CPWF Project Reports

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Final Report on Ganges Coordination and Change Enabling Project (G5)
(Report, 2014-12) BRAC
The Coordination and Change Enabling Project (G5) worked in providing an enabling environment that promote connectivity of project research across topics and scales, from household agriculture- aquaculture farming systems to community polder water management through broader land use planning. The project also served as an interface between the programme and a variety of existing and potential stakeholders and worked towards scaling out research results to multiple stakeholders with common interest in achieving the goals for the CPWF for the Ganges coastal zone. Another important feature of this project is to increase the farm household income and productivity through collaboration with CSISA-BD project principally focusing on improved cereal cropping systems including fish and use of improved varieties and crop management technologies as well.
Implementing community level water management in coastal Bangladesh – a case study in polder 30, CPWF Innovation Funds Project Completion Report
(Report, 2014-05-25) CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food
The goal of this Innovation Grant project was: To work with the community in a pilot “watershed” area to demonstrate the potential crop production benefits through improved management of water in the polders of the coastal zone of Bangladesh, and to demonstrate how to achieve these benefits.
CPWF Small Grants Program: Most Significant Change Stories
(Report, 2014-04-24) CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food
Development of a web based decision support system for agricultural water management of small reservoirs and small water infrastructures in the Limpopo basin, CPWF Innovation Funds Project Completion Report
(Report, 2013-08-11) Alemaw, B.F.; Manzungu, Emmanuel
Small reservoirs (SRs) are important sources of water for the sustenance of rural livelihoods in the Limpopo River Basin mainly because large parts of the basin endure semi-arid conditions and unpredictable rain fall. While the exact number of small reservoirs is not known, there are indications that they are quite common. For example 256 were found in one district in Zimbabwe. The Challenge Program on Water and Food –phases 1 and 2 -have devoted considerable financial and human resources to finding ways of enhancing food and water security. Research in Mozambique, Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe showed that rural people depend on small reservoirs for many uses including domestic water consumption, livestock watering, brickmaking, and food production among others.
Enhancing rainwater and nutrient use efficiency for improved crop productivity, farm income and rural livelihoods in the Volta Basin: Ghana Progress Report, 2004-2005
(Report, 2012-08-23) Fosu, M.; Buah, Saaka S.J.; Kanton, R.A.L.; Bediako, J; Abatania, L; Agyare, Wilson Agyei; Salifu, AB
Empowering farming communities in Northern Ghana with strategic innovations and productive resources in dryland farming: Technical Progress Report of Project 6 of the Challenge Program on Water and Food, 2004-2005
(Report, 2012-08-23) Asante, Stephen K.; Padi, Francis K
Developing a System of Temperate and Tropical Aerobic Rice in Asia (STAR) - India Component: Project Completion Report
(Report, 2008) Singh, Anil Kumar; Chinnusamy, Viswanathan; Dubey, Sarwan Kumar
Improving on-farm agricultural water productivity in the Karkheh River Basin
(Report, 2009-06-15) Oweis, Theib Y.; Siadat, H.; Abbasi, F.
Improving On-farm Agricultural Water Productivity in the Karkheh River Basin (KRB) was a CPWF project that aimed at enhancement of agricultural water productivity (WP) under irrigated and rainfed conditions in Karkheh River Basin. It was launched in Iran through the partnership of ICARDA and the Iranian NARES under the Agricultural Extension, Education, and Research Organization. The project lasted for more than four years between 2004 and 2008. Whereas capacity building was an important part of the agenda, PN8 was a participatory, multi-disciplinary, and action-oriented project that carried out mostly on-farm trials. Findings included existing crop water productivity, suitable technologies for their improvement, interactions between the upper and lower KRB, and a review of the prevailing water policies and institutions
Contribution of informal shallow groundwater irrigation to livelihoods security and poverty reduction in the White Volta Basin (WVB): Current status and future sustainability
(Report, 2010-05-15) Barry, Boubacar; Forkuor, Gerald
Shallow groundwater irrigation (SGI) using hand-dug shallow wells and dugouts is expanding, in the WVB, and is becoming attractive to farmers throughout. SGI is farmer-driven and has developed without any government or donor involvement. The production of vegetables and cash crops during the dry season utilizing SGI has provided farmers with a supplemental source of income and an alternative to seasonal urban migration. Although SGI has been increasing substantially, the extent of this practice is not documented.This project has help assess, the impacts of intensive SGI on sub-basin hydrology, net groundwater recharge farmers' livelihoods and on rural poverty reduction in the Atankuidi catchment a tributary of the WVB with the highest per capita groundwater use.
