Innovation Lab For Small Scale Irrigation

Innovation Lab For Small Scale Irrigation

From the field

Breaking new ground with groundwater games in Ethiopia

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Expanding the use of small scale irrigation in Ethiopia can improve farmers’ incomes, nutrition, and livelihoods, but sustainable growth hinges on careful governance of groundwater.

In Ethiopia, scientists with the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI) are launching fieldwork to engage farming communities in experiential learning processes to improve groundwater governance. This happens as small scale irrigation becomes increasingly popular and pressure on groundwater resources mounts. The approach, described as behavioral games, allows communities to experiment with possible future realities, strengthening their shared understanding of groundwater decisions and related consequences.

Water resources in Ethiopia are generally sufficient to sustainably expand irrigation, which could result in improved incomes and livelihoods for millions. But despite ample water resource potential, groundwater recharge might not be sufficient to meet the growing demand for water for irrigation. In the Ethiopian Highlands, for example, water levels in shallow wells fluctuate by 2 to 15 meters as the dry season advances, and most wells can only support irrigation during the first three months of the eight-month-long dry season.

That’s why, first of all, using groundwater in conjunction with surface water, where possible, is a sustainable approach to expanding small scale irrigation. Second, groundwater can be preserved through different tactics, such as by increasing recharge or using conservation agriculture practices that are more water efficient. Strong community governance of groundwater resources is also essential to ensure the best and most fair use of this precious resource.

Community governance of precious groundwater resources

The behavioral games approach has previously been used in India, Colombia and elsewhere to strengthen community governance of shared resources, including groundwater. Performed as collaborative, facilitated exercises, the games—and subsequent community-wide discussions reflecting on the process—support a community to build a shared understanding of how one farmer’s irrigation choices might limit their neighbor’s access to groundwater later in the season.

Community members recently participated in groundwater games in Ethiopia. Photo: Fekadu Gelaw.

This understanding can help curb unintended overexhaustion of shared resources and increase collaboration on groundwater governance. In India, communities who participated in the games were significantly more likely to adopt rules governing groundwater use, compared to the communities that did not participate.

The approach has been adapted to fit the Ethiopian context, as explained by Hagar ElDidi, research analyst at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI):

“We take into account the types of water intensive- and water-saving crops that are common in these areas and consider the shallow groundwater levels in Ethiopia. From initial visits to the communities we had targeted, we found that their wells are usually quite shallow. When the water table falls, farmers dig deeper, but using pumps at this depth becomes too costly and farmers have to resort to using buckets, which is more labor intensive and therefore limits the size of their irrigated area to vegetable gardens only. All of this has implications for how groundwater can best be governed.”

Unlike in for example India, groundwater scarcity is not clearly visible, nor very alarming, in Ethiopia. At least not yet.

“Because small scale irrigation is expanding, now is a good time to increase farmers’ understanding of how they, through collective action, can prevent groundwater depletion in the future,” said ElDidi.

Playing community games to plant new perspectives

So far, the ILSSI team has carried out a preliminary test of the behavioral games approach in three villages, and the team of local collaborators and facilitators is currently in the field rolling out the games, community discussions, and related surveys in 15 villages around Butajra town and within the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People’s Region. Another 15 villages will also be surveyed, although without playing the games, to provide a basis for comparison.

The use of groundwater for irrigation is a recent phenomenon in these areas, but has picked up particularly during the past five years, according to Fekadu Gelaw, assistant professor of Agricultural Economics, Institutional and Behavioral Economics at Haramaya University in Ethiopia, who leads ILSSI’s fieldwork.

“As a result, farmers have not yet faced a dramatic change in the groundwater level. None of the communities we have visited so far have any rules—informal or formal—about groundwater use, well digging, crop choice, investments by outsiders, and so on,” said Gelaw. “For now, the Ethiopian government is also promoting the extensive use of groundwater and even provides free motorized pumps to groups of farmers.”

