Your search found 7 records
1 Haileslassie, A.; Hagos, Fitsum; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Peden, D.; Gebreselassie, S.; Negash, F. 2008. Production systems in the Blue Nile Basin: implications for environmental degradation and upstream and downstream linkages. Paper presented at the Ethiopia National Nile Development Forum, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 20-21 March 2008. 37p.
River basins ; Environmental degradation ; Erosion ; Sedimentation ; Water productivity ; Farming systems ; Cropping systems ; Double cropping ; Cereals ; Maize ; Sorghum ; Barley ; Wheat ; Livestock ; Pastoralism ; Farmers attitudes ; Economic aspects / Sudan / Ethiopia / Blue Nile River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H041754)
(478KB 0.32 MB)
The Blue Nile Basin (Abay in Ethiopia) covers wide range landscapes and climatic zones in Ethiopia and Sudan. Different agricultural production systems, in the basin, evolved in response to those diverse landscapes and climatic zones, and the attendant human decision dynamics that responds to changing livelihood opportunities. Many production systems studies recognized only mixed agriculture in the highlands and pastoralism in the lowland areas. Now it is widely recognized that several other factors such as land-use, vegetation cover, and different land and water management practices are important in defining production systems. These study approaches help to capture the diverse water and land related livelihoods of the farming communities in upstream and downstream parts of the basin and their impact on their respective environments. In this review, we follow a similar approach but focus at the basin scale to define and characterize major production systems and associated subsystems specifically: small grain cereals-based mixed crop-livestock and maize-sorghum-perennials systems and their associated subsystems. We then focus on water management practices in rainfed and irrigated systems. We also synthesized impacts of those production systems on the environment and upstream-downstream linkage using erosion, sedimentation, livestock and crop water productivity, soil nutrient balances as indicators. Evidences suggest that natural ecosystem services (e.g. regulation services such as nutrient recycling and redistribution) are severely threatened in the Blue Nile basin. On-site and off-site effects of pedogenic processes like sediment removal, transportation, redistribution and attendant environmental impacts (e.g. nutrient balances and water productivity) are highly correlated with dominant farming practices and attendant anthropogenic interventions. Indicators such as water productivity and soil nutrient depletion and farmers’ activities to replenish the lost nutrients are also strongly related to the degree of the farmers’ resource endowments. In view of initiating the upstream community to invest more on land and water management, options for payment for environmental services (PES) must be sought and, interventions that enhance sustainable ecosystem management must use integrated approaches and farming system/subsystems as entry point.
2 Haileslassie, A.; Hagos, Fitsum; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Peden, D.; Gebreselassie, S.; Negash, F. 2008. Indicators of environmental degradation in the Blue Nile Basin: exploring prospects for payment for environmental services. Paper presented at the Second Nile Development Forum, Khartoum, Sudan, 17-19 November 2008. 37p.
Environmental degradation ; Erosion ; Sedimentation ; Water productivity ; Farming systems ; Mixed cropping ; Cereals ; Maize ; Sorghum ; Barley ; Wheat ; Irrigated farming ; Rainfed farming ; Livestock ; Pastoralism ; Farmers attitudes ; Poverty / Ethiopia / Blue Nile Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H041755)
(0.86 MB)
The Blue Nile Basin (Abay in Ethiopia) covers wide range landscapes and climatic zones in Ethiopia and Sudan. Different agricultural production systems, in the basin, evolved in response to those diverse landscapes and climatic zones, and the attendant human decision dynamics that responds to changing livelihood opportunities. Many production systems studies recognized only mixed agriculture in the highlands and pastoralism in the lowland areas. Now it is widely recognized that several other factors such as land-use, vegetation cover, and different land and water management practices are important in defining production systems. These study approaches help to capture the diverse water and land related livelihoods of the farming communities in upstream and downstream parts of the basin and their impact on their respective environments. In this review, we follow a similar approach but focus at the basin scale to define and characterize major production systems and associated subsystems specifically: small grain cereals-based mixed crop-livestock and maize-sorghum-perennials systems and their associated subsystems. We then focus on water management practices in rainfed and irrigated systems. We also synthesized impacts of those production systems on the environment and upstream-downstream linkage using erosion, sedimentation, livestock and crop water productivity, soil nutrient balances as indicators. Evidences suggest that natural ecosystem services (e.g. regulation services such as nutrient recycling and redistribution) are severely threatened in the Blue Nile basin. On-site and off-site effects of pedogenic processes like sediment removal, transportation, redistribution and attendant environmental impacts (e.g. nutrient balances and water productivity) are highly correlated with dominant farming practices and attendant anthropogenic interventions. Indicators such as water productivity and soil nutrient depletion and farmers’ activities to replenish the lost nutrients are also strongly related to the degree of the farmers’ resource endowments. In view of initiating the upstream community to invest more on land and water management, options for payment for environmental services (PES) must be sought and, interventions that enhance sustainable ecosystem management must use integrated approaches and farming system/subsystems as entry point.
