Your search found 31 records
1 Namara, Regassa E.; Weligamage, Parakrama; Barker, Randolph. 2003. Prospects for adopting system of rice intensification in Sri Lanka: a socioeconomic assessment. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). vi, 46p. (IWMI Research Report 075) [doi: https://doi.org/10.3910/2009.077]
Models ; Rice ; Paddy fields ; Irrigated farming ; Rain-fed farming ; Poverty ; Farmers / Sri Lanka / Ratnapura / Kurunegala / Kalthota Irrigation System
(Location: IWMI-HQ Call no: IWMI 631.7.1 G744 NAM Record No: H034854)
(820KB)
Today, there is an increasing worldwide interest in assessing the potential for maintaining or increasing rice yields by reducing or eliminating the use of chemicals and by decreasing irrigation requirements. The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) first developed in Madagascar and now being tested in many countries, is an example of such an approach. The system is based largely on organic farming principles and additional requirements for spacing and the transplanting of seedlings.
2 Namara, Regassa E.; Manig, W. 2004. Returns to alternative organisational models of wheat breeding research: simulation results from Ethiopia. Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, 59(2):231-248.
Wheat ; Plant propagation ; Agricultural research ; Crop production ; Simulation models ; Research institutes ; Economic aspects / Ethiopia
(Location: IWMI-HQ Call no: PER Record No: H036052)
3 Edossa, D. C.; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Namara, Regassa E.; Babel, M. S.; Das Gupta, A. 2007. Indigenous systems of conflict resolution in Oromia, Ethiopia. In van Koppen, Barbara; Giordano, Mark; Butterworth, J. (Eds.). Community-based water law and water resource management reform in developing countries. Wallingford, UK: CABI. pp.146-157. (Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture Series 5)
Water resource management ; Institutions ; Conflict ; Legal aspects / Ethiopia / Oromia / Awash River
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 346.04691 G000 VAN Record No: H040692)
4 Tesfaye, A.; Bogale, A.; Namara, Regassa E.; Bacha, D. 2008. The impact of small-scale irrigation on household food security: the case of Filtino and Godino irrigation schemes in Ethiopia. Irrigation and Drainage Systems, 22:145–158.
Irrigation programs ; Food security ; Households ; Models ; Case studies ; Food insecurity / Ethiopia / Ada Liben district / Godino Irrigation Scheme / Filtino Irrigation Scheme
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: 631.7.3 G136 TES Record No: H041466)
Ethiopia’s irrigation potential is estimated at 3.7 million hectare, of which only about 190,000 ha (4.3% of the potential) is actually irrigated. There is little information on the extent to which the so far developed irrigation schemes have been effective in meeting their stated objectives of attaining food self-sufficiency and eradicating poverty. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to identify the impact of small-scale irrigation on household food security based on data obtained from 200 farmers in Ada Liben district of Ethiopia in 2006. The resulting data was analyzed using Heckman’s Two-step Estimation procedure. Studies elsewhere revealed that access to reliable irrigation water can enable farmers to adopt new technologies and intensify cultivation, leading to increased productivity, overall higher production, and greater returns from farming. Our study findings confirm some of these claims. In the study area about 70% of the irrigation users are food secure while only 20% of the non-users are found to be food secure. Access to small scale irrigation enabled the sample households to grow crops more than once a year; to insure increased and stable production, income and consumption; and improve their food security status. The study concludes that small- scale irrigation significantly contributed to household food security.
5 Namara, Regassa E.; Giordano, Meredith; Amerasinghe, Priyanie H.; Boelee, Eline; Weligamage, Parakrama; Weerasinghe, A.; Jayanetti, S. R.; Yapabandara, A. M. G. M. 2008. An impact assessment of malaria control through environmental and irrigation water management. Ceylon Journal of Science (Biological Sciences), 37(1):107-128.
