, and estimates of energy production and requirements. Water used for livestock feed production was obtained through simple soil water balance modelling. By protecting 40% of the rangelands, the water productivity of the feed increased by about 20%. This indicated that exclosure establishment could lead to similar improvements in livestock water productivity (LWP, defined as the ratio of livestock benefits over the water used in producing these). Water harvesting structures ensured yearround water availability in the homestead, which resulted in less energy used for walking to drinking points. A considerable amount of energy was thus saved, which could be used for livestock production and improved animal health without additional water use. Besides restoring regulating and supporting ecosystem services, both interventions led to a more efficient use of the scarce water resources for biomass and livestock production.
17 Mapedza, Everisto; Amede, Tilahun; Geheb, Kim; Peden, D.; Ayalneh, W.; Faki, H.; Mpairwe, D.; Alemayehu, M.; Boelee, Eline; van Hoeve, E.; van Koppen, Barbara; Tegegne, S. D.; Descheemaeker, Katrien. 2010. Gendered aspects of livestock-water interactions in the Nile River Basin. In Institute of Water and Sanitation Development. 11th WaterNet/WARFSA/GWP-SA Symposium, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, 27-29 October 2010. IWRM for national and regional integration: where science, policy and practice meet: water and society. Harare, Zimbabwe: Institute of Water and Sanitation Development (IWSD). pp.191-211.
Gender ; Livestock ; Water productivity ; Women ; Households ; Case studies / Ethiopia / Sudan / Uganda / Africa South of Sahara / Nile River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H043403)
http://www.waternetonline.ihe.nl/11thSymposium/WaterandSocietyFullPapers2010.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H043403.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H043403.pdf
(0.25 MB)
Gender is central in understanding crop and livestock systems within the developing world. The different roles and responsibilities that society ascribes to both men, women, children and the different age groups will impact on the innovations within the Livestock Water Productivity in the Nile Basin. Livestock can be a mechanism for improving the livelihoods of the rural farmers in the Nile Basin. It is however important to understand who benefits from such livestock innovations and improvements. Using a gender disaggregated approach will shade more light on the costs and benefits from the improved livestock water interactions. This study focused on the costs and benefits for women and men but do appreciate that gender goes beyond women and men. The major findings were that for successful poverty alleviation, it is important to understand which types of livestock are benefitting women, men and children and under what circumstances they have improved the livelihoods of the poor. This paper attempts to make such an assessment for Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda.
18 Descheemaeker, Katrien; Amede, Tilahun; Haileslassie, A.; Bossio, Deborah. 2011. Analysis of gaps and possible interventions for improving water productivity in crop livestock systems of Ethiopia. Experimental Agriculture, 47(Supplement S1):21-38. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0014479710000797]
Water productivity ; Crop production ; Livestock ; Mixed farming ; Farming systems ; Water scarcity ; Water conservation ; Models ; Feeds ; Milk production / Ethiopia / Lenche Dima Watershed
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H043509)
(0.35 MB)
Low crop and livestock productivities in the mixed farming systems of Ethiopia hamper efforts to meet the increasing food demands from a stressed natural resource base. Important reasons for the low agricultural productivity are water scarcity and poor spatial and temporal rainfall distribution. Although improving agricultural water productivity would safeguard people’s livelihoods and the environment, the lack of information on best bet interventions and strategies to achieve this impedes targeted decision making. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct an ex-ante evaluation of the potential effect of selected interventions on livestock water productivity (LWP) in mixed crop-livestock systems. Baseline data were collected from a water scarce area in the Ethiopian highlands. An analysis of productivity gaps and stakeholder interviews helped to identify promising interventions, which were categorized in three groups related to feed, water and animal management. A spreadsheet model was developed that was composed of the various production components of the farming system, their interactions and influencing factors. By linking water use for feed production with livestock products through the energy supplied by the feeds, the potential effect of interventions on LWP could be simulated. The evaluation showed that the various interventions targeting feed, water and animal management could result in LWP improvements ranging from 4 to 94%. Feed and energy water productivity increased particularly with interventions like fertilizer application, and the introduction of fodder trees, concentrates, improved food-feed crops, and soil and water conservation measures. Combining the different interventions led to a stronger improvement than any of the single interventions. The results of the evaluation can inform policy-makers and development actors on which best bets to promote and invest in.
19 Amede, Tilahun; Tarawali, S.; Peden, D. 2011. Improving water productivity in crop-livestock systems of drought-prone regions. Editorial comment. Experimental Agriculture, 47(Supplement S1):1-5. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0014479710001031]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H043511)
(0.04 MB)
20 Derib, S. D.; Descheemaeker, Katrien; Haileslassie, A.; Amede, Tilahun. 2011. Irrigation water productivity as affected by water management in a small-scale irrigation scheme in the Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia. Experimental Agriculture, 47(Supplement S1):39-55. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0014479710000839]
Irrigation schemes ; River basins ; Evapotranspiration ; Canals ; Water loss ; Statistical methods ; Water productivity ; Crop production ; Irrigation efficiency ; Mixed farming ; Livestock / Africa / Ethiopia / Blue Nile Basin / Guanta Small-Scale Irrigation Scheme
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H043513)
(0.38 MB)
In Ethiopia, irrigation is mainly implemented in small-scale irrigation schemes, which are often characterized by low water productivity. This study reports on the efficiency and productivity of a typical small-scale irrigation scheme in the highlands of the Blue Nile, Ethiopia. Canal water flows and the volume of irrigation water applied were measured at field level. Grain and crop residue biomass and grass biomass production along the canals were also measured. To triangulate the measurements, the irrigation farm management, effects of water logging around irrigation canals, farm water distribution mechanisms, effects of night irrigation and water losses due to soil cracking created by prolonged irrigation were closely observed. The average canal water loss from the main, the secondary and the field canals was 2.58, 1.59 and 0.39 l s-1 100 m-1, representing 4.5, 4.0 and 26% of the total water flow respectively. About 0.05% of the loss was attributed to grass production for livestock, while the rest was lost through evaporation and canal seepage. Grass production for livestock feed had a land productivity of 6190.5 kg ha-1 and a water productivity of 0.82 kg m-3 . Land productivity for straw and grain was 2048 and 770 kg ha-1, respectively, for teff, and 1864 kg ha-1 and 758 kg ha-1, respectively, for wheat. Water productivities of the crops varied from 0.2 to 1.63 kg m-3. A significant volume of water was lost from small-scale irrigation systems mainly because farmers’ water application did not match crop needs. The high price incurred by pumped irrigation positively affected water management by minimizing water losses and forced farmers to use deficit irrigation. Improving water productivity of small-scale irrigation requires integrated interventions including night storage mechanisms, optimal irrigation scheduling, empowerment of farmers to maintain canals and proper irrigation schedules.
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