Hostname: page-component-7dd5485656-wjfd9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-10-30T04:14:23.809Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

ANALYSIS OF GAPS AND POSSIBLE INTERVENTIONS FOR IMPROVING WATER PRODUCTIVITY IN CROP LIVESTOCK SYSTEMS OF ETHIOPIA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 January 2011

KATRIEN DESCHEEMAEKER ,
TILAHUN AMEDE ,
AMARE HAILESLASSIE  and
DEBORAH BOSSIO
KATRIEN DESCHEEMAEKER*
Affiliation:
International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Subregional Office for the Nile Basin and East Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. c/o ILRI-Ethiopia, P.O. Box 5689 International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), P.O. Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
TILAHUN AMEDE
Affiliation:
International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Subregional Office for the Nile Basin and East Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. c/o ILRI-Ethiopia, P.O. Box 5689 International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), P.O. Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
AMARE HAILESLASSIE
Affiliation:
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)- ICRISAT, Patancheru, AP 502 234, India
DEBORAH BOSSIO
Affiliation:
International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Subregional Office for the Nile Basin and East Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. c/o ILRI-Ethiopia, P.O. Box 5689
*
§Corresponding author: katrien.descheemaeker@csiro.au
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Low crop and livestock productivities in the mixed farming systems of Ethiopia hamper efforts to meet the increasing food demands from a stressed natural resource base. Important reasons for the low agricultural productivity are water scarcity and poor spatial and temporal rainfall distribution. Although improving agricultural water productivity would safeguard people's livelihoods and the environment, the lack of information on best bet interventions and strategies to achieve this impedes targeted decision making. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct an ex-ante evaluation of the potential effect of selected interventions on livestock water productivity (LWP) in mixed crop-livestock systems. Baseline data were collected from a water scarce area in the Ethiopian highlands. An analysis of productivity gaps and stakeholder interviews helped to identify promising interventions, which were categorized in three groups related to feed, water and animal management. A spreadsheet model was developed that was composed of the various production components of the farming system, their interactions and influencing factors. By linking water use for feed production with livestock products through the energy supplied by the feeds, the potential effect of interventions on LWP could be simulated. The evaluation showed that the various interventions targeting feed, water and animal management could result in LWP improvements ranging from 4 to 94%. Feed and energy water productivity increased particularly with interventions like fertilizer application, and the introduction of fodder trees, concentrates, improved food-feed crops, and soil and water conservation measures. Combining the different interventions led to a stronger improvement than any of the single interventions. The results of the evaluation can inform policy-makers and development actors on which best bets to promote and invest in.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 47 , Issue S1: Improving Water Productivity of Crop-Livestock Systems in Drought-prone Regions , January 2011 , pp. 21 - 38
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

REFERENCES

Ahmed, M. A. M., Ehui, S. and Assefa, Y. (2004). Dairy development in Ethiopia. EPTD Discussion Paper No. 123. Environment and Production Technology Division, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC, USA.Google Scholar
Alemayehu, M., Yohannes, F. and Dubale, P. (2006). Effect of indigenous stone bunding (Kab) on crop yield at Mesobit-Gedeba, North Shoa, Ethiopia. Land Degradation and Development 17: 45–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allen, R. G., Pereira, L. S., Raes, D. and Smith, M. (1998). Crop evapotranspiration – Guidelines for computing crop water requirements. FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper 56. FAO: Rome.Google Scholar
Amede, T., Descheemaeker, K., Peden, D. and van Rooyen, A. (2009a). Harnessing benefits from improved livestock water productivity in crop-livestock systems of sub-Saharan Africa: synthesis. The Rangeland Journal 31: 169–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Amede, T., Geheb, K. and Douthwaite, B. (2009b). Enabling the uptake of livestock-water productivity interventions in the crop-livestock systems of sub-Saharan Africa. The Rangeland Journal 31: 223–230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ARC (Agricultural Research Council) (1980). The Nutrient Requirements of Ruminant Livestock. Slough, UK: Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau.Google Scholar