Malaria ; Control methods ; Impact assessment ; Waterborne diseases ; Public health ; Environmental management ; Irrigation management ; Surveys ; Villages ; Households ; Models / Sri Lanka / Anuradhapura District / Upper Yan Oya Catchmeny / Huruluwewa Watershed
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 614.532 G744 NAM, PER Record No: H041543)
6 Hagos, Fitsum; Makombe, Godswill; Namara, Regassa E.; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele. 2009. Importance of irrigated agriculture to the Ethiopian economy: capturing the direct net benefits of irrigation. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 40p. (IWMI Research Report 128) [doi: https://doi.org/10.3910/2009.317]
Irrigated farming ; National income ; Economic growth ; Crops ; Prices ; Sensitivity analysis ; Crop management ; Farmer-led irrigation ; Irrigation schemes / Ethiopia
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 631.7.4 G136 HAG Record No: H042373)
(518.52 KB)
Irrigation development has been identified as a means to stimulate economic growth and rural development in Ethiopia. However, little attempt has been made to quantify the contribution of irrigation to national income. Using data from selected irrigation schemes, representing small, medium and large-scale schemes of modern or traditional typologies; the present coverage and planned growth of irrigation, actual and expected contributions of irrigation to the national economy were quantified following the approach of adjusted gross margin analysis. Our results show that irrigation yields 219.7% higher income compared to the rainfed system while its current and future contribution to agricultural GDP is estimated to be about 5.7 and 12% although irrigation covers about 5 and 9% of the total cultivated land area, respectively.
7 Gebregziabher, G.; Namara, Regassa E.; Holden, S. 2009. Poverty reduction with irrigation investment: an empirical case study from Tigray, Ethiopia. Agricultural Water Management, 96(12):1837-1843. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2009.08.004]
Irrigation effects ; Groundwater irrigation ; Households ; Income ; Poverty ; Case studies ; Models / Ethiopia / Tigray
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H042488)
(0.19 MB)
The regional government of Tigray has invested millions of dollars to develop irrigation schemes as a strategy of poverty reduction. However, there has been limited attempt to analyze whether these investments have attained their stated objectives of poverty reduction and overall socio-economic enhancement. Therefore, we endeavor to: (1) evaluate the impacts of access to small-scale irrigation on farm household’s income and poverty status, (2) contribute to the scant literature on irrigation and poverty reduction in Ethiopia, and (3) provide information for policy makers. We examine a representative sample of 613 farm households (331 irrigators and 282 non-irrigators) drawn using three-stage stratified sampling with Probability Proportional to Size. We find that the average income of non-irrigating households is less than that of the irrigating households by about 50%. The overall average income gain due to access to irrigation ranges from 4000 Birr to 4500 Birr per household per annum. We find also that farming income is more important to irrigating households than to non-irrigating households, and off-farm income is negatively related with access to irrigation.
8 Bacha, D.; Namara, Regassa E.; Bogale, Ayalneh; Tesfaye, A. 2011. Impact of small scale irrigation on household poverty: empirical evidence from the Ambo district in Ethiopia. Irrigation and Drainage, 60(1):1-10. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/ird.550]
Irrigation systems ; Rural poverty ; Households ; Expenditure ; Econometrics ; Farmer-led irrigation ; Analysis / Ethiopia / Ambo district
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: PER Record No: H042651)
(0.20 MB)
A study was conducted in the Ambo district of western Ethiopia in 2006 to understand the poverty reduction impacts of small-scale irrigation development, using the Indris irrigation system as a case study. The study was based on a survey of representative farm households with and without access to irrigation. The total sample size for the study was 222 (107 households with access to irrigation and 115 without). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, the Foster, Greer and Thobeck poverty indices, and Heckman’s selectivity model. Results indicate that the incidence, depth, and severity of poverty are significantly lower among those farm households with access to irrigation. In addition to irrigation, other variables such as farm size, livestock holding size, land productivity, and family size significantly influence the level of household consumption expenditure. However, the proportion of poor people in the overall sample, notwithstanding access to irrigation, is alarmingly high, indicating the deeprooted and critical situation of poverty in rural Ethiopia.
