Marianne Gadeberg

Irrigating fodder crops to improve nutrition for animals and people in Ethiopia

December 11, 2020 by Marianne Gadeberg

When livestock is fed high-quality fodder, produced with the help of irrigation, they deliver better milk and meat, benefitting the nutritional health of their keepers and consumers. The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI) and its partners are investigating best-bet options for where and how to expand the production of irrigated fodder in Ethiopia.

With urbanization, increasing incomes, and a growing population, the demand for animal-based products such as beef and milk is on the rise in Ethiopia. The livestock sector not only provides rural dwellers with cash income, draft power, and transportation, it also serves as an important source of food and nutrition for the entire country. Studies have shown that when livestock keepers are able to increase milk production and provide milk for the household, the nutritional health of children below the age of five is stabilized.

When farmers are able to increase milk production, the nutritional health of children is stabilized. Photo: Melkamu Deresh/ILRI.

However, the health and productivity of livestock is hampered by shortages of livestock feed, seasonality of feed supply, and unreliable feed quality. Weak market linkages also make it difficult for livestock keepers to access commercial feed, though fodder markets are growing in Ethiopia. A low feed supply compromises the supply of milk and meat, making it difficult to fulfill the nutritional needs of Ethiopians.

ILSSI, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), and the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems (LSIL) have been collaborating to identify where and how to expand fodder production—toward ensuring a steady supply with higher quality—using promising small scale irrigation practices.

Almost 20 percent of Ethiopia’s land is suitable for irrigated fodder

The Government of Ethiopia and donor partners have expressed interest in expanding fodder production under irrigation. To contribute to national decision-making and planning, ILSSI and partners have mapped where such expansion can sustainably be done.

This work began with field studies on irrigation opportunities for fodder production. Those studies show high potential for irrigating certain fodder species and for directing that feed to crossbred animals for higher productivity. Equally important, farmers saw the trials and began to irrigate fodder to meet demand in their local areas, pointing to the possibility for scaling.

To pinpoint where to scale these practices, ILSSI scientists selected promising fodder types, chosen to fit into the different agro-ecological settings in the country. They then mapped areas suitable for these fodder types, taking into account factors such as climate, soil, infrastructure, and market access. The results indicated that, with the use of small scale irrigation, ~31% of the country (about 350,500 km²) is highly suitable for producing desho (Pennisetum glaucifolium), followed by vetch (Vicia sativa) (23%) and Napier (Pennisetum purpureum) (20%).

The factors used to determine the suitability of land for irrigated fodder production include climate (rainfall and evaporation), soil (soil texture, pH, and soil depth), land use, and slope as well as access to markets and feed demand.

A preliminary mapping of land suitable for irrigated Napier production. The most suitable area was assessed to be 92 percent suitable, whereas the least appropriate area was assessed to be only 20 percent suitable. Land is considered suitable at 80 percent and above.

Local interest and impact of irrigated fodder

Since 2015, ILSSI has been collaborating with ILRI and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), as well as local partners such as Bahir Dar University, Amhara Agricultural Research Institute (ARARI), and Southern Agricultural Research Institute (SARI), to demonstrate and promote the production of irrigated fodder. Continuous engagement with farmers through on-farm trials and demonstrations piqued farmers’ interest in irrigated fodder production.

For example, in the Robit Bata Kebele of Bahir Dar Zuria district, 15 farmers participated in evaluating water productivity and nutritional quality of fodder during the first year of the project, in 2015. They allocated plots of land ranging between 50 and 140 m² per household for Napier grass production. Water for irrigation was sourced from shallow groundwater wells, varying in depth between 6 and 17 meters. The continued farmer participation and strong collaboration with local partners meant that more farmers adopted the practice, reaching 400 farmers by 2018, and with many households allocating as much as 1,000 m² for irrigated fodder.