Tackling water and food crisis in South Asia: Insights from the Indo-Gangetic Basin
(Report, 2010-03-15) Sharma, Bharat R.; Amarasinghe, Upali A.; Ambili, G.K.
CPWF-IWMI “Basin Focal Project for the Indus-Gangetic Basin” is an initiative by the CPWF, to identify steps to be taken towards integrated management of the IGB’s water and land resources to improve productivity and ensure future sustainability of all production and ecosystems in the basin. The project was developed with the objective of conducting basin-wide analysis of the conditions, constraints and opportunities for improving agricultural water productivity and alleviating poverty through high potential interventions. This objective was accomplished through rigorous analysis and mapping of water availability and access, poverty, and productivity of water and identifying potential interventions that contribute to improved water productivity and poverty alleviation in the Indo-Gangetic basin.
Developing a system of temperate and tropical aerobic rice in Asia (STAR)
(Report, 2008-02-15) Bouman, B.A.M.
The project “Developing a System of Temperate and Tropical Aerobic Rice in Asia (STAR) undertook strategic research to develop sustainable aerobic rice systems for water- scarce irrigated and rainfed environments in Asia. Aerobic rice is a production system in which specially developed rice varieties are grown in nonsaturated soils without ponded water just like wheat or maize. The target environments are areas where water is too short to grow conventional lowland rice, either rainfed or supplementary irrigated. In the Yellow River Basin of China, with a temperate climate, we have demonstrated that aerobic rice yields of 6 t ha-1 are attainable with about half of the water needed to grow lowland rice. In average rainfall years, farmers would need to give only 2-3 supplemental irrigations. The profitability is comparable with that of other food crops such as maize and soybean, depending on (yearly fluctuating) relative commodity prices (sometime profitability is lower, sometimes higher). Farmers like aerobic rice because it contributes to food self-sufficiency and requires less labor than transplanted lowland rice. It also allows them to diversify their cropping system. Moreover, aerobic rice can stand flooding and is an ideal crop for the large areas that get annually flooded by heavy rainfall or overflowing rivers that destroy the other crops. In the tropics, the development of aerobic rice is less advanced. In central India, in the Indo-Gangetic Plain, we identified rice varieties that can be grown in aerobic conditions, producing 4- 4.5 t ha-1 and using 30-40% less water than lowland rice at the same yield level. In the Philippines, although yield potentials of 6 t ha-1 have been demonstrated, attainable yield ranged from 2.9 to 3.8 t ha-1 in the dry season, and from 3.9 to 4.5 t ha-1 in the wet season. A risk of yield decline was demonstrated at a few sites caused by soil-borne pests (such as nematodes), nutrient disorders, or a combination of both. In our sites in Northeast Thailand and Laos, breeding lines were identified with yield potentials of 2 (Thailand) to 3.5 (Laos) t ha-1. Further research and development is needed to bring tropical aerobic rice to fruition, mainly on variety improvement (increasing yield potential and adaptation to aerobic soil) and sustainability. In conclusion, aerobic rice holds promise for those farmers in water-short irrigated or rainfed environments where water availability at the farm level is too low, or where water is too expensive, to grow flooded lowland rice.
Nile Basin livestock water productivity
(Report, 2009-11-15) Peden, Donald G.; Alemayehu, M.; Amede, Tilahun; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Faki, H.; Haileslassie, Amare; Herrero, Mario; Mapedza, Everisto D.; Mpairwe, D.R.; Musa, M.T.; Taddesse, G.; Breugel, P. van
PN37 (Increasing Water-Use Efficiency for Food Production through Better Livestock Management - The Nile River Basin) set out to improve food security, reduce poverty and enhance agroecosystem health by managing livestock for more effective overall use of water. PN37 responded to water challenges posed by the CPWF, to the Nile Basin Initiative’s goal of better sharing benefits of water use, and to global need for the livestock sector to use agricultural water more efficiently and effectively. PN37 identified opportunities to increase livestock water productivity (LWP) in key production systems of Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda. In all countries and systems, the research revealed important opportunities to increase LWP through site-specific sets of interventions including improved feed sourcing, enhanced animal production, water conservation, and strategic provisioning of drinking water. It concludes that better integration of livestock, crop, water, and land management can sustainably enhance livelihoods of many poor people throughout the Nile Basin and beyond that across much of sub-Saharan Africa.
Improved planning of large dam operation: Using decision support systems to optimize livelihood benefits, safeguard health and protect the environment
(Report, 2009-12-15) McCartney, Matthew P.