9 Barry, Boubacar; Namara, Regassa E.; Bahri, Akissa. 2009. Better rural livelihoods through improved irrigation management: Office du Niger (Mali). In Lenton, R.; Muller, M. (Eds.). Integrated water resources management in practice: better water management for development. London, UK: Earthscan; Stockholm, Sweden: Global Water Partnership. pp.71-87.
Irrigation management ; Irrigation systems ; Institutions ; Farm income ; Farmers ; Environmental sustainability ; Rural development / Mali
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H042700)
(2.06 MB)
In many parts of the world, improving rural livelihoods and income means transforming the way in which agricultural water is managed. Mali is a case in point. The Office du Niger formed in the 1930s as a centralized public enterprise to produce irrigated cotton and rice, has been significantly revamped since the 1990s. The result has been dramatic gains in rice production and farm incomes, and reductions in rural poverty. The case shows that changing agricultural water management requires a supportive macro-policy environment, and appropriate institutional changes and infrastructural investments. Equally important, it shows that those reforms may need to precede improvements in water management. Moreover, in aid-dependent low income countries reform cannot occur unless both government and donors concur on the need for change. Finally, the case drives home that improving water management is a continuing process; gains to date in economic efficiency and (to a lesser extent) equity in the Office du Niger now need to be matched by improvements in environmental sustainability.
10 Namara, Regassa E.; Hanjra, M. A.; Castillo, G. E.; Ravnborg, H. M.; Smith, L.; van Koppen, Barbara. 2010. Agricultural water management and poverty linkages. Agricultural Water Management, 97(4):520–527. Special issue with contributions by IWMI authors. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2009.05.007]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H042743)
(0.19 MB)
Water is critically important to the livelihoods of more than 1 billion people living on less than $1 a day, particularly for the 850 million rural poor primarily engaged in agriculture. In many developing countries, water is a major factor constraining agricultural output, and income of the world’s rural poor. Improved agricultural water management can contribute to poverty reduction through several pathways. First, access to reliable water improves production and productivity, enhances employment opportunities and stabilizes income and consumption. Secondly, it encourages the utilization of other yield-enhancing inputs and allows diversification into high-value products, enhances nonfarm outputs and employment, and fulfills multiple needs of households. Third, it may contribute either negatively or positively to nutritional status, health, societal equity and environment. The net impact of agricultural water management interventions on poverty may depend individually and/or synergistically on the working of these pathways. Improved access to water is essential, but not sufficient for sustained poverty reduction. Investments are needed in agricultural science and technology, policies and institutions, economic reform, addressing global agricultural trade inequities, etc. But how best to match the agricultural water management technologies, institutions and policies to the needs of the heterogeneous poor living in diverse agro-ecological settings remains unclear. This article provides a menu of promising pathways through which agricultural water management can contribute to sustained poverty reduction.
11 Fujii, H.; Dawuni, B.; Kulawardhana, Wasantha; Thenkabail, P. S.; Namara, Regassa E.. 2009. Features of river flow in inland valleys in semi-deciduous forest zone in Ghana. Transactions of the Japanese Society of Irrigation, Drainage and Rural Engineering, 77(6):637-644.