The introduction of irrigated fodder production has helped the farmers increase their incomes through milk production and cattle fattening. The farmers are embracing the practice and now fodder and milk markets are emerging. According to Aberra Adie, feed and forages researcher with ILRI, the trial has shifted farmers’ preferences:

“Before the introduction of irrigated fodder, farmers used irrigation to grow khat—a stimulant perennial cash crop. In the region, khat is not socially and religiously acceptable, but it used to earn them a good profit. However, since the introduction of irrigated fodder, farmers are abandoning khat in favor of forage farming. The farmers also indicated that fodder irrigation is a lot easier than khat production, which needs lots of water and pesticide.”

Partnering with cooperatives and scaling within the market system

Currently, ILRI is partnering with multiple farmer cooperatives, the private sector and regional extension offices in Ethiopia to scale up irrigated fodder production.

In the ILSSI project sites, identified as most suitable for irrigated fodder, ILRI is facilitating strong partnerships between private enterprises and emerging farmer cooperatives to work in forage seed production and marketing. The engagement is expected to identify the favorable conditions for smallholder farmers to access forage seeds and irrigation facilities. Specific attention is being given to opportunities for women in irrigated fodder and dairy value chains.

ILRI is also collaborating with other projects to increase the awareness and practice of irrigated fodder production across the country, serving development outcomes on food security, nutrition, poverty alleviation, and sustainable use of ecosystems.

Irrigated fodder production can help farmers increase their incomes through milk production and cattle fattening. Photo: ILRI.

This news story was put together with significant contributions from Abeyou Worqlul and Yihun Dile (Texas A & M University) & Melkamu Derseh and Aberra Adie (ILRI).

Webinar: Potential and options for irrigated fodder production shared with policymakers and practitioners in Ethiopia

December 11, 2020 by Marianne Gadeberg

In a recent webinar, scientists presented Ethiopian policymakers and practitioners with promising findings on the potential for irrigated production of livestock fodder, which could help meet important income and nutrition gaps.

Dr. Gbola Adesogan, Professor and Director of the Feed the Future Livestock Systems Innovation Lab (LSIL), opened the webinar with remarks on how insufficient feed has been identified as main constraint to livestock production in Ethiopia.

“Our objective is to share results to inform decisions and shape further investments and research, ” he said. “It is very important to promote research to support policy and further funding for this topic, not only in Ethiopia, but across East and West Africa.”

The event, which took place on December 2, 2020, was organized by the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI) with support from LSIL and in collaboration with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). More than 30 participants had accepted the invitation to join discussions, and they represented science institutions, development and donor organizations as well as ministries and other government offices.

The importance of the research presented was underscored by Dr. Yirgalem Gebremeskel, Livestock Program Management Specialist and Tech Advisor at USAID, which has funded the work:

“Despite having Africa’s largest livestock population, Ethiopia’s livestock sector has not reached its full potential, which can be attributed to many factors, high among them shortage of feed and low-quality feed.”

Webinar on irrigated fodder in Ethiopia: Suitability and potential

Download presentations by ILSSI scientists on irrigated fodder suitability and potential in Ethiopia.

Significant potential could be converted into big benefits

Through land suitability analysis, scientists from Texas A & M University have been able to identify areas across the country suitable for irrigated production of different types of fodder crops.

“As you can see the western part of the country is suitable for Napier grass production, while the eastern part is highly suitable for Alfalfa, ” said Dr. Abeyou Worqlul, scientist at Texas A & M. “The suitable areas have groundwater reserves that can be tapped via water-lifting technologies and be used for irrigation.”

In fact, Dr. Yihun Tadele, also of Texas A & M, explained that Ethiopia in general has a high amount of water resources that can be used for irrigation.

“But we need to use both green and blue water resources in an integrated manner,” he specified, referring to the blue water in rivers and aquifers, while green water is naturally infiltrated rain in soil.

Finally, Jean Claude Bizimana, Economist at Texas A & M, explained how modeling different scenarios – considering for example improved crossbred cow breeds – has provided a sense of the economic and nutritional potential of irrigated fodder production.

“Use of improved feed and breed can increase households’ nutritional status, but also their incomes,” he concluded.

Growing interest for brand-new intervention in the livestock sector

The research results on suitability and impacts have already been grounded in field trials, in which a growing number of farmers have seen very promising results, both in terms of the quality of fodder produced and the resulting increases in milk yields and incomes.

“Farmers were able to produce a high amount of forage biomass of good nutritional value from small plots,” explained Dr. Melkamu Derseh, Scientist, Livestock Feeds and Nutrition, at ILRI.

While the trials started out with just a few farmers, more have volunteered to join as the work progressed.

“Awareness has been created and interest is increasing. The demand for forage planting materials and irrigation technologies has also increased, especially for the newly introduced solar pumps,” he said.

Melkamu noted that barriers currently hampering broad scaling of irrigated fodder production include limited access to high-quality cow breeds and forage planting materials as well as the high price of irrigation technologies. ILSSI is working to overcome such barriers, including via partnerships with dairy cooperatives, which could start providing their members with forage seeds and thus provide an informal seed distribution system.

To wrap up discussions, Belete Bantero, Senior Transformation Agenda Specialist II at Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA), offered his perspectives. He recalled the two year-drought that wrecked havoc in Ethiopia between 2016 and 2018.

“It caused the loss of over 30,000 livestock because of lack of livestock feed.” He went on to say that “this is interesting and really vital work – it’s very evidence based, it’s timely and it’s a brand new intervention, as we have not previously related the livestock sector with irrigation.”

ILSSI scientists and partners will continue efforts to scale up irrigated fodder production in Ethiopia, including through partnerships with dairy cooperatives and the private sector.

To learn more:

Student interview: Identifying the best water management practices and technologies for sustainable irrigation in Ethiopia

December 11, 2020 by Marianne Gadeberg

Desalegn Tegegne is a research officer at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), and based in the Nile Basin and East Africa Office, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He joined the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI) capacity development program as a graduate student in 2015, while he completing his MSc degree at Arba Minch University. ILSSI supported his MSc thesis, “Assessment of water demand, water and crop productivity of the selected fodder varieties under small scale irrigation using wetting front detectors”.

What did you learn from the research you undertook on the use of technologies to improve water productivity on selected fodder crops?

Although irrigation could potentially boost the production of livestock fodder, this practice is not common in Ethiopia. Therefore, we need to integrate fodder production with crop production to improve the livelihoods of the rural poor. Most of the time, farmers face a problem of not having enough fodder to feed their cattle. At the end of dry season, when it is time for farmers to plow their fields, draft animals are weak due to feed shortages. However, feed shortages occur not only during the dry season, but all year. At the same time, the potential irrigable land is underutilized due to a scarcity of surface water, but despite the presence of shallow groundwater.

Desalegn Tegegne joined ILSSI’s capacity development program in 2015. He now works with the International Water Management Institute in Ethiopia.

To overcome these challenges, IWMI—under the ILSSI project—has identified and piloted water-lifting technologies for small scale irrigators as well as irrigation-scheduling technologies for irrigated fodder production in accordance with the available water sources. Farmers who used the on-farm water management technologies, such as wetting-front detectors, saved on water for irrigation, while improving their fodder crop and water productivity. According to my research findings, providing appropriate water management advice needs to be combined with information on appropriate water-lifting devices, as a function of the available water resources.

How, in your view, can innovative technologies such as wetting-front detectors, support farmers to irrigate more and more efficiently?

Proper on-farm irrigation practices improve the yield per unit area of land and per unit of water applied, because they facilitate equal water distribution and uniform crop growth, while preventing drainage and nutrient leaching and loss. In this way, technologies such as wetting-front detectors can guide farmers’ irrigation and in that way improve crop and water productivity.

How have you applied this learning and how does it influence your current work?

Given that my educational background is in water resources, irrigation management, and engineering, working on irrigation technologies is interesting for me. The technologies we used for field experiments were simple to use and they helped farmers to manage their irrigation. That’s why the field experiments were successful. My current work in IWMI focuses on analyzing soil moisture and nutrients as well as evaluating crop and water productivity of different on-farm water management tools. In that way, all the practical lessons I got while I did my MSc under the ILSSI’s capacity development program were very useful for my current work.

What is your view on the role of irrigation—especially small scale—as climate change impacts intensify?

Irrigation is one way to improve farmers’ resilience under changing climatic conditions, through increasing food production. Using available surface water and groundwater resources, small scale irrigation can positively contribute to intensifying crop–livestock mixed farming systems. It is also a means of income generation for the smallholders.

What do you hope to achieve as a result of your current work?

In my current work from IWMI, I am planning to scale out the on-farm water management technologies, such as wetting-front detectors and chameleon sensors. These technologies are essential for smallholder farmers to improve their irrigation efficiency and increase crop and water productivity. For effective scaling of best on-farm water management practices, I will train farmers and extension agents.

How connecting innovators and implementers can catalyze solar irrigation scaling in Ghana

October 20, 2020 by Marianne Gadeberg

This post is written by Joseph Isaiah Mensah, Manager, USAID SSI Project, PEG Ghana and was first publish on agrilinks.org.

A farmer uses solar power to irrigate his crops. Photo credit: PEG Africa.

Solar power has the potential to revolutionize water use in agriculture, providing an attractive means for farmers to irrigate their crops. This is especially the case in sub-Saharan Africa, which has among the lowest electrification access in the world and irrigation potential in dry-land regions of an additional 6-14 million hectares, 84 percent of which is small scale irrigation.

Private sector companies are eager to capitalize on this potential by expanding the market for small scale solar irrigation. For these companies, serving small scale irrigators, who have traditionally been perceived as high risk, can be profitable if the right business models are applied.

PEG Africa was founded in 2015 to deliver affordable energy to the 150 million people in West Africa with no access to electricity. Based in Ghana and with operations in Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, and Senegal, we initially offered solar home systems using a pay-as-you-go financing model that enables customers — often resource-poor farmers in remote locations — to pay for and eventually fully own their solar energy products through monthly installments. These installments can be sculpted, meaning farmers pay lower amounts in lean seasons and higher amounts in harvest seasons. Financing is supported by after-sales, agronomic and market access services, helping farmers to optimize the return on their investment and reduce the payment default risk.

Barriers to irrigation adoption and scaling

In 2019, we decided to add solar water pumps to our product line, using the same financing and after-sales model. The decision followed a series of field-based tests we conducted in Ghana to verify the suitability of the technology as well as market surveys to understand demand for solar pumps among small scale irrigators in rural and peri-urban areas.

The results showed that there is a considerable level of demand as the solar pumps offer an affordable and efficient alternative to conventional diesel pumps, which are costly to maintain, have a shorter lifespan, and can have adverse health and environmental effects. Moreover, we were aware that women farmers tend to prefer solar pumps to other water-lifting technologies because they decrease the labor required to extract water for domestic and other uses such as agriculture.

These findings served as a strong basis for PEG Africa to venture into the sale of solar pumps, although we continue to encounter significant barriers to the adoption and scaling of the technology.

We identified two main challenges. The first is limited input and output market linkages (poorly developed distribution channels, inadequate input supply, information asymmetry with regard to determining price, and securing markets for produce), which ultimately constrain farmers’ productivity and profitability. The second is gender-based constraints to information and financial resources that affect women’s ability to invest in solar irrigation technologies.

De-risking private sector engagement in small scale irrigation

A new agreement aims to facilitate the development of innovative solutions to these challenges by de-risking private sector engagement in small-scale irrigation. Initiated by the USAID-funded Feed the Future Innovation Lab For Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI), the agreement comes with a monetary award of USD 725,000 to support the trial of new business and financing models over three years.

