FU Berlin For more information contact: (e-mail) Adress: [email protected] http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/africa/east_africa/ Improved Agricultural Water Management In the Nile Basin Farming system Tef Barley Wheat Maize Sorghum Finger Millet Faba bean Field pea Average Tef based single cropping 8.24 9.21 10.4 16.8 9.18 4.98 10.33 6.83 9.50 Barley based single cropping 8.97 14.81 12.23 18.05 12.88 10.97 12.06 8.78 12.34 Sorghum based single cropping 8.66 10.28 11.62 14.01 11.96 9.59 11.87 9.09 10.89 Sorghum based shifting cultivation 7.26 4.89 6.46 20.68 10.93 6.53 6.00 2.66 8.18 Maize based schifting cultivation 5.77 5.18 6.53 20.38 13.72 6.86 5.17 3.69 8.41 Maize based single cropping 7.28 6.25 7.13 22.04 12.92 9.89 6.81 4.18 9.56 Coffee-maize complex 8.21 7.36 8.05 22.05 14.72 9.08 7.77 5.52 10.35 Barley based double cropping 7.31 9.47 9.90 8.23 8.86 1.60 10.30 6.91 7.82 Enset-root crops complex 5.70 5.11 6.52 17.41 10.12 3.58 4.93 4.36 7.22 Average 7.49 8.06 8.76 19.15 11.52 7.01 8.36 5.78 9.36 Agricultural Productivity in Ethiopian Nile and Interventions T. Erkossa and S. B. Awulachew International Water Management Institute Ethiopian part of Nile is dominated by mixed crop‐livestock rainfed agriculture. Agricultural productivity in the area is low due to: high temporal and spatial variation in climate, sever land degradation (Figure 1); lack of appropriate technologies; poor infrastructure & limited extension services, etc. Interventions for sustained & increased productivity and reverse the current state of land degradation are needed. This poster shows the result of study conducted to characterize the prevailing farming systems, identify suitable technologies and assess their possible impacts. Introduction Major reasons for low productivity • Poor nutrient & water storage capacity of soils due to land degradation • Water logging of Vertisols • Shortage and uneven distribution of rainfall, • Lack of suitable technologies Farming systems in the basin is characterized based on: agro‐ecology, soil, major crops grown, degree of crop‐livestock interaction Current productivity of farming systems examined & productivity limiting factors identified Effects of technologies on productivity demonstrated • 2 major farming systems; mixed crop‐ livestock & pastoral/ agropastoral identified (Fig. 2 & 3) • Major farming systems further subdivided to make ten subsystems • Cereal based system composed of single cropping, double cropping and shifting cultivation sub‐systems • Average crop productivity under current management is less than 1 ton ha ‐1 (Table 1) Conclusion • Farming systems can be used as basis for technology scaling up • Use of suitable crop varieties and species, soil and water management practices significantly increase crop & livestock productivity • Integrated application of technologies can maximize the benefits of the interventions • The increased crop and livestock productivity improves the livelihood of the farming communities and ease the pressure on marginal lands, thus alleviating the current extent of land degradation Fig. 1: Land degradation major challenge Figure 2:The major farming system in BNB Table 1 Current productivity of the farming systems (100kg ha -1 ) (CSA 2007) Methodology Results Fig. 3 : Distribution of the farming systems Location Variety Improved practice Traditional practice % increment local 37.3 28.4 32 UCB 46.1 25.9 78 Beletech 39.8 26.3 51 BH_140 45.9 26.4 74 BH-660 57.6 25.8 124 Jimma kuleni 46.2 26.5 75 BH-540 48.96 29.3 67 Adet kuleni 81.8 50.6 61 BH-530 81.7 41.7 96 Pawe BH-140 76.7 41.7 84 BH-140 34.2 29 18 Bako Beletech 38.2 29 32 Figure 5: Effect of tie-ridges on productivity of some crops planted in furrows of tied ridges at Kobbo (a dry area in Nile basin) (Source: George et al., 2001) Figure 4: Effect of organic and inorganic fertilizers on yield of major cereals Source: Edwards, et al., 2006 Table 2: Effect of improve management practices on productivity of maize Impact of Technologies •Improved agronomic practices increased productivity of maize by 124% at Jimma and by 96% at Pawe (Table 2) •Use of compost increased barley and wheat yield from 1 ton ha ‐1 to 2.5 tons ha‐1 (Figure 4) •Mineral fertilizers increased yield of maize from about 1.7 tons ha ‐1 to 2.8 tons ha ‐1 (Figure 4) •Use of tie‐ridges increased grain yield of maize, sorghum, wheat and mung beans by 50 to over 100% as compared to planting on flat beds (Figure 5) •Other studies showed draining the water logged Vertisols can increase the productivity of crops like wheat by over 100%