Watersheds ; Rivers ; Stream flow ; Hydrology ; Runoff ; Forest land ; Rice / Ghana / West Africa / Mankran Watershed / Offinso Watershed
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H043148)
(0.96 MB)
There are about 2.8 million ha of inland valleys in Ghana and 20 million ha of inland valley in West Africa. Although inland valleys are suitable for lowland rice due to the abundance of water resources and higher soil fertility compared with the upland, they have not been well utilized as agricultural land in West Africa. Further utilization of inland valley for lowland rice will improve the productivity of rice in West Africa. In this study water resources of small rivers in inland valleys in West Africa are evaluated. Two study watersheds with 1,400-1,500mm of annual rainfall in Semi-Deciduous Forest Zone in Ghana were selected and analyzed on slope distribution in the study watershed to grasp suitable area for lowland rice and on hydrological characteristics such as specific discharge and runoff ratio. The following findings are obtained from the study. 1) Most of the rivers in the study watershed are seasonal rivers. Non-flow period of some rivers were shown for around five months from middle of December to early May. However the term of non-flow period varies much depending on characteristics of sub-watersheds. 2) Runoff ratio for 5 years from 2000 to 2004 in Offinso watershed which is a typical watershed in semi deciduous forest zone in Ghana was indicated only 12%. It ranges from 0.08 to 0.16 depending on the year. The monthly runoff ratio indicated little value in March, April and May which is beginning of rainy season and high value in November and December which is beginning of dry season. 3) The gentle slope area with less than 2%, which seems suitable area for lowland rice, occupies 22 % of inland valley.
12 Fujii, H.; Gumma, M. K.; Thenkabail, P. S.; Namara, Regassa E.. 2010. Suitability evaluation for lowland rice in inland valleys in West Africa. In Japanese. Transactions of the Japanese Society of Irrigation, Drainage and Rural Engineering, 78(4):47-55.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H043176)
(2.83 MB)
A GIS based model developed by the authors are applied for selecting suitable rice cultivation area in inland valleys that has high potential for rice production in West Africa where rice consumption is increasing very rapidly. The model has the following features. 1. The model is to evaluate the suitability of the land for lowland rice based on score distribution maps respectively made by the data of 29 evaluation parameters. 2. The parameters are classified into 4 categories; bio-physical, technical, socio-economic and health-environmental parameters. 3. Each scored map(layer)is integrated to obtain total scores by multiplying a weight which is determined by the importance of parameters. The suitability for rice in two study sites was evaluated using the model. Mankran and Jolo-Kwaha watershed selected as the study sites from different agro-ecological zone in Ghana. Applying the data of 12 parameters acquired in the study sites to the model, “very suitable” or “suitable” occupies around 30% in Mankran study site and around 60% in Jolo-Kwaha study site.
13 Namara, Regassa E.. 2010. Autonomous smallholder shallow groundwater irrigation development in upper east region of Ghana. [Abstract only]. In Abstracts of the “Toward Sustainable Groundwater in Agriculture - An International Conference Linking Science and Policy,” Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport, Burlingame, California , USA, 15-17 June 2010. Davis, CA, USA: University of California; Sacramento, CA, USA: Water Education Foundation. pp.112.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H043195)
(3.75 MB)
In sub-Saharan Africa in general, and in Ghana in particular, groundwater resource is associated with domestic use. There is paucity of information on groundwater resource potentials and the limited information that is available based on data from specific aquifers indicates a pessimistic view about the groundwater resources in Ghana. Moreover, the agricultural use of groundwater is not reflected in the country’s water and irrigation policy. Contrary to the official knowledge, farmers have started using shallow groundwater to produce horticultural crops. In Upper East region, the groundwater infrastructure is developed using extremely rudimentary digging/drilling technologies banking on the abundant human labor during the long dry season. This paper analyzes: (1) the economics of smallholder groundwater irrigation; (2) food security and poverty outreach of access to groundwater resource; and (3) constraints and opportunities of smallholder groundwater irrigation systems. The paper is based on data generated from 420 farmers in 35 communities distributed in three micro-watersheds of the White Volta basin in the Upper East region of Ghana. These communities are divided into 2,085 compounds harboring 4,576 households and 20,962 people. Of the total 4,576 households found in the area, about 61 percent are practicing irrigation of one sort or the other. Of those practicing irrigation, about 89.9 percent are using shallow groundwater. The rest are using small dams, river and drainage water. Even though the agricultural use of groundwater had significant positive livelihood impacts, further development and productivity is constrained by complex land tenure issues, lack of access to efficient drilling technology, marketing challenges, and the general lack of official support services such as extension and micro-credits.
