CPWF Nile BDC outputs

Rainwater management for resilient livelihoods: Integrated termite management helps restore East African rangelands

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Rainwater management for resilient livelihoods: Integrated termite management helps restore East African rangelands Swaans, K.; Peden, D.

A brief on Innovation Platforms in the Nile Basin Development Challenge (NBDC)

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

A brief on Innovation Platforms in the Nile Basin Development Challenge (NBDC) Cullen, B.; Lema, Z.; Adie, A.; Lemenih, M.

Assessment of agro-ecology, and management practices effect on crop water productivity of major crops at Dapo Watershed, East Wollega Zone, Oromia Regional State

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Assessment of agro-ecology, and management practices effect on crop water productivity of major crops at Dapo Watershed, East Wollega Zone, Oromia Regional State Bane, N. In Ethiopia food production lags behind while population growth increase, poor management of Soil and Water, poor agronomic practices and environmental degradation are wide spread. In the study area, agriculture depends on rain water; however rain water is not evenly distributed spatially and temporally. The general objective of the study is to assess agro-ecology, and crop management practices effect on crop water productivity of major crops. The specific objectives of the study are: - To identify agro-ecologies of the study area according to local classification system, to map land use type of the rainy season, to identify the crop management practices and to evaluate crop water productivity of major crops across agro-ecologies of the study area. The methods used for the study are community based survey after brief visit of five days then questioners were prepared to assess the land use of the district, the common rain water management practices, agronomic practices that the farmers use. Field measurement and statistical methods were used to measure physical and economic crop water productivity; different models like Crop Wat.8 and New loc-clim-1.10 were used to assess the crop water requirement and climate of the area. The result shows that 66% of the watershed is not cultivated while 34% is cultivated. According to local classification system there are three agro ecology zones (Upper zone, Middle Zone and Lower Zone). Middle zone is more productive than lower zone and Upper zone agro ecologies, maize (Zea mays) and teff (Eragrostis teff) are more productive crops while sesame and niger seed are less productive both physically and economically, improved varieties are more productive than local varieties, maximum tillage frequency in the area is four, increase in tillage frequency increased productivity, and precursor crops affect crop water productivity. Physical and economic crop water productivity depends on agro ecology, crop type, crop variety, tillage frequency and precursor crops. So less productive agro ecologies need to be managed properly, maize and tef need to be cultivated to get better economic value, improved crop varieties need to be cultivated to get more physical and economic productivity, to some extent increase in tillage frequency is needed and precursor crops need consideration before planting.

Assessment of effect of management practices and agro-ecology on water productivity of major crops in Meja Watershed, Jeldu District, Oromia Region, Ethiopia

Sat, 15 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Assessment of effect of management practices and agro-ecology on water productivity of major crops in Meja Watershed, Jeldu District, Oromia Region, Ethiopia Asfaw, A. Low water use efficiency is a challenge to crop production in Sub-Sahara African countries. Water is getting continuously scarce due to increased demand and shrinking availability induced mainly by climate change. As agriculture is the major consumer of water, improving crop water productivity is among the ways of overcoming the challenge. Crop production under rainfed system is the major livelihood strategy for smallholder farmers in Ethiopia. The major objective of this study is, therefore, to estimate water productivity of major crops grown under rainfed system in Meja watershed as influenced by management practices and local agro-ecology. The research work mainly depends upon house hold survey and field measurement conducted from July 2011 to February 2012. Agronomic practices used for major crops were monitored on randomly selected farmers’ fields, and biomass and grain yield were determined at harvest. Crop water requirement was simulated by CROPWAT model from which the average consumptive water use (m3) by each crop was calculated. In a mixed crop livestock farming system, farmers obtain benefit not only from grain but also from straw (primarily as animal feed). In line with this demand, the average biomass water productivity magnitudes for barley (Hordeum vulgare), wheat (Triticum Vulgare), teff (Eragrostis tef), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), potato (Solanum tuberosum) and maize (Zea mays) were found to be 3.57, 4.82, 2.31, 6.45, 14.61 and 6.68kg/m3, respectively while the corresponding grain water productivity were 1.32, 1.42, 0.65, 0.98, 14.25 and 1.42kg/m3 in that order. Based on the local market values of the crops’ biomass, economic water productivity of barley, wheat, teff, sorghum, potato and maize were determined to be 10.09, 10.84, 8.45, 8.05, 28.82 and 10.18 Birr/m3, respectively. The mean biomass water productivity showed significant variation across the three local agro-ecological zones due to variations in seeding rate, tillage frequency, fertilizer rates and other agronomic practices. Hence, farmers can enhance economic benefit from the land and water resources they are endowed with rainfed by using improved technologies that could enhance grain and biomass yield. Moreover, implementation of integrated crop-soil-water management strategy is crucial to bring sustainable agricultural production and ensure food security in the long run. The correlation test between some management practices and major crops water productivity also indicated no significance but tended to correlate indicating a need to have detailed further study.