Improved Planning of Large Dam Operation: Using Decision Support Systems to Optimize Livelihood Benefits, Safeguard Health and Protect the Environment. This project was undertaken with the aim of providing information to assist policy-makers, water resource managers and other interested stakeholders in the planning and management of large dams in Africa. The project highlighted the importance of considering environmental and social (including health) issues in dam planning and operation and illustrated how contemporary Decision Support Systems can be used to assist decision making processes. Key project findings relate to: i) the importance of stakeholder involvement in decision-making and how to enhance it; ii) the effectiveness of EIA follow-up; iii) the malaria implications of large dam construction; iv) the simulation of environmental impacts of large dam development and v) estimates of environmental flows. Guidelines on the use of DSS for key aspects of dam planning and operation have been developed.
Safeguarding public health concerns, livelihoods and productivity in wastewater irrigated urban and periurban vegetable farming
(Report, 2009-11-15) Abaidoo, Robert C.; Keraita, Bernard N.; Amoah, Philip; Drechsel, Pay; Bakang, J.A.; Kranjac-Berisavljevic, Gordana; Konradsen, Flemming; Agyekum, W.; Klutse, A.
The goal of the project was to develop integrated and user-oriented strategies to safeguard public health concerns without compromising livelihoods and land and water productivity in wastewater irrigated urban and peri-urban vegetable farming. In this project, assessment of land and water productivity in wastewater irrigated farming was done, levels of contamination on irrigation water and vegetables quantified at different levels along the food chain (farms, markets and consumer level) and appropriate lowcost risk reduction strategies identified and participatory testing done with stakeholders at farm and consumer levels. A large number of students were involved in the project, significantly building human capacity
Community-based fish culture in seasonal floodplains and irrigation systems
(Report, 2010-05-15) Sheriff, N.; Joffre, Olivier M.; Hong, M.C.; Barman, B.K.; Haque, A.B.M.M.; Rahman, F.; Zhu, J.; Brakel, Martin L. van; Valmonte-Santos, Rowena; Werthmann, C.; Kodio, A.; Nguyen, H. van; Russell, A.
The overall objective of the project was to enhance fish production from seasonally flooding areas and irrigation systems using a collective approach to fish culture. The project sought to examine the institutions necessary to support community-approaches to fish culture in a range of social, cultural and economic conditions, in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Vietnam and Mali. Technical designs for fish culture were also tested, building on successes achieved in earlier trials in Bangladesh, with an emphasis on adapting the model to develop locally appropriate culture systems. The project showed that the model is able to generate important benefits for communities in Bangladesh, China and Mali, and may have the potential to so in other countries. However, it was found that introducing fish culture into complex and dynamic institutional contexts, whereby open access waters lie over private property required a range of social, environmental and economic conditions to be in place for the adoption and continuance of the fish culture model.
Improved fisheries productivity and management in tropical reservoirs
(Report, 2009-05-30) Béné, Christophe; Abban, E.K.; Abdel-Rahman, S.H.; Ayyappan, S.; Brummett, R.E.; Dankwa, H.R.; Das, Anup K.; Habib, O.A.; Katiha, P.K.; Kolding, J.; Obirih-Opareh, N.; Ofori, J.K.; Shehata, M.; Shrivastava, N.P.; Vass, K.K.
“Improved fisheries productivity and management in tropical reservoirs” The objective of the project was to contribute to the current research on reservoirs enhancement fisheries in tropical countries through the implementation of a series of action-research activities implemented in two small reservoirs in the Indo-Gangetic basin in India, and two very large reservoirs in Africa, the Lake Nasser (Egypt), and the Volta Lake (Ghana). Socio-institutional analyses were also conducted in these reservoirs to improve our knowledge regarding some of the main social processes that influence reservoir productivity. Overall the results of the project stress that while the natural biophysical constraints of the reservoirs are important in defining the ecological production processes, it is the socio-economic settings characterizing the community/societies around the reservoirs that eventually shape the human production enhancement possibilities.
Sustaining inclusive collective action that links across economic and ecological scales in upper watersheds
(Report, 2009-08-15) Johnson, Nancy L.