14 Mapedza, Everisto; Ofosu, E. A.; van Koppen, Barbara; van der Zaag, P.; Namara, Regassa E.; Barry, Boubacar. 2010. Gendered access to shallow wells and riverine alluvial dugouts in the upper east region of Ghana. [Abstract only]. In Abstracts of the “Toward Sustainable Groundwater in Agriculture - An International Conference Linking Science and Policy,” Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport, Burlingame, California , USA, 15-17 June 2010. Davis, CA, USA: University of California; Sacramento, CA, USA: Water Education Foundation. pp.96.
Groundwater irrigation ; Wells ; Gender ; Women ; Rural poverty / Ghana / Africa South of Sahara / Volta Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H043199)
(3.75 MB)
The limit of rain fed agriculture is one of the major causes for poor agricultural performance in Sub-Saharan Africa, due to the prevailing climatic conditions. If these challenges are further juxtaposed with the climate change projections, irrigation then becomes a key solution to such agricultural challenges of changing rainfall amounts and seasonal rainfall variability in the Upper East region of Ghana. The extreme variability in rainfall, long dry seasons and recurrent droughts, floods and dry spells pose key challenges to food production and has resulted in hunger and poverty in the Upper East Region of Ghana. The practice of irrigated agriculture remains a key solution to hunger and poverty reduction in this area. As a result the area has seen a significant upscaling of irrigation using shallow groundwater and surface water with appropriate technologies within the past 15 years. This study used a gendered approach to assess how poverty alleviation through the use of shallow wells and riverine dugouts have differential access for men and women. Whilst it is often argued that water based interventions to reduce poverty need to be gender sensitive this research looked at whether the underground water irrigation technologies are accessible to both men and women. This paper is part of a hydraulic rights creation project in the broader Volta Basin. This study looked at how both men and women appropriate water resources for their benefit. This study concludes that shallow ground water technologies have to be grounded within the gendered production systems and tenurial arrangements which largely determine whether one benefits from water extraction technologies or not. In rural Africa where the majority of the poor households are de facto or de jure female headed, this paper proposes mechanisms for empowering women to benefit from ground water based irrigation.
15 Hagos, Fitsum; Makombe, Godswill; Namara, Regassa E.; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele. 2010. Importance of irrigated agriculture to the Ethiopian economy: capturing the direct net benefits of irrigation. Ethiopian Journal of Development Research, 32(1):5-53 (Special issue with contributions by IWMI authors).
Irrigated farming ; National income ; Economic growth ; Crops ; Income ; Sensitivity analysis ; Farmer-led irrigation ; Irrigation schemes / Ethiopia
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: PER Record No: H043259)
(0.33 MB)
This study is an attempt to quantify the actual and expected contribution of irrigation to the Ethiopian economy for 2005/06 and 2009/10 cropping seasons using adjusted net gross margin analysis. After obtaining adjusted gross margin values for rain-fed and irrigation systems under different typologies, irrigation’s contribution was calculated to be about 5.7 and 2.5 percent to agricultural and overall GDP during the 2005/06 cropping season. By the year 2009/2010, irrigation’s contribution to agricultural and overall GDP is estimated to grow to about 9 and 3.7 percent, respectively. After relaxing some of the underlying assumptions, the future contribution of irrigation to agricultural GDP will rise to about 12 percent while the contribution to overall GDP will be about 4 percent. Recommendations for enhancing irrigation’s contribution and policy implications for cost recovery and sustainability of irrigation investment are drawn.
