Biophysical and socioeconomic geodatabase for land productivity dynamic assessment in Ethiopia

The purpose of this work is to collect, organize and develop geodatabase of spatial and non spatial data which are relevant to monitor land degradation and assess the major drivers to land degradation in Ethiopia. Accordingly, important time series biophysical (climate, vegetation, hydrology, soil...etc) and socioeconomic data (human population/demography, livestock population, major crops production and productivity....etc) are collected. Geodatabase is developed to facilitate integration and standardization of the collected data and making it suitable to use for further study. The next phase of this work is to find out the cause of land degradation in Ethiopia as human induced or (e.g. poor land management), climate driven (e.g. El Niño induced drought), or a combination of both factors at different spatial and temporal scales. Thus it is possible to devise suitable solutions to sites specific and time dependent problem

Creating climate-smart multi-functional landscapes through integrated soil, land and water management practices and contextualized agroadvisory services at different scales in Ethiopia

Experiences show that integrating restoration efforts at landscape level need to be coupled with intensification efforts at farm/plot level to promote synergy and attain multiple benefits. The approaches followed in the creation of multifunctional landscapes are designed to enable achieving this goal. This report presents project activities and outputs related to approaches, implementation modalities and evidence generation exercises from ‘learning’ and upscaling sites. The approaches followed in terms of partnerships and stakeholder engagement are briefly described as these are critical for successful project implementation. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and agricultural intensification practices were implemented at landscape and farm level scales. Both farm level interventions related to fertilizer response and irrigation optimizations practices and landscape interventions related to CSA and sustainable land management (SLM) options were implemented at climate-smart villages (CSVs) and scaling sites. Evidence generation related to the impacts of the different practices from project sites and other successful cases in the country was also key component of the activities. These were instrumental to target and scaling technologies. Finally, effort towards integrated conceptual approaches and practical tools to facilitate the targeting and scaling of practices as well as near real-time evidence generation are presented

Experience capitalization of Gudoberet- and Hosanna-Jawe landscape restoration process in Ethiopia

This study was undertaken in the Gudoberet- and Jawe landscapes located in Amhara and SNNP regions of Ethiopia, respectively. Experience Capitalization (EC) process approach was used to capture a wide range of experiences related to landscape restoration project in Gudoberet- and Jawe landscapes. Although there has been several studies regarding landscape restoration in Ethiopia, the use of EC process in landscape restoration is the first attempt in the country. The approach involves various procedures such as selecting the intervention, setting the boundaries of intervention, gathering information, describing interventions and analysis (filtering lessons). SWC on cultivated lands, gully rehabilitation, exclosure and water harvesting were the major interventions implemented for landscape restoration. Focus group discussion, key informant interview and transect walks were used to gather primary information. The result shows that participants considered economic, environmental, social and gender criteria to assess landscape restoration interventions. Based on the EC process, the following major lessons are identified: • Since landscape restoration requires multiple interventions, strengthening collaboration and integration of institutions including CGIAR centers is crucial to improve the success of landscape restoration program in the country. • Although livestock management is considered as an important part of the landscape restoration process in both sites, free grazing affected the adoption of biological SWC measures. The experience shows that there is a long way to achieve complete cut-and-carry system of livestock production mainly due to insufficient biomass production that can be used as cut-and carry system. Unless a complete cut-and-carry system is practiced, investment in landscape restoration mainly soil and water conservation practices will continue indefinitely. Strategies are being explored to reduce the number of livestock and enhance biomass to enhance the adoption of cut-and-carry livestock production system. • Sectoral integration (crop, livestock, forest, water, etc.) will be crucial for the successful achievement of landscape restoration efforts. • Creating awareness using various approaches, government focus on landscape management, collaboration among institutions, commitment of project staff and the community contributed for the success of landscape restoration process. • There is a clear need to integrate income generating options and youth employment schemes into the landscape restoration efforts to sustain the land and water management practices and their benefits. • Proper linkages between ‘research’ and development organizations is crucial to bring in win-win solutions focusing on their areas of mandate for the success of landscape restoration efforts. • Use of cross-site visits, evidence generation, multi-stakeholder integration, community mobilization, linked technologies and use of physical and biological SWC are the major lessons learned for successful restoration. However, this study focused only on two small landscapes with minimum investment in landscape restoration. It is clear that the country has invested heavily in landscape restoration activities through various projects such as SLMP, MERET and PSNP. However, the outcomes in terms of EC are yet to be fully understood under these projects. Hence, a comprehensive EC on needs to be explored for the adoption of successful approaches in landscape restoration process in the country and beyond

Toward an inclusive and evidence-based approach to farmland consolidation in Ethiopia

Small plot size and land fragmentation are serious problems affecting agricultural productivity in many African countries. These problems are even serious in Ethiopia where population pressure is increasing and available farmlands per household are contracting. An entry point to tackle this problem can be voluntary land consolidation (VLC). Experiences elsewhere mainly in Eastern Europe and Asia demonstrate significant yield increase associated with increased efficiency and productivity through VLC. These experiences also pointed to the highly knowledge-intensive nature of land consolidation initiatives that require engagement of dedicated multidisciplinary teams of professionals. The Alliance of Bioversity and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in collaboration with its partners undertook assessments of bottlenecks of land fragmentation and benefits of VLC. The assessment also focused on the legal bases of land consolidation at national and regional/sub-national levels, the nascent experiences with land consolidation-type initiatives in the country and the views of farming communities on VLC. The study reveals not only the presence of some legal provisions for VLC that could be seized upon but also an appreciation for VLC among farmers as well as professionals involved in land administration issues within Ethiopia’s Ministry of Agriculture system. Anchoring the process on effective community participation, and realizing the importance of pursuing a farmer-led and science-based land consolidation drive, this paper provided a methodological framework that could instill discipline in the process and help operationalize VLC in Ethiopia in an evidence-based and technically rigorous manner

Indicators of site-specific climate-smart agricultural practices employed in Ethiopia

Indicators of CSA practices/technologies are crucial to measure the performance of CSA practices/technologies and use as a guideline for data collection on the evaluation of CSA practices and technologies. Various indicators of CSA practices under the five categories including crop production, livestock production, integrated soil fertility management, erosion control, water management, and forestry/agroforestry management were identified using experts knowledge and literature review. The result showed that the number of indicators across the three pillars namely productivity and income, adaptation/resilience and mitigation (M,) and with additional indicators for gender equity and social responsiveness. The result also showed that higher numbers of indicators were found in integrated management, agroforestry systems, exclosure management, use of non-timber forest products, forage crop improvement, water harvesting, drip irrigation, river diversion, and promotion of low-carbon emitting animals. The study showed that CSA practices related to forestry and agroforestry management addressed the three pillars of CSA simultaneously. These indicators developed by experts and literature review can be used locally and globally since international system (SI) units are employed in their development. Although this study identified various indicators at practice/technology levels, further assessment is needed to identify result- and policy-level indicators of CSA practices/technologies in Ethiopia