Success Stories

Small scale irrigated forage production: Abate Wale’s pathway out of poverty and malnutrition

July 19, 2022 by abbey.kunkle

by Melkamu Derseh, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)

Abate Wale is one of the early adopters of irrigated fodder production practices promoted by the USAID supported Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation in the Robit Bata Kebele of Bahir Dar Zuria district. Like any other farmer in the mixed farming system, Abate’s livelihood depends on crop production and livestock rearing. His engagement in small scale irrigation and improved livestock production has helped him to diversify his income. “I am now in a better position to lead my family than few years back,” he says.

**Senait Abate, daughter of Abate Wale**
**(Photo credit: Apollo Habtamu/ILRI)**

Change in family nutrition

Abate has five children, all of whom are attending school in their locality. Senait was a little girl four years ago (Fig 1, left) when a documentary of early adopters of irrigated fodder was produced (https://www.ilri.org/news/irrigated-forages-improve-livestock-productivity-and-livelihoods-ethiopia). Now, well grown and with a smiling face (Fig 1, right), she said that the family has more cows now than before. “My mother gives me milk every day, before and after school. I am now in grade 2 and am happy with my school time,” she said. The way Abate’s children are growing and sent to school are testimonies to an improved life for his family.

Abate’s children in their fodder farm (right, Senait Abate) (Photo credit: Apollo Habtamu)

Increased feed biomass and quality of feed

Abate recalls his first experience several years back, “When researchers from the International Livestock Research Institute and Andassa Research Center approached us and explained the benefits of growing fodder for livestock using supplemental irrigation, many of us were skeptical of the benefits, but I decided to try it on a small plot.” He added, “After I tried it, I was surprised to harvest fodder every 4 weeks and get good quality feed from a small plot. As a result, my interest to expand my fodder plot has increased.”

Abate Wale, carrying milk he has just milked from his cows

Change of attitude

When the ILSSI project started experimenting with irrigated fodder in the Robit kebele, farmers in the kebele had no prior experience cultivating fodder and only just over a dozen (15-17) farmers were willing to collaborate with researchers and allocate a small plot (100m²) for the trial, Abate being one of them. Through a series of on-farm trials and demonstrations, however, the awareness and interest of farmers has increased considerably. Nowadays, close to 300 farmers are producing irrigated fodder on a range of farmland sizes in that village. The demand increases every year and researchers are working with development partners to reach more farmers.

Abate is also one of the farmers who replaced part of the Khat plant [stimulant] in his farmland with irrigated fodder to be able to produce enough feed for his lactating cows.

Currently, he allocates a total of 1250m² of land (9% of his total land holding) for irrigated fodder production. Compared to Khat production, Abate explains that irrigated fodder is less labor and [agri-chemical] input demanding, and he is happy with the new practice.

Diversified income options

He said, “My income from the sale of milk increased considerably after I started using irrigated fodder to feed my lactating cows, and milk available for my children also doubled.” Prior to the intervention, he had only local cows. Over time, he acquired a crossbred cow – which produce more milk than local breeds – through Andassa Research Center. Now he has two crossbred lactating cows and plans to increase that number in the future.

Formation of a dairy cooperative

“The presence of a functioning dairy cooperative on our doorstep encourages me to engage more in irrigated fodder and dairying,” he said, referring to the new milk collection and processing facility built by the Genet Lerobit farmer dairy cooperative through ILSSI project support.

The first attempt at a cooperative, which was formed before the ILSSI project’s intervention, collapsed as members could not supply sufficient milk for the market due to low volume of milk production because of the feed shortage. However, after the intervention of irrigated forages project, the cooperative was revived.

Market challenges

The successes are, however, not without challenges. Abate says a reliable market for milk remains a constraint for the farmers in the village. “Through our cooperative, we supply milk to collectors and processors. However, the milk collectors and processors sometimes do not respect the contract agreement they entered with us and hold back our money for a long time. We are still hopeful the cooperative would be in a better position to bring our dairy products to the market,” he said.

Explaining this issue, the chairman of the dairy cooperative said that the contract agreement they entered with milk processors was on a post-paid basis. That means they supply milk daily to the processor and payment is made at the end of the month based on the amount of milk supplied. However, recently one processor owed the cooperative more than six hundred thousand birr (approx. USD 12,000), but failed to pay them for more than five months.