16 Molden, David; Mukherji, Aditi; Namara, Regassa E.. 2010. Revitalising Asia's irrigation: are there any meaningful lessons for Africa?. [Abstract only]. In ACP-EU Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA). CTA Annual Seminar, Closing the Knowledge Gap: Integrated Water Management for Sustainable Agriculture, Johannesburg, South Africa, 22–26 November 2010. Abstracts. Wageningen, Netherlands: ACP-EU Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA). pp.21.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: 630 G100 TEC Record No: H043472)
(0.05 MB) (652.11 KB)
17 Barry, Boubacar; Kortatsi, B.; Forkuor, G.; Gumma, M. K.; Namara, Regassa E.; Rebelo, Lisa-Maria; van den Berg, J.; Laube, W. 2010. Shallow groundwater in the Atankwidi Catchment of the White Volta Basin: current status and future sustainability. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 23p. (IWMI Research Report 139) [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2010.234]
Groundwater irrigation ; Aquifers ; River basins ; Catchment areas ; Irrigation practices ; Remote sensing ; Mapping / Ghana / Atankwidi Catchment / White Volta River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 333.9104 G200 BAR Record No: H043521)
(1.39 MB)
The Atankwidi Catchment, which lies in the White Volta Basin in West Africa, is intensively cultivated by locals for economic gains. During dry seasons, farmers irrigate their crops, chiefly tomatoes, using shallow groundwater harvested from shallow ponds they dig using simple tools like an axe, hoe, bucket and bowls. Recent expansion in cultivated areas has brought to the fore the need to estimate the volume of shallow groundwater stored in the catchment’s underlying aquifer and to what extent it can sustain the incremental growth in irrigated areas.
18 Namara, Regassa E.; Horowitz, L.; Nyamadi, B.; Barry, Boubacar. 2011. Irrigation development in Ghana: past experiences, emerging opportunities, and future directions. Accra, Ghana: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Ghana Strategy Support Program (GSSP). 43p. (GSSP Working Paper 0027)
Irrigation management ; Irrigated farming ; Irrigation systems ; Irrigation schemes ; Smallholders ; Groundwater irrigation ; Precipitation ; Reservoirs ; Investment ; Cropping patterns ; Vegetables ; Economic aspects ; Constraints / Ghana
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H043830)
https://www.ifpri.org/cdmref/p15738coll2/id/124870/filename/124871.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H043830.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H043830.pdf
(0.77 MB) (796 KB)
19 Namara, Regassa E.; Horowitz, L.; Kolavalli, S.; Kranjac-Berisavljevic, G.; Dawuni, B. N.; Barry, Boubacar; Giordano, Mark. 2010. Typology of irrigation systems in Ghana. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 27p. (IWMI Working Paper 142) [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2011.200]
Typology ; Surface irrigation ; Communal irrigation systems ; Farmers ; Water user associations ; Smallholders ; Irrigation management ; Public sector ; Private sector ; Wastewater irrigation ; Groundwater irrigation ; Tube well irrigation ; Wells ; Farmer-led irrigation ; Case studies / Ghana
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H043957)
(1.78MB)
Interest in African irrigation investment is growing. However, irrigation is not a monolithic concept, and the opportunities and risks can vary substantially by approach. To help provide an understanding of the variation, this paper builds on previous work to provide a detailed typology of irrigation systems as currently used in Ghana.
20 Bahri, Akissa; Sally, Hilmy; McCartney, Matthew; Namara, Regassa E.; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; van Koppen, Barbara; van Rooijen, Daniel. 2011. Integrated watershed management: towards sustainable solutions in Africa. In Garrido, A.; Ingram, H. (Eds.). Water for food in a changing world. London, UK: Routledge. pp.50-70. (Contributions from the Rosenberg International Forum on Water Policy)
Watershed management ; Water scarcity ; Water demand ; International cooperation ; Economic aspects ; Rain ; River basin development ; Institutions ; Case studies ; Conflict ; Water policy / Africa / Nile River Basin / Ruaha River
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: 363.61 G100 GAR Record No: H043980)
(0.46 MB)
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