3 Haileslassie, A.; Hagos, Fitsum; Mapedza, Everisto; Sadoff, Claudia W.; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Gebreselassie, S.; Peden, D. 2008. Institutional settings and livelihood strategies in the Blue Nile Basin: implications for upstream/downstream linkages. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 75p. (IWMI Working Paper 132) [doi: https://doi.org/10.3910/2009.313]
River basins ; Water policy ; Institutions ; Institutional development ; Farming systems ; Mixed farming ; Cereals ; Sorghum ; Irrigated farming ; Vegetables ; Pastoralism ; Poverty ; Water supply ; Sanitation ; Labor ; Ecosystems ; Energy ; Water power ; Watershed management ; Water harvesting ; Legal aspects ; Environmental policy ; Water user associations ; Irrigation programs / Africa / Ethiopia / Sudan / Egypt / Blue Nile River Basin / Koga Irrigation Project
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 631.7.3 G100 HAI Record No: H041835)
(474.57KB)
Through rapid assessment of existing literature and review of policy and other official documents, the report synthesizes the existing knowledge and gaps on policies and institutions and identifies key research issues that need in-depth study. The report provides an overview of the range of key livelihoods and production systems in the Blue Nile Basin (BNB) and highlights their relative dependence on, and vulnerability to, water resources and water-related ecosystem services. It also makes an inventory of current water and land related policies and institutions in the BNB, their organizational arrangements, dynamics and linkages and key policy premises. It highlights the major problems in institutional arrangements and policy gaps and makes suggestions for an in-depth Policy and Institutional Studies to be done as part of the Upstream-Downstream Research project.
4 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.
5 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.
6 Gebreselassie, S.; Peden, D.; Haileslassie, A.; Mpairwe, D. 2009. Factors affecting livestock water productivity: animal scale analysis using previous cattle feeding trials in Ethiopia. Rangeland Journal, 31(2):251-258.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 636 100 AME Record No: H042783)
(0.77 MB)
Availability and access to fresh water will likely constrain future food production in many countries. Thus, it is frequently suggested that the limited amount of water should be used more productively. In this study we report the results of our investigation on effects of feed, age and weight on livestock water productivity (LWP). The main objective is to identify technologies that will help enhance LWP. We combined empirical knowledge and literature values to estimate the amount of water depleted to produce beef, milk, traction power and manure. We estimated the LWP as the ratio of livestock products and services to the depleted water. In the feeding trials, various combinations of maize and oat stover, vetch, lablab and wheat bran were combined in different proportions to make 16 unique rations that were fed to the experimental animals of different age and weight groups. We observed differences of LWP across feed type, age and weight of dairy cows. The value of LWP tended to increase with increasing age and weight: the lowest LWP (0.34 US$/m3) for cows less than five years whereas the highest LWP value was 0.41 US$/m3 for those cows in the age category of 8 years and above.Similarly, there was an increase in LWP as weight of the animal increased, i.e. LWP was lowest (0.32 US$/m3) for lower weight groups (300–350 kg) and increased for larger animals. There were apparent impacts of feed composition on LWP values. For example, the highest LWP value was observed for oat, vetch and wheat bran mixes. Taking livestock services and products into account, the overall livestock water productivity ranged from 0.25 to 0.39 US$/m3 and the value obtained from a cow appeared to be higher than for an ox. In conclusion, some strategies and technological options such as improved feeds, better herd management, appropriate heard structure can be adapted to enhance LWP.
7 Haileslassie, A.; Hagos, Fitsum; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Peden D.; Ahmed, A. A.; Gebreselassie, S.; Tafesse, T.; Mapedza, Everisto; Mukherji, Aditi. 2012. Institutions and policy in the Blue Nile Basin: understanding challenges and opportunities for improved land and water management. In Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Smakhtin, Vladimir; Molden, David; Peden D. (Eds.). The Nile River Basin: water, agriculture, governance and livelihoods. Abingdon, UK: Routledge - Earthscan. pp.253-268.
River basins ; Water management ; Land management ; Institutions ; Organizations ; Water policy ; Land policy ; Upstream ; Downstream ; Economic aspects / Africa / Blue Nile River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H045320)
(1.07MB)
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