Abate participating in field days organized to evaluate different forage options (Photo credit: Apollo Habtamu/ILRI)

Alternative ways to mitigate challenges

The chairman noted that despite such challenges, members including Abate continue to bring their milk to the cooperative and currently it supplies about 500 liters of milk daily to the local market. “The cooperative is now embarking on processing milk into shelf stable products (butter and cheese) in the newly built facility with the financial and technical support of the Innovation Lab, and we hope this will solve some of the market problems we face at the moment,” he said. They also count on the support and commitment of district and zonal level experts and decision makers to further increase their dairy production in the locality. Consumption of nutrient-dense dairy foods is widely understood to improve child nutrition and health.

Newly built milk collection and processing center

Lessons

Small scale irrigated forages production can change livelihoods if supported by research products like improved forage varieties, irrigation technologies, and follow up assistance from public sector and local stakeholders. Moreover, attention to fodder to dairy value chain elements and working with partners to address each element is crucial to sustain the benefits. To decide which technology to adopt, farmers need to see for themselves what works for them. In this respect, the participatory research approach that the ILSSI project followed in the project sites serves as a platform for scaling up lessons.

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.

Scientists and entrepreneurs battle climate change and water scarcity in the Ethiopian Highlands

March 18, 2020 by Marianne Gadeberg

Groundwater comes from the ground, right? Wrong. In the face of growing water scarcity, scientists, entrepreneurs, and farmers turn the problem on its head and increase groundwater reserves through improved water and soil management.

It is no surprise that millions of farmers are facing increasing water scarcity under the current climate crisis. In the Ethiopian Highlands, this reality strikes especially hard when the dry season begins every year in October. As the rain stops, farmers rely on shallow wells to supply them with water for basic household needs, livestock, and irrigation.

Each year, many of these farmers eventually – say, around December – come to discover that their well has run dry. Groundwater reserves have become exhausted before the end of the dry season. These water shortages have serious consequences for the health and welfare of farmers, and reducing water use has been considered the obvious answer. What’s often overlooked is that groundwater availability during the dry season can be boosted if only water and soil are used and managed right during the previous season.

Scientists from the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI) are looking at rainfall and groundwater as one interconnected system. This shift in thinking opens the door to a new kind of solution, namely to increase the supply of groundwater, in addition to limiting its use when viable. A new plow, developed by an Ethiopian entrepreneur, provides part of the answer.

Plowing at the same depth for centuries creates a hard crust in some soils, hindering groundwater recharge. Petterik Wiggers/IWMI.

A lifeline during the dry season

Households in Ethiopia’s Highlands rely primarily on shallow wells, up to 25 meters deep, to access groundwater for all uses, according to a survey carried out by graduate students at Bahir Dar University, in partnership with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

Being able to rely on wells for year-round access to water is a main coping mechanism for farmers living in a changing climate. This means that communities are left with difficult choices when wells are depleted in the middle of the dry season. What little water might be left in the wells, plus whatever can be carried in from other better-supplied wells, ponds, or rivers, must be used wisely.

When it comes to prioritizing water uses – drinking, washing, watering livestock, and farming – it is often irrigation that loses out, as households have to choose. But, without enough water for irrigation during the dry season, fewer nutritious crops will be available, leaving families hungry and undernourished. Restocking shallow groundwater reserves therefore becomes central to ensuring healthy, viable livelihoods.

A new plow could help

Groundwater reserves are replenished when rainfall infiltrates into the deeper soils. But this natural cycle has been disrupted in the Ethiopian Highlands, where much of the otherwise ample rainfall runs off the sloping hills sides, causing soil erosion and destruction.

For centuries, Ethiopian farmers have used the traditional Maresha plow to till their lands. The problem is that plowing at the same depth for so many years has in some soils formed a hard crust – a hardpan – below the surface. It prevents infiltration of rainwater into the deeper layers of the ground, thus hindering much-needed recharge of groundwater reserves.

The Berken plow, invented by private sector entrepreneur Aybar, is tested. Rudi Schmitter.

Manually breaking up this hard crust can reduce rainwater runoff by more than half, but the work is cumbersome, and without access to suitable machinery, farmers are unlikely to do it. That’s one reason why ILSSI researchers – at IWMI and Bahir Dar University – have collaborated with private entrepreneur Aybar to test a new kind of plow. The Berken plow cuts deeper than the traditional plow, breaking up the hard crust formed in previous years. Emerging research results indicate that the plow conserves soil and water by reducing rainwater runoff and that reduced soil disturbance increases soil moisture.

In other words, using the new Berken plow might increase water stored in soils, helping to recharge groundwater reserves. This would mean that more water would be available for dry season irrigation, and for supplementary irrigation in the rainy season, thanks in part to a private sector innovation.

Limited groundwater on the slopes of the highlands

Restocking groundwater reserves where possible, using tools such as the Berken plow, is not in and of itself sufficient to ensure that farmers have enough water to irrigate their fields. In the Ethiopian Highlands, sloping hills represent a particular challenge.

ILSSI researchers, with partners, have discovered that groundwater reserves are rapidly diminishing in the highlands throughout the dry season because it migrates away from the hillside through the soil. Because gravity pulls groundwater away from the hillsides, sloping lands can only provide significant irrigation inputs during the first three months out of the eight months long dry season, their research showed. In the remaining part of the dry season period, only wells located at the bottom of the slopes, close to faults, contained water.

These results were obtained in a study of the Robit Bata watershed in Ethiopia’s Lake Tana basin, where almost half the area is made up of slopes above 10 percent, which is representative of watersheds in the highlands of Ethiopia. This limited availability of groundwater on the slopes highlight that when planning for small scale irrigation, it is not enough to consider the groundwater recharge only and ignore the lateral movement of water. If the lateral flow of groundwater away from hillsides is not considered, any estimated irrigation potential will be unrealistic in actual practice.

Therefore, introducing conservation agriculture and best farming practices could help farmers grow more crops, even as shallow groundwater travels downhill. Researchers from Bahir Dar University have shown that the combination of best irrigation practices and conservation agriculture helps limit the amount of moisture that evaporates from the soil, thus increasing soil moisture and crop productivity.

Mulching between crops is one characteristic of conservation agriculture. Mulugeta Ayene/WLE.

Better water management for climate resilience

The biggest lesson for farmers and decision-makers alike is that groundwater and rainfall are closely interlinked. Private sector innovations and improved farming practices can help farmers manage water as one system – recharging groundwater as much as possible, in addition to using available water as best as possible. Improving management of rain- and groundwater, by understanding that the two make up one interlinked resource, is a critical climate adaptation strategy.

Solar-powered irrigation could boost climate resilience for millions

March 10, 2020 by Marianne Gadeberg

Sewagegn, a local smallholder farmer, and Gebeyaw, a data collector, set up Sewagegn's solar powered pump to irrigate her backyard garden in Danghesta, Amhara region of Ethiopia. Photo by Mulugeta Ayene/WLE. — Sewagegn, a local smallholder farmer, and Gebeyaw, a data collector, set up Sewagegn’s solar powered pump to irrigate her backyard garden in Danghesta, Amhara region of Ethiopia. Photo by Mulugeta Ayene/WLE.

The impacts of climate change in sub-Saharan Africa are severe and have far-reaching consequences for millions of smallholder farmers. Rising temperatures, destructive locust swarms, and increasingly erratic rainfall make it difficult for farmers to grow food and meet basic needs.

Expanding small scale irrigation is emerging as part of the solution. When farmers take irrigation into their own hands, they are able to increase production, both by supplementing their rainfed crops with irrigation and by growing an additional harvest during the dry season. Small scale irrigation brings immense benefits, including better nutrition, higher incomes, and greater climate resilience.

Coming up on this year’s World Water Day, which is about water and climate change, we are taking a closer look at what it will take for even more farmers to get started with small scale irrigation.

Putting solar-powered irrigation to the (field) test

During the past few years, ILSSI and its partners, namely the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), have worked with farmers to test a number of small scale irrigation technologies. The researchers looked at how to support farmers to improve agricultural production, water use efficiency, and water productivity, and they addressed challenges related to gender inequality, lack of access to credit, and the technology supply chain.

One thing has become clear: solar-powered pumps can offer an affordable and effective irrigation solution when shallow groundwater or surface water resources are available.

Solar-powered pumps offer opportunities for farmers who are in rural areas without access to electricity. Using solar irrigation lowers costs compared to running petrol-powered pumps, and addresses other constraints related to fuels.

According to a recent report from Dalberg, “These solar water pumps have the potential to reach up to 1.6 million households in sub-Saharan Africa by 2025 and as many as 2.8 million households by 2030—a value of approximately USD 1.6 billion by 2030”. To get the best results for farmers, investments in solar-powered irrigation should be coupled with strengthening agricultural value chains, so that equipment is easily accessible in the market and produce can be off-loaded at attractive prices.

To give guidance on where solar-powered irrigation investments might best be made, IWMI researchers – partially funded by ILSSI and working as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) – developed a methodology for mapping the suitability of solar irrigation. They have now generated maps for Ethiopia, Mali, and Ghana.

During roundtable meetings organized by ILSSI, private companies have shown interest in using these maps to assess where they could grow the market, based on available resources and infrastructure. Technology supply companies have noted that they have a stake in water resource sustainability, and welcomed maps that considered agro-ecological zones, water resource availability and sustainability, as well as market factors, such as demographics and infrastructure. Companies have an interest in both economic and natural resource sustainability, but often lack the resources to individually develop such complex maps.