Following a call for proposals, PEG Africa was announced as the recipient of the award on August 27, 2020 during the second Farmer-Led Irrigation–Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue event in Ghana. Hosted by IWMI, which leads ILSSI’s scaling research, the dialogues bring together relevant actors, including the private sector, to kickstart system-level collaboration on scaling small scale irrigation.

Pitching contests target next-generation innovators

To complement the award, IWMI identified pitching contests as a novel way to build capacity in the private sector. Targeting young professionals and recent graduates, the contests aim to close the research-private sector divide, drive innovation, and stimulate entrepreneurship. The first contest is being held in October 2020, and two winners will be selected to undertake a paid internship with PEG Africa in Ghana. Additional contests will be organized over the next three years.

In determining the winners, the selection committee will look for solutions that bridge specific knowledge and capacity gaps within PEG Africa. Currently, these relate to business innovations that address the barriers to equitable solar pump access and adoption. In addition, we anticipate that the interns will help us to establish a framework to track the impact of pump use on farmers through return-on-investment, gross margin and cost-benefit studies.

These innovations will contribute to the formulation of a profitable and sustainable business model for our solar pumps. At the same time, the interns will gain valuable private sector work experience as well as an appreciation for the private sector’s role in scaling development solutions.

Solar irrigation is a relatively new addition to PEG Africa’s offering but one that strongly aligns with our vision of affordable energy for those who need it. We are excited to see what innovations the interns will bring to our company and how we can leverage our established infrastructure and market knowledge to test and implement them.

Irrigation helps Ethiopian women make more of milk and other dairy products

October 1, 2020 by Marianne Gadeberg

Ethiopian women have begun growing irrigated fodder crops to expand their opportunities in the dairy value chain, winning income, nutrition, and climate benefits. Coming up on this year’s International Day of Rural Women, we hear from a couple of these front-runners:

“I have been sharing my experiences with men and women farmers, and, over the past couple of years, I have given fodder planting materials to about 50 other farmers for free. I advise women that they can increase their incomes by selling milk and other dairy products if they upgrade their local cows and start growing irrigated fodder crops.”

This testimonial, given by Mulu Melese, a farmer who lives in Zato Shodera village, Kededa Gamela district in southern Ethiopia with her husband and children, captures many of the benefits springing from irrigated fodder cultivation. Not only can this practice boost farmers’ incomes, nutrition, and climate resilience, but it has also spurred rural women like Mulu Melese to engage in dairy value chains and improve their livelihoods.

Growing irrigated fodder crops has enabled Mulu Melese to start selling more dairy products. Photo: Tigist German/ILRI.

Since 2015, scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)—working under the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI)—have collaborated with farmers in the northern and southern regions of Ethiopia and introduced them to irrigated fodder production. Since then, the number of farmers adopting the practice in the project sites has grown from less than 20 to more than 700.

Why women win when livestock productivity soars

In Ethiopia, farmers in rural areas both grow crops and raise livestock. Yet, despite the livestock sub-sector providing employment to 70 percent of rural dwellers, productivity has remained low. Shortage of good quality feed for livestock remains a major challenge.

The low performance of the livestock sector especially impacts women and children, who, traditionally, carry the responsibility of raising livestock around the home. Women are tasked with finding, preparing, and bringing feed to the animals, milking, and cleaning barns. Collecting adequate fodder and bringing it to the animals is what requires the most time and workload, particularly during the dry season when only poor-quality crop residues are available. As climate change impacts intensify, an even longer dry season could lead to crops failing and severe shortages of livestock feed.

However, women’s traditional responsibility for a family’s livestock also means that they stand to gain when livestock productivity increases.

Growing irrigated fodder crops, such as Napier grass, which ensures a steady supply of livestock fodder. Photo: Fikadu Tessema/ILRI.