Bebe, O., Udo, H. M. J., Rowlands, G. J. and Thorpe, W. (2003). Smallholder dairy systems in the Kenya highlands: cattle population dynamics under increasing intensification. Livestock Production Science 82: 211–221.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benin, S., Ehui, S. and Pender, J. (2006). Policies for livestock development in the Ethiopian Highlands. In Strategies for Sustainable Land Management in the East African Highlands, 141–164 (Eds Pender, J., Place, F., Ehui, S.). Washington, DC: IFPR.Google Scholar
Blümmel, M., Samad, M., Singh, O. P. and Amede, T. (2009). Opportunities and limitations of food–feed crops for livestock feeding and implications for livestock–water productivity. The Rangeland Journal 31: 207–212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bouman, B. (2007). A conceptual framework for the improvement of crop water productivity at different spatial scales. Agricultural Systems 93: 43–60CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CSA (Central Statistics Agency of Ethiopia) (2008). Area and production of crops. Agricultural sample survey 2007/2008. Statistical Bulletin 417. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Google Scholar
Debelle, T., Bogale, T., Negassa, W., Wogayehu, T., Liben, M., Mesfin, T., Mekonen, B. and Mazengia, W. (2002). A review of fertilizer management research on maize in Ethiopia. In Enhancing the Contribution of Maize to Food Security in Ethiopia. Proceedings of the Second National Maize Workshop of Ethiopia, 12–16 November 2001, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, Mexico.Google Scholar
Debrah, S. and Anteneh, B. (1991). Dairy marketing in Ethiopia: Markets of first sale and producers' marketing patterns. ILCA Research Report No.19. International Livestock Centre for Africa, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaGoogle Scholar
Dejene, M., Bediye, S., Kehaliw, A., Kitaw, G. and Nesha, K. (2009). On-farm evaluation of lactating crossbred (Bos taurus × Bos indicus) dairy cows fed a basal diet of urea treated teff (Eragrostis tef) straw supplemented with escape protein source during the dry season in crop-livestock production system of north Shoa, Ethiopia. Livestock Research for Rural Development 21, Article no. 61. Available from www.lrrd.org/lrrd21/5/deje21061.htm [Accessed 13 September 2010].Google Scholar
Descheemaeker, K., Amede, T. and Haileslassie, A. (2010). Improving water productivity in mixed crop-livestock farming systems of sub-Saharan Africa. Agricultural Water Management 97: 579–586.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Descheemaeker, K., Mapedza, E., Amede, T. and Ayalneh, W. (2010). Effects of integrated watershed management on livestock water productivity in water scarce areas in Ethiopia. Journal of Physics and Chemistry of the Earth doi:10.1016/j.pce.2010.06.006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Desta, K. B. (2002). Analyses of dairy cattle breeding practices in selected areas of Ethiopia. PhD dissertation. Landwirtschaft-Gärtenerischen Fakultät, Humboldt-Universität, Berlin, Germany.Google Scholar
FAOSTAT (2009). FAO statistical database. Available from http://faostat.fao.org/default.aspx [Accessed 11 December 2009].Google Scholar
Faurès, J.-M. and Santini, G. (2008). Water and the rural poor. Interventions for improving livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa. Rome: FAO.Google Scholar
Gutteridge, R. C. and Shelton, H. M. (1994). Forage Tree Legumes in Tropical Agriculture. Wallingford, UK: CAB Intemational.Google Scholar
Haileslassie, A., Peden, D., Gebreselassie, S., Amede, T. and Descheemaeker, K. (2009). Livestock water productivity in mixed crop–livestock farming systems of the Blue Nile basin: Assessing variability and prospects for improvement. Agricultural Systems 102: 33–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hussen, K., Tegegne, A., Yousuf, M. and Gebremedhin, B. (2008). Cow and camel milk production and marketing in agro-pastoral and mixed crop-livestock systems in Ethiopia. In Proceedings of Tropentag 2008, 7–9 October, 2008, University of Hohenheim, Germany.Google Scholar
Kebreab, Smith, T., Tanner, J. and Osuji, P. (2005). Review of undernutrition in smallholder ruminant production systems in the tropics. In Coping with Feed Scarcity in Smallholder Livestock Systems in Developing Countries. Animal Sciences Group, 3–94 (Eds Ayantunde, A.A., Fernández-Rivera, S. and McCrabb, G.) Wageningen UR, Wageningen, The Netherlands, University of Reading, Reading, UK, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland, and International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya.Google Scholar
King, J. M. (1983). Livestock water needs in pastoral Africa in relation to climate and forage. ILCA Research Report 7. International Livestock Centre for Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Google Scholar
