N3: Rainwater management in the Ethiopian highlands: Mapping, targeting and scaling out the interventions
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/2299
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Item Determinants of adoption of rainwater management technologies among farm households in the Nile River Basin(Report, 2013) Gebregziabher, Gebrehaweria; Rebelo, Lisa-Maria; Notenbaert, An Maria Omer; Ergano, Kebebe; Abebe, YeneneshAgriculture is the main sector of the Ethiopian economy. Uneven distribution of rainfall, droughts and high rainfall intensities contribute to low agricultural productivity and high levels of food insecurity. High population growth, the cultivation of steep and marginal lands, poor land management practices and lack of effective rainwater management (RWM) strategies aggravate the situation. Studies show that the adoption of RWM technologies is low and is influenced by several factors. This study assesses the patterns and the factors that influence farm household adoption of RWM technologies. Unlike previous studies which typically examined a single technology rather than the interdependence between technologies, the conceptual framework of this study is based on the premise that farmers are more likely to adopt a combination of promising RWM technologies. The need to consider this interdependence is one of the many recommendations made by this study to promote the adoption of RWM technologies.Item Prioritizing rainwater management strategies in the Blue Nile basin(Book Chapter, 2013-11-01) Notenbaert, An Maria Omer; Pfeifer, Catherine; MacAlister, C.; Abebe, Yenenesh; Omolo, Abisalom; Rebelo, Lisa-MariaItem Assessment of farmers’ rainwater management technology adoption in the Blue Nile basin(Book Chapter, 2013-11-01) Gebregziabher, Gebrehaweria; Rebelo, Lisa-Maria; Notenbaert, An Maria Omer; Abebe, Yenenesh; Ergano, Kebebe; Leta, GerbaAgricultural productivity in Ethiopian highlands is constrained mainly by high climate variability. Although use of soil and water conservation technologies is recognized as a key strategy to improve agricultural productivity, adoption of technologies has been very low as farmers consider a variety of factors in their adoption decision. This study assesses the adoption pattern of interrelated rainwater management technologies and investigates factors that influence farm household adoption and scaling-up of rainwater management technologies and draws recommendations for policy. Our results show that rainwater management technologies are interdependent to each other implying that technology adoption decisions need to capture the spillover effect on the adoption of other technologies and have follow a multi-dimensional approach. Moreover, our results suggest that instead of promoting blanket recommendations, it is important to understand the socio-economic, demographic characteristics and biophysical suitability of the rainwater management technologies. Although impact of gender is likely technology-specific and generalization is not possible, our result indicates that male-headed households have a comparative advantage in rainwater management technologies adoption in the Nile Basin and suggests the need to address the constraints of women farmers to give them an opportunity to actively participate in rural economic activities.Item Water investment domains for sustainable agricultural development in the Blue Nile basin(Book Chapter, 2013-11-01) Notenbaert, An Maria Omer; Heinke, J.; Lannerstad, Mats; Rebelo, Lisa-Maria; Omolo, AbisalomIn the Blue Nile basin, crop cultivation is predominantly rainfed and water availability is highly variable across both space and time. As a result, it often constitutes a limiting factor for reaching full agricultural potential in the region. While one third of the basin is estimated to have no soil moisture limitations, the remaining two thirds are crop water constrained in various ways. Analysis shows that across approximately 40% of the basin available soil moisture is utilized sub-optimally with smart management and crop water limitations can be alleviated. In contrast, across a further 25% of the basin, water deficits strongly limit plant growth. While rainfed agriculture is still possible in some of these areas, appropriate management is even more important. A great deal of variation also exists in terms of market access for agricultural inputs and produce. Travel time to markets in the basin can be up to 12 hours. One’s distance to market centres influences the accessibility of farm inputs such as fertilizers, improved seeds and veterinary services. Inaccessibility vs. accessibility to population dense areas also determines the potential for agricultural production and the marketing of crops and livestock products, in particular for perishable produce. To capture the complexity and heterogeneity regarding both crop water limitations and agricultural market access, this study combines information on rainwater management potential and market proximity to map so-called water investment domains (WID). Context-specific recommendations for each of the domains are provided. In the short term, the results point to a need for agricultural produce strategies that are spatially differentiated and in the longer term for investment in infrastructure in order to enable full utilization of the agricultural potential across the entire basin. The results are intended to guide policymakers and other rural development actors in the identification of appropriate investment decisions and for improved planning of rural development strategies. Thus, the study aligns to the ‘water-centred agricultural growth’ strategy adopted by the Ethiopian Government, developed in response to the poverty and food security challenges faced in the country. The approach is widely applicable, easily replicable and can be used to inform decision-makers beyond the Blue Nile basin.Item Integrated