ILSSI scientists found this to be true when working with farmers to introduce a combination of new practices. New irrigation technologies, such as solar-powered pumps, make it easier to grow irrigated fodder crops, such as Napier grass, which ensures a steady supply of livestock fodder all year round.

A project partner, the Andassa Livestock Research Center, has also provided farmers with crossbred cows that produce more and better milk than traditional breeds, enabling farmers to increase their profits. So far, the results have been very promising, not least for rural women.

Tales of two women show big benefits

Mulu Melese recalls when she started producing irrigated fodder. At that time, she reports, she owned two lactating cows, but was unable to feed them adequately due to lack of good-quality forage on her farm. She recounts that because there was not enough feed, the cows were unable to produce enough milk for her family and for sale.

After she started growing irrigated fodder crops and giving the new, higher-quality fodder to her animals, the milk production almost doubled immediately. This subsequently increased the income, nutritional health, and living conditions of her whole family.

Mogninet Fentea, who lives in Robit Bata village in Bahir Dar Zuria district in the northern part of the country, tells of a similar experience. She and her husband started producing irrigated fodder in 2017, when they were struggling to find feed for their lactating cows and draft oxen. Since then, they have seen a steady improvement in the productivity of their animals, with their cows giving more milk and their draft oxen keeping in good condition when used for preparing their land. As a result, their household income has increased, and they have been able to cover their children’s school expenses relatively easily.

Mogninet Fentea adds that she and her husband decided to expand their fodder plot by uprooting some of their Khat plants—a narcotic plant traditionally used as a cash crop—because they were convinced that the fodder crops are important for the household.

She said that the feed trough they constructed for their cattle, as recommended by ILSSI scientists, have helped them reduce the labor required and have given the children spare time to concentrate on their learning. Scientists estimated that improved feed troughs and fodder choppers reduced feed waste by more than 30 percent and increased animals’ feed intake. Finally, a solar-powered pump has also eased Mogninet Fentea’s water lifting and irrigation work.

Farmers cut, chop, and place the green fodder in the feed trough, mixed with other local feed resources, and leave animals to feed and rest without a need for frequent observation by the family. Photo: Fikadu Tessema/ILRI.

A robust market must underpin long-term gains

Mulu Melese, Mogninet Fentea, and many women like them are already enjoying the benefits of irrigated fodder production, but are also interested in expanding their practice and building further business opportunities. Indeed, the gendered norms, roles, and responsibilities within the livestock value chains present opportunities—but also challenges—for rural women.

First, women are traditionally the ones who handle the milk produced by the family’s livestock and manage the income generated from this activity. While they regularly supply fluid milk to a dairy cooperative to generate income, part of the milk is usually processed into butter, cheese, and buttermilk. Women sell the butter in the local market, while the cheese and buttermilk are wholly consumed by the household, improving the family’s nutritional health. In this way, engaging in the dairy sector offers women opportunities to gain control over income and power to influence their family’s health.

Second, in the fodder cultivation process, women are socially expected to fetch water and irrigate fodder plots. This means that new time- and labor-saving technologies, such as improved irrigation systems and forage varieties that require minimum water and nutrient input, benefit women in particular. They help reduce the demand on women’s time, allowing them the opportunity to explore other income-generating activities.

Lastly, helping women access improved breeds of livestock, which efficiently convert good fodder into good milk returns, is critical for the irrigated fodder practice to be lucrative and sustainable for rural women. Ensuring profitability is key for farmers to overcome some of the challenges standing in the way of further expanding irrigated fodder production, such as investing in improved climate-smart breeds and seeds as well as labor-saving technologies.

Now, ILSSI scientists are working to address these barriers by collaborating with dairy cooperatives and national partners to develop the fodder value chain and establish a reliable market for milk and dairy products, forage seeds, and irrigation technologies in the context of climate variability.