The Sustaining inclusive Collective Action that Links across Economic and Ecological Scales in upper watersheds (Scales) project fits mainly in People and Water in Catchments Theme (Theme 2) of the CPWF. Its goal is to contribute to poverty alleviation in the upper watersheds of the tropics through improved collective action for watershed resource management within and across social-spatial scales. Scales worked though an integrated program of collaborative action research, development, and capacity building in key catchments of the Nile and Andes basins, as well as through synthesis and dissemination of lessons and approaches across basins, and conceptual modeling and analysis. The project was led by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), and involved 9 partner organizations
Improved water and land management in the Ethiopian highlands and its impact on downstream stakeholders dependent on the Blue Nile
(Report, 2010-05-15) Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Ahmed, A.A.; Haileselassie, A.; Yilma, Aster Denekew; Bashar, K.E.; McCartney, Matthew P.; Steenhuis, Tammo S.
Improved water and land management in the Ethiopian highlands and its impact on downstream stakeholders dependent on the Blue Nile – short title Upstream-Downstream in Blue Nile River project is one of the projects in the Nile Basin supported by the CPWF. It was implemented during from 2007 to 2009 through a partnership of 8 institutions. The Blue Nile is the major tributary of the Nile River, contributing about 62% of the Nile flow at Aswan. About two thirds of the area of this densely populated basin is in the highlands and hence receives fairly high levels of annual rainfall of 800 to 2,200 mm. However, the rainfall is erratic in terms of both spatial and temporal distribution with prolonged dry spells and drought often leading to crop failures. Currently, water resources are only marginally exploited in the upper basin but are much more developed in the downstream reaches. The population, located in the downstream part of the Blue Nile, is dependent on the river water for supplementary irrigation and energy production. Canal and reservoir siltation is a major problem, adding the burdens of poor riparian farmers. This project was envisaged to improve the scientific understanding of the land and water resources of the basin, and hypothesized that with increased scientific knowledge of the hydrological, watershed, and institutional processes of the Blue Nile in Ethiopia (Abbay), constraints to up-scaling adaptable best practices and promising technologies (technical, socio-economic, institutional) could be overcome, which will result in significant positive impacts for both upstream and downstream communities and state.
Payment for environmental services as a mechanism for promoting rural development in the upper watersheds of the tropics
(Report, 2009-10-15) Estrada, R.D.; Quintero, Marcela; Moreno, Alonso; Ravnborg, Helle Munk
The project “Payment for environmental services as a mechanism for promoting rural development in the upper watersheds of the tropics” aimed to investigate and analyze the environmental externalities as a driver to promote social investment and a new dynamic and harmonic development in the rural sector. The environmental externalities were primarily waterrelated, which were quantified for selected Andean pilot watersheds. In these sites, the areas with higher potential to generate positive environmental externalities (environmental services) were prioritized. Moreover, in the prioritized areas the social and economic benefits (including multiplier effects by additional employments and income generated) derived from proposed land use changes to deliver environmental services were also assessed. Through the development of this project, the research team developed a methodological approach for quantifying and valuating the environmental services. Based on early results, the project through its development partners, Contents CPWF Project Report Page | 3 make direct investments in the selected watersheds to test if financial or economic mechanisms (e.g. PES) were viable and feasible for providing environmental services under the existing socioeconomic context. Between 2005 and 2008, the socioeconomic conditions changed drastically in the Andean region posing new challenges for the design and development of these financial mechanisms. This influenced the potential of environmental services as drivers of new rural. The project learned that private profitability of delivering these services is related to the type of watershed, and in general is low though can produce very high social benefits. When investment on infrastructure measures is proposed for improving a water-related environmental externality, this is rarely profitable at private prices. In most cases the investment is recouped by agricultural producers that not necessarily are the ones capturing the highest share of derived benefits and those sectors that do, do not contribute to pay back the investment cost neither compensate for the associated environmental benefit.
Quesungual slash and mulch agroforestry system (QSMAS): Improving crop water productivity, food security and resource quality in the sub-humid tropics
(Report, 2009-06-15) Castro, A.; Rivera, M.; Ferreira, Oscar; Pavon, Jellin; García, E.; Amézquita Collazos, Edgar; Ayarza, Miguel Angel; Barrios, E.; Rondón, Marco Antonio; Pauli, N.; Baltodano, Maria Eugenia; Mendoza, B.; Welchez, L.A.; Rao, Idupulapati M.
The knowledge and principles generated by CPWF-PN15 confirm that QSMAS can be a model production system for implementing conservation agriculture to achieve food security and sustainable development in drought-prone areas of hillsides in the sub-humid tropics, while providing ecosystem services in the face of land degradation and climate change. As an adoptable option to replace the slash and burn traditional system, QSMAS can improve smallholder livelihoods through eco-efficient use and conservation of natural resources. Participatory validation activities suggest that the conservation agriculture principles embedded in QSMAS can be readily accepted by resource- poor farmers and local authorities in similar agroecosystems.

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