Mequanent Tena, 20, works as a data collector at the Qoga site near Bahirdar in Ethiopia. More than 1,068 farmers benefit from the use of Chameleon sensor, an irrigation scheduling tool, which primarily uses color to indicate when farmers have irrigated just the right amount. Maheder Haileselassie/IWMI.

In addition to the solar suitability mapping, IWMI – through ILSSI and the Africa RISING project – have tested irrigation scheduling tools. Introduction of irrigation scheduling has enabled farmers to achieve higher water productivity. Farmers were also able to reduce their labor input by knowing when to use how much water, and that in turn meant they produced more and better crops. While the impact of using the tools varied by country, depending on capacity and information access, evidence suggested that irrigation scheduling tools have the potential to improve farmers’ income and enhance water resource management.

Expanding with the help of private sector and development partners

Two main avenues exist for expanding the use of small scale irrigation. A market-based approach seeks to strengthen the equipment supply chain and connect irrigating farmers to produce markets. Where markets are less developed, or there is a need to support resource-poor farmers, development partners and public institutions are making investments in this field.

Currently, with support from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), IWMI with Futurepump and partners are scaling out the use of solar suitability maps through an online interactive tool for sub-Saharan Africa. This open access tool, currently in a test phase, can help companies determine where solar pumping would be suitable, thereby reducing the risks they might otherwise face when investing in frontier markets. The tool is currently being evaluated by private sector partners in Ghana, Ethiopia, and Mali.

The tool can also be used by development partners and NGOs to target their interventions and activities in solar-powered irrigation, and it is already in high demand. For example, GIZ found the mapping tool to be a good investment, and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) is requesting national suitability analysis in West Africa to inform their regional programs.

The irrigation scheduling tools have also drawn the attention of development partners. Research under ILSSI and Africa RISING in Ethiopia suggested that farmers learn from these tools – and from each other – influencing when and how much they irrigate. These promising results have spurred other efforts. For example, a larger assessment in Ethiopia to build local communication networks for water user associations (WUA) around ICT and non-ICT based scheduling tools is funded by FAO. Along the same lines, a low-cost irrigation scheduling sensor is currently being considered for scaling in other African countries through the Water Enabler Compact under the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation program funded by the African Development Bank.

Future efforts toward outcomes

A better understanding of barriers to and opportunities for expanding small scale irrigation is one important outcome of this ongoing research by ILSSI and its partners. These insights have informed private sector companies, donors, and development partners, which are now using ILSSI’s evidence and related tools to guide their investments in irrigation. IWMI, with the support of ILSSI and GIZ, has developed a private sector survey to further identify systemic barriers in irrigation supply chains.

Over the coming years, ILSSI will continue to help along investments in farmer-led irrigation – enabling irrigation investors to scale and expand – thus contributing to greater food production and climate resilience in sub-Saharan Africa.

Fighting malnutrition with irrigation

December 9, 2019 by matt.stellbauer

Malnutrition remains a major global challenge, despite concerted efforts to improve the diets and health of especially women and children. Globally, 822 million people are chronically undernourished, 49.5 million children under five years of age are wasted, and 149 million children are still stunted. What’s more, girls who are undernourished before they are born and as children risk having low–birth weight babies later in life. As it stands, we are not on track to achieve the nutrition targets set under the Sustainable Development Goals.

Now, new research supported by USAID through the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI) is shining the spotlight on a so far under-appreciated avenue for improving nutrition: irrigation.

A woman inspects vegetables for sale in Accra, Ghana. Photo: Felix Antonio/IWMI.

Irrigation can boost nutrition in ways both expected and surprising. This new knowledge has the potential to shape future irrigation initiatives and bring us one step closer to nutrition security for all, not least because it underpins a recently published World Bank guidance note on nutrition-sensitive irrigation and water management.

Irrigating for nutrition

ILSSI partners, notably the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), have found that irrigation has a strong, positive effect on a household’s economic access to food and dietary diversity. For example, irrigation allows smallholders to fill dietary gaps during the dry season and to consume more nutritious foods, such as vegetables and eggs, which are key for child growth and overall health.

“This research is important because it finally establishes that irrigation can contribute to improving nutrition, and it also shows precisely how it happens,” said ILSSI Director Nicole Lefore. “Being able to provide evidence on how irrigation leads to improved nutrition has important implications because it broadens the toolbox available to policy makers and investors working to improve nutrition in smallholder communities, while achieving climate resilience and water security.”

