Importance of irrigated agriculture to the Ethiopian economy: capturing the direct net benefits of irrigation


Book Description

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.




Water resources and irrigation development in Ethiopia


Book Description

Irrigation programs / Water use / Reservoirs / Lakes / River basins / Water potential / Water resources




Evaluation of current and future water resources development in the Lake Tana Basin, Ethiopia


Book Description

Lake Tana, located in the headwaters of the Blue Nile, is valuable for many people including the communities who live around the lakeshore and those who live immediately downstream. The area has been identified as a region for hydropower and irrigation development, vital for economic growth in Ethiopia. A multidisciplinary study was conducted to assess the possible impacts of this development. This study found that current development has benefited some local people but adversely affected others. Future development will exacerbate pressure on the lake. Hard choices must be made about how the water is best utilized. It is important that all stakeholders, including local people, are involved in the decision-making process.




Implementing Integrated River Basin Management


Book Description

The report focuses on the establishment of the Red River Basin Organization (RRBO) in Vietnam, but expands its analysis to the wider transformations of the water sector that impinge on the formation and effectiveness of this organization. A few reflections on the policy process are drawn from this analysis, albeit in a tentative form given the relatively limited period of time considered here. The report shows that the promotion of IWRM icons such as RBOs by donors has been quite disconnected from the existing institutional framework. However, the establishment of RBOs might eventually strengthen a better separation of operation and regulation roles. Institutional change is shown to result from the interaction between endogenous processes and external pressures, in ways that are barely predictable.




Bailout with white revolution or sink deeper?: groundwater depletion and impacts in the Moga District of Punjab, India


Book Description

Moga District in Punjab, India, is a microcosm of the twin story of irrigation-induced growth and stress. The groundwater consumptive water use in agriculture exceeds the recharge by a substantial margin. Rice production contributes to a major part of this difference. The groundwater depletion is so critical that diversifying agriculture is the only way forward for sustainable agricultural growth. Reducing the rice area and intensifying milk production will be a win-win situation for both the farmers and the area reeling with a groundwater crisis.




Mapping drought patterns and impacts: a global perspective


Book Description

The study examines the global pattern and impacts of droughts through mapping several drought-related characteristics - either at a country level or at regular grid scales. It appears that arid and semi-arid areas also tend to have a higher probability of drought occurrence. It is illustrated that the African continent is lagging behind the rest of the world on many indicators related to drought-preparedness and that agricultural economies, overall, are much more vulnerable to adverse societal impacts of meteorological droughts. The study also examines the ability of various countries to satisfy their water needs during droughts using storage-related indices.




Adaptive water resource management in the South Indian Lower Bhavani Project Command Area


Book Description

This report explores the theory and practice of Adaptive Water Management (AWM) based on a detailed field study in the Lower Bhavani Project (LBP) in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. A five-step framework is used to analyze the extent to which AWM is practiced and how it could be improved. The analysis shows that the LBP system has increasingly fulfilled the criteria of a complex adaptive system over the years. The main uncertainty factor, rainfall variability, has been considered in a stepwise way during the system change cycles and has been included in the LBP system design. The study shows that in spite of contending with an imperfect irrigation system design and intense competition for water resources, water resource managers and farmers are able to adapt and continue to reap benefits from a productive agricultural system.




Inventory of water storage types in the Blue Nile and Volta River Basins


Book Description

For agriculture there is a continuum of water storage options, ranging from groundwater aquifers, soil water, natural wetlands and small ponds and tanks to large reservoirs. In any situation each of these has its own niche in terms of technical feasibility, socioeconomic sustainability and impact on public health and the environment. Planning storage requires insight into impending needs and also a good understanding of what already exists and what was, and was not, successful, in the past. This report provides an inventory of existing and prospective water storage in the Ghanaian Volta and the Ethiopian Blue Nile basins. It provides as much quantitative data as possible, but highlights both the dearth of readily available information and the lack of integrated planning of storage in both basins. Recommendations are made for improved planning in the future.




Environment and Society in Ethiopia


Book Description

Ethiopia is facing environmental and poverty challenges, and urgently needs effective management of its environmental resources. Much of the Ethiopian landscape has been significantly altered and reshaped by centuries of human activities, and three-quarters of the rural population is living on degraded land. Over the past two decades the country has seen rapid economic and population growth and unparalleled land use change. This book explores the challenges of sustaining the resource base while fuelling the economy and providing for a growing population that is greatly dependent on natural resources for income and livelihoods. Adopting a political ecology perspective, this book comprehensively examines human impacts on the environment in Ethiopia, defining the environment both in terms of the quantity and quality of renewable and non-renewable natural resources. With high levels of economic production and consumption also come unintended side effects: waste discharges, emissions of pollutants, and industrial effluents. These pollutants can degrade the quality of water, air, land, and forests as well as harm the health of people, animals, and other living organisms if untreated or disposed of improperly. This book demonstrates how the relationship between society and environment is inherently and delicately interwoven, providing an account of Ethiopia’s current environment and natural resource base and future considerations for environmentally sustainable development.




Irrigated Agriculture in Egypt


Book Description

This book targets the issue of water scarcity in Egypt as a typical example of the world water crisis. Today, the available water resource is facing its limit because of rapid increase in water demand as a result of population growth and changes in peoples’ life-style. The basic idea to solve the problem of water scarcity is that the irrigation sector, the biggest user of water, should increase water use efficiency. However, the real problem is how this can be achieved in view of the crucial need for water in this sector. This book addresses this challenge through case studies from the Nile delta in Egypt. The water problem in the Nile delta, the major source for water in Egypt, is discussed in this book from all its various aspects. This book covers the situation before and after the advent of the Aswan High Dam, so that the reader understands the entire development. Another special feature are the extensive and scientific descriptions of contemporary topics in water and agriculture, especially from the viewpoint of water saving and sustainability. These descriptions are based on field experiments and surveys in a six-year international research project. Topics of this book are local, but their implications are global.