innovations and recommendation domains: Paradigm for developing, scaling-out, and targeting rainwater management innovations(Journal Article, 2012-04) Getnet, Kindie; MacAlister, C.The technical, economic, and ecological aspects of rainwater management are interlinked and spatially bounded. Developing, scaling-out, and targeting rainwater management innovations as adaptive strategies to upgrade rainfed agriculture are therefore preferably best approached through integrated innovations and recommendation domains as a paradigm. At the level of scenario development, the integrated innovations paradigm helps to understand and address integrity between technical, economic, and ecological issues that affect technology adoption, impact, and sustained use. At the level of scaling-out and targeting, recommendation domains provide the spatial dimension that embraces the economic, institutional, biophysical, and agro-ecological conditions in which integrated rainwater management innovations can be accommodated to address heterogeneity. This paper reviews Ethiopia's experience in rainwater management (adoption, performance, and impact) to get insights about the proposed paradigm and the factors entering the paradigm. The findings suggest that integrated innovations and the conditions of success embraced in a recommendation domain provide the necessary and sufficient conditions for a successful rainwater management intervention at a landscape level.Item An open source GIS tool to plan context-specific rainwater management strategies for Ethiopia(Brief, 2013-10-30) Notenbaert, An Maria Omer; Pfeifer, Catherine; Swaans, Cornelis P.M.Item Water investment domains for sustainable agricultural development in the Blue Nile basin(Poster, 2013-07-09) Notenbaert, An Maria Omer; Heinke, J.; Lannerstad, Mats; Rebelo, Lisa-Maria; Omolo, AbisalomItem Prioritizing rainwater management strategies in the Blue Nile basin(Presentation, 2013-07-09) Notenbaert, An Maria Omer; Pfeifer, Catherine; MacAlister, C.; Abebe, Yenenesh; Omolo, Abisalom; Rebelo, Lisa-MariaItem Assessment of farmers’ adoption of rainwater management technology in the Blue Nile Basin(Presentation, 2013-07-09) Gebregziabher, Gebrehaweria; Rebelo, Lisa-Maria; Notenbaert, An Maria Omer; Abebe, Yenenesh; Ergano, Kebebe; Leta, GerbaItem The challenge of managing water (and land) in the Ethiopian highlands (Abbay basin)(Presentation, 2013-06-03) Pfeifer, CatherineItem Matching land and water interventions with community needs: Report of community focus group discussions in four watersheds in Ethiopia(Report, 2012-12-31) Pfeifer, CatherineItem The ‘happy strategies’ game: Matching land and water interventions with community and landscape needs(Report, 2012-12-10) Pfeifer, Catherine; Notenbaert, An Maria Omer; Ballantyne, Peter G.Item What are the main drivers behind Ethiopian farmers soil and water conservations practices?(Report, 2012) Defourny, N.Item Similarity analysis for the Blue Nile Basin in the Ethiopian highlands(Report, 2012-03-30) Pfeifer, Catherine; Notenbaert, An Maria Omer; Omolo, AbisalomUp until today, rainwater management practices have been promoted regardless of site-specific biophysical characteristics and regardless of the socio-economic and institutional environment. Therefore, low adoption rates and high disadoption rates of rainwater management practices are observed. In order to promote rainwater management more successfully, a paradigm change towards promotion of location-specific interventions is needed. Beyond biophysical suitability, successful implementation crucially depends on farmers’ willingness to adopt a practice. Therefore, the socio-economic and institutional environment must be taken into account in a spatially explicit way. A first step towards the promotion of site-specific rainwater management requires an understanding of which sites present similar biophysical, socio-economic and institutional characteristics within a basin. The objective of this report is twofold. Firstly, it aims at presenting the available spatial data for the Blue Nile Basin in the Ethiopian highlands. Secondly, it develops a methodology that allows identifying locations within a landscape that have similar biophysical, infrastructure, socio-economics, and governance characteristics relevant to rainwater management.Item Rainwater management interventions—The 'happy strategies' game(Video, 2011-11-23) Duncan, Alan J.One project of the Nile Basin Development Challenge (http://nilebdc.org) aims to match land and water 'practices' and interventions to the needs of specific landscapes. In 2011, we experimented with a game - modeled on the 'happy families' childrens' game - to discuss the challenges involved. In this video, Alan Duncan (ILRI) and other game members explain the results of a game played at the 3rd International Forum on Water and Food in November 2011. The game used a fictional landscape derived from real NBDC sites in Ethiopia.Item Rainwater management and system productivity(Presentation, 2011-10-05) Notenbaert, An Maria OmerItem Catherine Pfeifer (CPWF) explains the importance of Spatial Analysis and Modelling(Audio, 2011-11-14) Pfeifer, CatherineDuring the International Forum on Water and Food, South Africa, 14-17 November 2011, Catherine Pfeifer explains the importance of using Spatial Analysis and Modelling with the research work of the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and FoodItem Challenges for scaling out and scaling up rainwater management practices(Presentation, 2011-10-05) Notenbaert, An Maria OmerItem Mapping rainwater management strategies at landscape scale(Poster, 2011-10-05) Pfeifer, Catherine; Notenbaert, An Maria OmerItem Integrated rain water management strategies in the Blue Nile Basin of the Ethiopian Highlands(Presentation, 2011-02-10) Zamdin, B.B.; McCartney, Matthew P.; Sharma, Bharat R.; Ogunwole, J.; Leta, Gerba; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele