The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach as an impact assessment tool for development interventions in rural Tigray, Ethiopia : opportunities & challenges

Measuring the impact and sustainability of development programmes requires the development of appropriate assessment tools. This paper examines the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach's (SLA) potential to be transformed to and called in as a practical instrument to evaluate the impact of development interventions in rural Tigray (Northern Ethiopia). Fieldwork has been carried out in communities in woreda Dogua Tembien using participant observation and open interviews as methods. Next to more general challenges of defining, measuring and comparing livelihood assets, context specific factors complicate the operationalisation of the SLA as an impact assessment tool in the area. The SLA distinguishes between livelihood assets on the one hand and transforming structures and processes on the other. The latter lend meaning and value to the former. This conceptual distinction is worthy as it makes the two-way interaction between both categories explicit and escapes from reducing institutions, organisations, policies and legislation to context or background. However, in practice the boundaries are fuzzy and not easy to interpret. The example of religion as a cross-cutting organizing principle illustrates this assumption. Moreover the distinction complicates the operationalisation of the SLA as it implies the meaning and value of capitals to be volatile and depending on the prevailing social, institutional and organisational environment. This is exemplified with the big transforming power of policy shifts in the area. For the SLA to serve as an impact assessment tool, it requires a culture- and policy-sensitive analysis of farmers' asset base. Only a sound understanding of the interactions between livelihood assets and transforming structures and processes can lead to a locally contextualised, meaningful and workable impact assessment tool that measures asset levels using indicators that reflect farmers' own criteria to judge development interventions

Short-term effects of conservation agriculture on vertisols under tef (Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter) in the northern Ethiopian highlands

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Growing apple (Malus domestica) under tropical mountain climate conditions in Northern Ethiopia

Lack of effective chilling during the dormant season is one of the major problems when apples are growing under a tropical climate. We evaluated the response of different apple cultivars (Golden Delicious, Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith and Jonagold) grown on M9 rootstock with different dormancy-management practices. The trials were carried out between 2004 and 2006 in a tropical mountain area (Tigray, Ethiopia), where chilling conditions are poor with the aim of improving and synchronizing the bud break and the blossoming period of these apple cultivars. Two-year-old well-feathered trees were planted in two experimental trial sites in it randomized complete block design. Trees were subjected to the following treatments in two sets of experiments: one defoliation per year only; two defoliations per year, one defoliation followed by 1% hydrogen cyanamide (Dormex) treatment; one defoliation followed by 2% Dormex treatment; one defoliation followed by 40% winter oil; one defoliation followed by 0.5% Dormex and 2% winter oil; and a control with no defoliation or dormancy breaking treatments. The result show positive effects of the dormancy breaking agents oil the productivity of the trees after defoliation, with comparable results for the effectiveness of both Dormex and winter oil. There were On statistically significant differences between the Dormex closes. The defoliation treatment alone Was not sufficient to break dormancy for the cultivars Golden Delicious, Granny Smith or Gala but showed promising results with dormancy breaking Jonagold. Yields increased as a result of better flowering time synchronization within a tree but even with the dormancy treatments the length of the flowering period was still spread over five weeks, where under it more temperate climate it lasted two to three weeks. The average fruit weight of Jonagold and Granny Smith can be considered as it good fruit quality while the fruit of other diploid cultivars like Golden, Gala and Fuji were rather small, which indicates chat fruit thinning by hand will be it necessity For these cultivars. Red colouration of the apples oil the cultivars Gala and Jonagold was excellent and meets the standards necessary for commercialization of these fruits. The sugar concentration of the fruits and the fruit firmness at harvest was high. The results of these first trials indicate that it is possible to develop new apple production in the mountain region of Tigray, Ethiopia

Recruitment dynamics of African wild olive (Olea europeae subsp. cuspidata): some observations from Central-Tigray and their implications for natural forest regeneration

The ability of rehabilitation areas to recruit and sustain new life forms is a true measure of their contribution to biodiversity and forest resource conservation. In Africa, relatively few studies have evaluated the effect of early colonizing shrubs on seed dispersal, seed and seedling predation and competition and their consequences for woody seedling establishment. Shrubs might facilitate, tolerate or inhibit different stages of tree establishment in abandoned pastures or croplands. Seed dispersal, post-dispersal predation, germination and recruitment of a late successional tree species, African wild olive (Olea europaea subsp. africana; Oleaceae), were examined in closed and non-closed areas in the Geba river catchment of Central-Tigray. The following hypothesis was tested experimentally: recruitment of O. europaea will be higher under certain early colonizing shrubs as compared to gaps and other shrubs. Despite the expected higher seed predation and competition under these natural structures, some shrub clusters are believed to create microhabitats that enhance seedling survival by decreasing the risk of desiccation and predation by livestock and wild animals. Both in rangeland and closed areas, recent recruitment of O. europaea was predominantly found under Euclea schimperi shrubs, although Acacia bushes were more numerous. Preliminary results suggest that structural traits cause this disparity. In rangeland, the limiting factor for Olea recruitment is believed to be grazing pressure rather than seed input. Natural structures that act as a preferential perching site for frugivorous birds and that offer adequate protection at ground level are the key recruitment foci. In closed areas, high competition by abundant grasses and herbs restricts seedling establishment. Moreover, dense ground cover and the presence of physical soil conservation structures (stone bunds) increase post-dispersal seed predation. Formation of new shoots from old rootstocks, however, can ensure Olea woodland regeneration, provided that a sufficient amount of old rootstocks persists in the protected area. All this suggests that the application of appropriate protection and silvicultural measures can significantly enhance natural regeneration of indigenous woodlands in the region without having to rely on expensive plantation activities.status: publishe

The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach as an impact assessment tool for development interventions in rural Tigray, Ethiopia: opportunities & challenges

Measuring the impact and sustainability of development programmes requires the development of appropriate assessment tools. This paper examines the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach's (SLA) potential to be transformed to and called in as a practical instrument to evaluate the impact of development interventions in rural Tigray (Northern Ethiopia). Fieldwork has been carried out in communities in woreda Dogua Tembien using participant observation and open interviews as methods. Next to more general challenges of defining, measuring and comparing livelihood assets, context specific factors complicate the operationalisation of the SLA as an impact assessment tool in the area. The SLA distinguishes between livelihood assets on the one hand and transforming structures and processes on the other. The latter lend meaning and value to the former. This conceptual distinction is worthy as it makes the two-way interaction between both categories explicit and escapes from reducing institutions, organisations, policies and legislation to context or background. However, in practice the boundaries are fuzzy and not easy to interpret. The example of religion as a cross-cutting organizing principle illustrates this assumption. Moreover the distinction complicates the operationalisation of the SLA as it implies the meaning and value of capitals to be volatile and depending on the prevailing social, institutional and organisational environment. This is exemplified with the big transforming power of policy shifts in the area. For the SLA to serve as an impact assessment tool, it requires a culture- and policy-sensitive analysis of farmers' asset base. Only a sound understanding of the interactions between livelihood assets and transforming structures and processes can lead to a locally contextualised, meaningful and workable impact assessment tool that measures asset levels using indicators that reflect farmers' own criteria to judge development interventionsstatus: publishe

Actors behind soil and water conservation structures: a case study in Tigray, Ethiopia

Soil and water conservation (SWC) structures do not crop up of their own accord. Understanding the strategies and objectives of different actors that play a role in the implementation of SWC techniques is a key to explaining the latter’s effectiveness and efficiency. The role of and interaction between the state, as a deliverer of rural development interventions, and farmers, as their receivers, in SWC programmes have been studied in a rural society in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Data have been gathered by participant observation, complemented with open and semi-structured interviews with both farmers and development workers. A sustainable livelihood approach (DFID among others) has been used and adapted to conceptualize the role of agency in creating differential livelihood impacts of one single development intervention. In the study area farmers’ and developers’ objectives and strategies influence the performance and sustainability of SWC structures in two ways. Firstly the majority of SWC structures are built within the framework of food for work (FFW) programmes on village scale organised by the government to bridge seasonal food gaps. Employment in these FFW programmes depends on farmers’ readiness to adopt newly introduced techniques and technologies, some of them for their part in the field of SWC. These back- and forward linkages between FFW and SWC have consequences for SWC measures’ success and sustainability, as farmers are willing and competing to participate in FFW programmes. Secondly farmers’ room for participation in the decision making process with respect to rural development and environmental rehabilitation in the study area is limited. This influences SWC measures' sustainability, as households are pushed to look for other opportunities to go about with development interventions.status: publishe

Contour furrows for in-situ soil and water conservation, Tigray, Northern Ethiopia

In Tigray (Northern Ethiopia), soil moisture has been identified as the most limiting factor in agricultural production; on the other hand, loss of rain water through runoff as well as the induced soil loss has been determined as a critical problem in the region in the last two to three decades. To alleviate the above paradox, the government has mobilized communities and resources for the construction of physical soil and water conservation structures (stone bunds, terraces) in almost all land uses. However, yield improvement was mainly concentrated within the vicinity of the structures and runoff continued to overtop the structures, as no measures for in situ soil conservation were taken. The terwah system, consisting of traditional ploughing followed by making every 1.5-2 m contour furrows, and permanent raised beds with contour furrows at 60-70 cm interval treatments, were considered and evaluated as practices that could increase the efficiency of in situ water utilization and soil conservation. An experiment was started in Gum Selasa, which is one of the drought prone areas in Tigray, whereby runoff volume and sediment load were measured after every rain event. Permanent raised beds with contour furrows at 60-70 cm interval significantly (P < 0.05) reduced runoff volume, runoff coefficient and soil loss as compared to traditional ploughing: 255, 381 and 653 m(3) ha(-1) runoff was recorded from permanent bed, terwah and traditional ploughing, respectively during the whole cropping season. The above runoff induced 4.7 t ha(-1) soil loss from permanent bed, 7.6 t ha(-1) from terwah and 19.5 t ha(-1) from traditional ploughing. Overall, contour furrows and permanent raised beds can be part of the ongoing intensification process which includes physical soil and water conservation, slope reforestation, irrigation development and agro forestry in crop lands. Moreover, the use of permanent raised beds if combined with crop mulching and crop diversification is an important component for the development of sustainable conservation agriculture practices in the region

The importance of early successional shrubs for recruitment of African wild olive (Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata) in central Tigray, Ethiopia

Recruitment of a late successional tree species, African wild olive (Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata; Oleaceae), was examined in protected and grazed areas in the Geba river catchment of central Tigray, northern Ethiopia, using T-square plotless sampling. The following hypothesis was tested: recruitment of O. europaea is higher under certain early colonizing shrubs compared to within gaps and under other shrubs. Both in grazing land and protected areas, recruits were exclusively found under shrubs, predominantly under Euclea schimperi, although Acacia etbaica was dominant by far in all sampled land uses. Structural traits of shrubs explain this disparity. However, early results of further research suggest that E. schimperi shrubs probably act as preferential perching sites for frugivorous birds and that dispersal of Olea propagules is directed to dense E. schimperi shrubs with a high number of stems at ground level. The application of appropriate protection of early successional shrubs combined with simple silvicultural measures can therefore significantly enhance natural regeneration of indigenous woodlands in the region without having to rely on expensive plantation activities.Book (c) The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 2006. All proceeds from the book go to support Kew's work in saving the world's plants for life.status: publishe