An assessment of integrated watershed management in Ethiopia

Sustainable participatory watershed management is an approach promoted by the Ethiopian government to restore natural resources and agricultural productivity across the country. This comparative study between six watershed programs shows that this approach increases farmers’ food security and incomes (around 50% on average), as well as their resilience to drought and other climate shocks. However, the study also confirms that the nature and scale of impact can vary significantly between watershed programs. The success of watershed management depends on multiple factors from the hydrological profile of the watershed to the local social and economic environment. Tailoring watershed interventions to the local context, associating conservation and livelihoods activities, and providing further financial and technical support to watershed committees are among the recommendations of this paper

An assessment of integrated watershed management in Ethiopia

Sustainable participatory watershed management is an approach promoted by the Ethiopian government to restore natural resources and agricultural productivity across the country. This comparative study between six watershed programs shows that this approach increases farmers’ food security and incomes (around 50% on average), as well as their resilience to drought and other climate shocks. However, the study also confirms that the nature and scale of impact can vary significantly between watershed programs. The success of watershed management depends on multiple factors from the hydrological profile of the watershed to the local social and economic environment. Tailoring watershed interventions to the local context, associating conservation and livelihoods activities, and providing further financial and technical support to watershed committees are among the recommendations of this paper

Soil organic matter in Northern Ethiopia, current level and predicted trend: a study case of two villages in Tigray

Soil degradation resulting from permanent and high pressure on natural resources is a threat for the present and future of agricultural production in Ethiopia. Mono-cropping, cultivation on steep slopes, use of cattle manure and crop residues as an energy source for cooking are common practices that have led to declining soil organic matter (SOM) contents. The objective of this research was to evaluate the current status of SOM in farmlands and exclosures (areas protected from grazing to allow their natural restoration) in Northern Ethiopia and to explore the long-term effects of current agricultural practices and an improved scenario on SOM. At present, the SOM content of farmland soils is small, ranging from 2.1% to 2.9%, while exclosures showed a significant recovery after 20 yr of protection, with SOM contents ranging from 2.6% to 5.6%. However, the level of SOM in farmland soils is envisaged to decline given current agricultural practices, that is removal of crop residues and use of manure as an energy source for cooking. We found that applying manure alone appeared to be insufficient to revert this trend, due to limited availability and its alternative uses. Therefore, a multidisciplinary approach including improved manure and compost management needs to be supplemented with energy saving techniques, as fuel use is currently the largest competing claim for organic matter in the area

Soil organic matter depletion as a major threat to agricultural intensification in the highlands of Ethiopia

Agriculture is considered as the backbone of Ethiopian economy. The government promotes rural development through policies that enhance intensive and commercially-oriented agriculture. Soil quality may be the bottleneck of these ambitions as more than half of the agricultural land shows signs of land degradation. Soil organic carbon (SOC) contents are a key aspect of soil quality, where relatively high SOC contents indicate better water holding capacity, nutrient retention capacity and better structure of the soil. In this research, SOC balances were used as indicator for short and midterm changes in SOC contents. SOC balances were calculated using data collected from 6914 fields for three years (2012-2014) using a simple input-out approach. On average, SOC balances were three tons per hectare per year. This equals 4 to 7% of the total soil organic carbon stock, which varied according to regions and cropping systems. SOC depletion rates were high in the mountainous and high cultivation intensity sites in central and northern Ethiopia where cereal based cropping systems dominates. Under the current practice, soils will eventually become exhausted and lose their productivity. This alarming trend could be reversed by integrating organic matter and nutrient management strategies and by providing alternative sources for feed and fuel supply of the community