Koralagama, K. D. N., Mould, F. L., Fernandez-Rivera, S. and Hanson, J. (2008). The effect of supplementing maize stover with cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) haulms on the intake and growth performance of Ethiopian sheep. Animal 2: 954–961.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lenné, J.; Fernandez-Rivera, S. and Blümmel, M. (2003). Approaches to improve the utilization of food-feed crops – synthesis. Field Crops Research 84: 213–222.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MAFF (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food) (1975). Energy allowances and feeding systems for ruminants. Technical Bulletin 33. HMSO, London, UK.Google Scholar
Mamo, T., Erkossa, T. and Tulema, B. (2000). Soil fertility research on tef in some parts of Ethiopia. In Narrowing the Rift, Tef research and development. Proceedings of an International Workshop on Tef Genetics and Improvement, 16–19 October, 2000, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Google Scholar
McHugh, O. V. (2006). Integrated water resources assessment and management in a drought-prone watershed in the Ethiopian highlands. PhD dissertation, Cornell University, Cornell, USA.Google Scholar
Mekonnen, S., Descheemaeker, K., Tolera, A. and Amede, T. (2010). Livestock water productivity categories in a water stressed environment in northern Ethiopia. Experimental Agriculture 46: Suppl.00–00.Google Scholar
Melaku, S., Peters, L. J. and Tegegne, A. (2004). Effects of supplementation with foliages of selected multipurpose trees, their mixtures or wheat bran on feed intake, plasma enzyme activities, live weight and scrotal circumference gains in Menz sheep. Livestock Production Science 89: 253–264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Molden, D., Oweis, T., Steduto, P., Bindrban, P., Hanjra, M. A. and Kijne, J. (2010). Improving agricultural water productivity: Between optimism and caution. Agricultural Water Management 97: 528–535.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MoARD (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) (2008). Crop variety register, Issue No 11. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Google Scholar
Negassa, A. and Jabbar, M. (2008). Livestock ownership, commercial off-take rates and their determinants in Ethiopia. ILRI Research Report 9. International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya.Google Scholar
Otte, M. J. and Chilonda, P. (2002). Cattle and small ruminant production systems in sub-Saharan Africa – A systematic Review. Rome: FAO.Google Scholar
Peden, D., Tadesse, G. and Misra, A. (2007). Water and livestock for human development. In Water for Food, Water for Life: A Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture, 485–514. London: Earthscan, and Colombo: International Water Management Institute.Google Scholar
Raes, D., Geerts, S., Kipkorir, E., Wellens, J. and Sahli, A. (2006). Simulation of yield decline as a result of water stress with a robust soil water balance model. Agricultural Water Management 81: 335–357.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ramachandra, K. S., Taneja, V. K., Sampath, K. T., Anandan, S. and Angadi, U. B. (2007). Livestock feed resources in different agro ecosystems of India: Availability, requirement and their management. National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Bangalore, India.Google Scholar
Rockström, J. and Barron, J. (2007). Water productivity in rainfed systems: Overview of challenges and analysis of opportunities in water scarcity prone savannahs. Irrigation Science 25: 299–311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Singh, B., Ajeigbe, H., Tarawali, S., Fernandez-Rivera, S. and Abubakar, M. (2003). Improving the production and utilization of cowpea as food and fodder. Field Crops Research 84: 169–177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SLP (CGIAR-Systemwide Livestock Programme) (2008). Sub-Saharan Africa Feed Composition Database. Available from http://64.95.130.4:80/ssafeed/ [Accessed 28 September 2010].Google Scholar
Tesfay, H. (2007). Assessment of institutional setup and effect of household level water harvesting in ensuring sustainable livelihood. A case study of Kobo, Almata and Kilte Awlaelo Woredas in Amhara and Tigray Regions of Ethiopia. DCG Report No 52. Drylands Coordination Group, Oslo, Norway.Google Scholar
Tessema, G., Gebrewold, A., Tegegne, A., Diediou, M. L. and Hedge, P. B. (2003). Study on reproductive efficiency of boran and its crosses at Holetta Research Farm: Effect of genotype, management and environment. Ethiopian Journal of Animal Production 3: 89–108.Google Scholar
Vancampenhout, K., Nyssen, J., Gebremichael, D., Deckers, J., Poesen, J., Haile, M. and Moeyersons, J. (2006). Stone bunds for soil conservation in the northern Ethiopian highlands: Impacts on soil fertility and crop yield. Soil and Tillage Research 90: 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zerbini, E., Gebre Wold, A. and Shapiro, B. I. (1999). The potential of cow traction in the East African highlands. In Meeting the Challenges of Animal Traction, (Eds. Starkey, P. and Kaumbutho, P.), 199–211. Animal Traction Network for Eastern and Southern Africa (ATNESA), Harare, Zimbabwe, Intermediate Technology Publications, London.Google Scholar