Reflecting on exchanges with communities in the past weeks, Fekadu Gelaw indicated that before the experimental game was played, the majority of community members perceived that the increased use of groundwater for irrigation will have no effect on the groundwater level. Many even believed that groundwater level is not affected by the number of irrigators, nor by the type of crops grown through irrigation, and almost all community members believed that rules for groundwater use were unnecessary.

“All of this dramatically changes after the game,” noted Fekadu Gelaw. “The game seems to have triggered community members to think about an issue they have never thought of before. After the game, most propose establishing rules on groundwater governance, especially rules to regulate groundwater use by small scale investors that cultivate irrigated crops on land rented from community members.”

The fieldwork, which was permitted by the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI), is moving ahead in the coming weeks, with the ILSSI team taking all necessary measures to safely conduct the work despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The team supplies the necessary personal protective equipment to all individuals participating in the games, interviews, and discussions, encourages frequent use of hand sanitzer, and observes social distancing measures.

In six months, a round of follow-up visits to the communities is planned to examine to which extent the insights brought about by the games has an effect on groundwater governance over the long term.

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

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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.

Interview: Ethiopian entrepreneur invents new plow that breaks down barriers for small scale irrigation

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Expanding the use of small scale irrigation requires problem solving across sectors. The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI) is partnering with private sector actors who can play important roles in developing and bringing to market innovative technologies. That’s what Melesse Temesgen, General Manager of Aybar Engineering PLC, did when he invented a new plow with numerous benefits, including increased infiltration of rainwater. His invention can help make more groundwater available for farmers to practice small scale irrigation in the Ethiopian Highlands.

What’s the problem with the traditional Maresha plow that is so widely used by farmers in the Ethiopian Highlands?

The main problem with the traditional Maresha plow is that it creates V-shaped furrows, leaving behind unplowed strips of land. Farmers have to plow at least twice, sometimes three times, and they have to move in a crisscross pattern over their fields. Beyond taking time and energy, this effort damages the soil structure, and it makes contour plowing—that is, following along the contours of the steep slopes—impossible.

Melesse Temesgen is the General Manager of Aybar Engineering PLC. Photo: AfricaInnovation.org.

Farmers are forced to place furrows along the slope, and that encourages rainwater runoff and soil erosion. That’s why the land in the Highlands of Ethiopia is severely degraded. Also, high rainwater runoff means that infiltration and groundwater recharge is very low.

Using the Maresha plow to till at the same shallow depth during centuries has created a hard crust below the soil’s surface that reduces water infiltration and root growth. This also results in soil loss and reduced groundwater recharge. This means that farmers face water shortages during the dry season.

Other problems caused by the Maresha plow include high evaporation of water from soil, difficulties in getting rid of weeds, a need for high draft power, and incompatibility with other soil conservation practices.

What benefits come from using the Berken plow that you invented?

The Berken plow solves all of the above problems. It completely tills the soil in the first plowing, and it allows farmers to carry out contour plowing. It tills deeper and disrupts the hard crust. It is also convenient to use in fields where soil and water conservation structures have been built. It requires less draft power, it controls weeds better, and it improves root growth, which results in better crop yields. In combination, this increases infiltration, boosting the groundwater level and water flowing in streams during the dry season. Increasing the availability of water is very important for smallholder irrigators.

Inspecting the Berken plow. Photo: Rudi Schmitter.
Field-testing the Berken plow in the Ethiopian Highlands. Photo: Rudi Schmitter.

How did you come up with the idea?

Long ago, we realized that the traditional Maresha plow is not effective, and we have tested out several different alternative options that didn’t work out for different reasons. Then, on March 5, 2007, two weeks after defending my PhD, I suddenly thought of creating a plow that tills deeply over a relatively narrow strip of land in combination with tilling at a more shallow depth over a wider area. This results in wide furrows, meaning farmers only have to plow once, and it breaks up the hard crust. But coming up with an acceptable prototype was not so easy. The first versions were not effective, while later versions were too heavy for the oxen to pull. These were followed by improved and lighter versions. The Berken plow, which has proved to have an ideal design, is the sixth version and was developed in 2015.