Characteristics and onsite costs of the sediment lost by runoff from Dapo and Chekorsa Watersheds, Digga District

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Characteristics and onsite costs of the sediment lost by runoff from Dapo and Chekorsa Watersheds, Digga District Wudneh, A. This study conducted in two sub catchments of the Abay Basin identified the quantity and quality of sediment loss and its origin though most studies conducted in Ethiopia focus on quantification of soil loss. Also, the onsite economic cost in terms of yield reduction was estimated taking maize (Zea mays) as representative crop. For this purpose, two monitoring stations were selected at the outlet of the two watersheds. Depth integrated runoff samples were collected during the rainy season in 2011 while discharge of the Rivers was estimated from staff gauge-discharge relationship. Daily runoff samples were bulked for ten consecutive days and filtered to separate the sediment from the water. The water and sediment were subsampled for oven dry to determine sediment concentration and for chemical analysis to determine the Nitrogen and Phosphorus content at Ambo University laboratory. The difference in sediment concentration between the two Rivers was statistically significant. Regression analysis between that suspended sediment concentration is related to discharge for Dapo River (R2=0.7) but this relation was very weak for Chekorsa River (R2=0.286). The concentration of the plant nutrients considered was greater in the sediment delivered to the outlet than that of the original surface soil. The concentration of available P in the sediment was 2.7 to 9 times its concentration in surface soil from Dapo river catchment and Chekorsa river catchment, respectively. The soil nutrients in the sediment and surface soil of the lower and upper catchment were used to identify sediment source areas using a quantitative composite sediment fingerprinting method with 87% of source type correctly classified. The contribution of the upper stream part to the sediment load of River Dapo was greater than its downstream part, with values ranging from 37% to 67% using Total Kjeldal Nitrogen, and 44% and 56% using organic carbon to nitrogen ratio but in average 56% to 63%. Mean lost of available nitrogen and phosphorus was 1.6+0.14 and 0.4+0.06, and 1.5+0.17 and1.1+0.13 in Kg per decade from Chekorsa and Dapo River, respectively. As a result, the estimated onsite cost to farmers due to loss of nitrogen and phosphorus throughout the study period was about 3321 and 4975 Birr ha-1 for Dapo, and 3545 and 2324 Birr ha-1 for Chekorsa catchments in that order. The study therefore helps to understand the processes and cause of nutrient loss at a micro watershed level and to implement targeted management interventions.

Characterization and cost estimation of erosion in Abay basin: Case study on Meja watershed

Sat, 15 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Characterization and cost estimation of erosion in Abay basin: Case study on Meja watershed Desalegn, B. In Ethiopia, soil erosion during the rainy season constitutes a sever threat to the national economy. The study site, head of the Abay basin is among the heavily affected areas, which is a peril for the crop water productivity. Most studies conducted in the country are focused on quantification of sediment and lack of specific information about temporal and spatial variability of sediment and its associated plant nutrients loss. This study was, therefore undertaken to quantify and characterize sediment and runoff water along with calculating the onsite economic cost of erosion in terms of its associated loss of plant nutrients. To estimate plant nutrient and sediment concentration, depth integrated runoff samplings were made at three monitoring stations in which two from sub catchments and one at the outlet of the watershed. The ten consecutive day samples were bulked on decade basis for each station and then both physical and chemical parameters of the sediment and runoff samples were analyzed at Ambo University. The cost of erosion in the watershed was calculated based on Productivity change approach focusing on available plant nutrients of N and P losses. The average suspended sediment concentration during the rainy season was 3.0+1.1, 2.2+1.3 and 1.4+ 0.9 g L-1 in which the areaspecific sediment yield was ranges from 74 t km-2, 248 t km-2 and 604 t km-2at Melka, Galesssa and Kollu monitoring stations respectively. The result revealed that both sediment and nutrient concentrations were highly variable both in space and time; in which lower concentration occurred towards the end of the rainy season than at the beginning in each station. Based on the complex interaction of multiple natural and anthropogenic factors; the Ridge of Meja River was the most critical source areas for the loss of sediment and associated plant nutrients in the watershed during the rainy period. The correlation matrix between erosion process parameters revealed that both sediment texture and discharge had strongly significant correlated with sediment and nutrient losses. Nutrients loss associated with the sediment and runoff water was a challenge for the productivity and survival of Meja watershed as depicted by an estimated cost on farmer’s 595, 510 and 2475 birr/ha from the sub catchments of Melka, Kollu and Galessa stations respectively due to the loss of major crop nutrients of Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P) only in one rainy season.

Sustainable agricultural intensification and its role on the climate resilient green economy initiative in Ethiopia: Report of the 3rd national platform meeting on land and water management in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, 23−24 July 2012

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Sustainable agricultural intensification and its role on the climate resilient green economy initiative in Ethiopia: Report of the 3rd national platform meeting on land and water management in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, 23−24 July 2012 Mekonnen, K.; Amede, T.; Duncan, A.J.; Gebrekirstos, A.

Rhetoric versus realities: A diagnosis of rainwater management development processes in the Blue Nile Basin of Ethiopia

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Rhetoric versus realities: A diagnosis of rainwater management development processes in the Blue Nile Basin of Ethiopia Ludi, E.; Belay, A.; Duncan, A.; Snyder, K.; Tucker, J.; Cullen, B.; Belissa, M.; Oljira, T.; Teferi, A.; Nigussie, Z.; Deresse, A.; Debela, M.; Chanie, Y.; Lule, D.; Samuel, D.; Lema, Z.; Berhanu, A.; Merrey, D.J.