Understanding the pathways from irrigation to nutrition is of particular importance because while irrigation can improve nutritional status, pathways vary by location and context. In addition, various pathways can reinforce or cancel out each other. For example, irrigation could risk undermining nutrition and health goals by causing water pollution and water-related diseases, if not carefully designed.

In fact, until recently, the only link between water and nutrition that received interest and support was ‘WASH’, that is, water, sanitation, and hygiene, explained Claudia Ringler, deputy director of environment and production technology at IFPRI.

“There has been a sense that irrigation wasn’t really contributing to nutrition or to health, but rather that it was competing with and polluting water resources for domestic use,” said Ringler. “That’s the origin of this work – I wanted to really explore the role that irrigation can play for nutrition.”

Four pathways

Ringler and her colleagues identified four different pathways from irrigation to nutrition: through increasing farmers’ agricultural production, through increasing their income, through empowering women, and through providing water for domestic and sanitation purposes.

“Empowerment of women through irrigation, that’s probably something people don’t really think about as leading to better nutrition,” said Ringler. That irrigation can provide water for sanitation and hygiene, and thus improve nutrition, is also seldom recognized, she explained.

Empowering women to influence decision making may lead to greater spending on health care and nutritious foods. Photo: Apollo Habtamu/ILRI.

For example, drawing on data collected through household surveys in Ethiopia and Tanzania, Ringler and her colleagues found that irrigating households in both countries produced more vegetables, fruits and cash crops and had a higher production diversity and dietary diversity than non-irrigating households.

These positive outcomes were thanks in part to an increase in incomes. Farmers could spend more money on more diverse foods and health care. But, results also indicated that dietary diversity was greater in female-headed households, supporting the notion that empowering women translates into greater spending on nutritious diets.

Influencing irrigation investments

The World Bank published a guidance note on nutrition-sensitive irrigation and water management investments in August 2019, drawing on ILSSI’s research results.

“We were contacted by The World Bank, and they told us that our findings had inspired them to think beyond ‘WASH’ when it comes to water-nutrition linkages,” said Ringler.

The guidance note describes the four irrigation-to-nutrition pathways identified by IFPRI researchers, and suggests entry points for improving the nutritional outcomes of irrigation and water management investments, from the beginning of the planning process.

“What’s also very useful are the indicators the guidelines include, which allow projects to monitor, for example, the share of nutrient-dense crops irrigated, the number of food-insecure people served and the extent of women’s participation, and so on,” said Ringler. “Our hope is that other investors will also use these indicators to monitor whether their investments are contributing to nutrition goals.”

Publication of the guidelines in August 2019 coincided with World Water Week, where ILSSI results were presented in several sessions, informing discussions on how water and agricultural strategies can improve nutrition and on how to bridge the water–nutrition divide. Following these discussions, the African Union reported that it would communicate the session results to the Africa Green Revolution Forum in Accra, Ghana, and a project supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) said it would further study the concept of dietary water productivity in five countries. Furthermore, The World Bank also committed to testing the new guidelines on nutrition-sensitive irrigation development in Uganda.

Claudia Ringler presents ILSSI research results at World Water Week 2019. Photo: Niroshini Fernando/WLE.

All of these stakeholders are collaborating and sharing evidence through the Water and Nutrition Working Group under FAO’s Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture in a Changing Climate, co-led by Ringler.

Making change in Ethiopia

National partners and policy makers in Ethiopia are also showing significant interest in ILSSI’s recommendations on how irrigation can improve nutritional status.

“When we first started the ILSSI project and began working with Ethiopian public health officials, they believed that irrigation would be bad for nutrition and health because of pollution, although they acknowledged that no data has been collected on this linkage,” explained Ringler.

But as research results emerge, perceptions are changing. After IFPRI researchers first presented their findings to an Ethiopian audience last year, the USAID Mission in Ethiopia and other national stakeholders have expressed interest in learning more.

“This interest demonstrates a potential for shifting to nutrition-sensitive irrigation investments in Ethiopia,” said Lefore. “We are showing that there is an opportunity to increase nutrition security by supporting farmers to invest in small scale irrigation and commercialize their production.”

This approach would not only raise the incomes of farmers – allowing them to boost the nutrition of their household – but also bring more diverse and nutritious foods to local and national markets for broader impact, Lefore explained.

Going forward, ILSSI seeks to respond to the major threat that climate change and weather variability pose to nutrition security in sub-Saharan Africa. Researchers are continuing studies to identify the linkages between nutrition, human resilience and weather extremes to better understand how irrigation might contribute to resilience – particularly food and nutrition security – during extended dry spells and droughts.