A close-up of the new Berken plow. Melesse Temesgen.

What have you learned from collaborating with ILSSI and our partners?

Working with ILSSI researchers has been very helpful. They studied the plow and its hydrological and agronomic impact scientifically. Their research enabled us to explain the benefits of the Berken plow in a scientific way, which became crucial for the promotion of the technology. This type of support from public researchers should be encouraged, and collaboration should be further strengthened.

What is the next step to bringing the Berken plow to more farmers in the market?

We are currently promoting and selling the Berken plow. Farmers like the plow very much, and it is the first improved plow in Ethiopia to be directly purchased by smallholder farmers.

What farmers like about the Berken plow is that it is easy to assemble and adjust, it is easily pulled by oxen, and it is good at eliminating weeds. In addition to having several agronomic and economic benefits, we plan to show smallholders that the Berken plow can also support small scale irrigation and the ecosystem by increasing water flow in streams and boosting groundwater levels during the dry season. We base our arguments not only on the design of the plow, but also on the findings of ILSSI researchers.

From the field: Understanding what is holding back irrigated food production in Mali

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In Mali, food production is and will continue to be severely limited as long as farmers do not have access to water for irrigation. So far, expansion of new irrigation technologies and practices is slow. One ILSSI researcher went to the field to investigate why.

While Mali shows potential for solar irrigation in some areas, it also differs from other countries in which the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI) works. Much of the country falls within arid and hyper-arid agro-ecological zones, meaning that it is very hot and dry. As the U.S. Government’s Global Food Security Strategy for Mali highlights, the people of Mali are also highly vulnerable to climate change and variability.

One ILSSI scientist, Ephraim Nkonya, who is a fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), met with key irrigation stakeholders in Mali in December 2019 and again in January 2020. His field visits provided insights on challenges to expanding the use of small scale irrigation in the country.

Demand exceeds supply

Nkonya visited the IPRO IRRIGAR project in the city of Sikasso in southern Mali, which has constructed 50 micro dams over the past couple years. The dams create small reservoirs, which can provide water for irrigation, and are part of the project’s efforts to strengthen food security and nutritional status among local communities by increasing and diversifying agricultural production.

Once a dam is in place, a development project funded by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) – the Programme d’Appui aux Sous-secteurs de l’Irrigation de Proximité (PASSIP) – provides farmers with agricultural extension services and technical support, alongside public agencies. While a sought-after solution to the general lack of water for irrigation, the demand for new dams far outpaces the ability of the project to build more, according to local stakeholders.

Slow adoption of new technology

A farmer irrigates his field using a calabash bowl. This time intensive practice makes it difficult to expand the irrigated area. Tingju Zhu/IFPRI.
A farmer irrigates his field using a calabash bowl. This time-intensive practice makes it difficult to expand the area under irrigation. Tingju Zhu/IFPRI.

In addition, bucket irrigation remains a key water lifting and application technology in this part of Mali, despite investments in irrigation by various donors and partners. Nkonya saw farmers irrigating using buckets and calabash bowls to lift water.

However, as past ILSSI and other research has shown, this form of irrigation, which is also widely practiced in northern Ghana, is highly time intensive. Manual approaches to lifting and applying water on fields limit the potential for expanding irrigation. Nkonya also observed incipient adoption of motor pumps, which require much less labor, but only by men. Women dominate rice production in the area, but only irrigate manually, such as with buckets.

Further research needed

To get a better sense of what is holding back the expansion of small scale irrigation in Mali, Nkonya met with a wide range of stakeholders. These included USAID, partners from the Institut d’Economie Rurale (IER), the Deputy National Director of Rural Engineering, who oversees Mali’s small scale irrigation program (PNIP), and the Projet Initiative de Renforcement de la Résilience par l’Irrigation et la Gestion Appropriée des Ressources (IPRO IRRIGAR) based in Sikasso.

Future field research by ILSSI and its partners will further probe why a gender gap exists when it comes to adoption of various irrigation practices in Mali as well as investigate the linkages between household water security and water availability for food production.

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