Livestock water productivity in the Blue Nile Basin: assessment of farm scale heterogeneity

A recent study of the livestock water productivity (LWP), at higher spatial scales in the Blue Nile Basin, indicated strong variability across regions. To get an insight into the causes of this variability, we examined the effect of farm households’ access to productive resources (e.g. land, livesto...

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Autores principales: Haileslassie, Amare, Peden, Donald G., Gebreselassie, S., Amede, Tilahun, Wagnew, A., Taddesse, G.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation 2009
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147
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author Haileslassie, Amare
Peden, Donald G.
Gebreselassie, S.
Amede, Tilahun
Wagnew, A.
Taddesse, G.
author_browse Amede, Tilahun
Gebreselassie, S.
Haileslassie, Amare
Peden, Donald G.
Taddesse, G.
Wagnew, A.
author_facet Haileslassie, Amare
Peden, Donald G.
Gebreselassie, S.
Amede, Tilahun
Wagnew, A.
Taddesse, G.
author_sort Haileslassie, Amare
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description A recent study of the livestock water productivity (LWP), at higher spatial scales in the Blue Nile Basin, indicated strong variability across regions. To get an insight into the causes of this variability, we examined the effect of farm households’ access to productive resources (e.g. land, livestock) on LWP in potato–barley, barley–wheat, teff–millet and rice farming systems of the Gumera watershed (in the Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia). We randomly selected 180 farm households. The sizes of the samples, in each system, were proportional to the respective system’s area. Then we grouped the samples, using a participatory wealth ranking method, into three wealth groups (rich, medium and poor) and used structured and pre-tested questionnaires to collect data on crops and livestock management and applied reference evapotranspiration (ET0) and crop coefficient (Kc) approaches to estimate depleted (evapotranspiration) water in producing animal feed and food crops. Then, we estimated LWP as a ratio of livestock’s beneficial outputs to water depleted. Our results suggest strong variability of LWP across the different systems: ranging between 0.3 and 0.6 US$ m-3 year-1. The tendency across different farming systems was comparable with results from previous studies at higher spatial scales. The range among different wealth groups was wider (0.1 to 0.6 US$ m-3 year-1) than among the farming systems. This implies that aggregating water productivity (to a system scale) masks hotspots and bright spots. Our result also revealed a positive trend between water productivity (LWP and crop water productivity, CWP) and farm households’ access to resources. Thus, we discuss our findings in relation to poverty alleviation and integrated land and water management to combat unsustainable water management practices in the Blue Nile Basin.
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spelling CGSpace1472025-12-08T10:29:22Z Livestock water productivity in the Blue Nile Basin: assessment of farm scale heterogeneity Haileslassie, Amare Peden, Donald G. Gebreselassie, S. Amede, Tilahun Wagnew, A. Taddesse, G. livestock feeds water productivity farming systems crop management evapotranspiration river basins land use poverty water depletion households surveys A recent study of the livestock water productivity (LWP), at higher spatial scales in the Blue Nile Basin, indicated strong variability across regions. To get an insight into the causes of this variability, we examined the effect of farm households’ access to productive resources (e.g. land, livestock) on LWP in potato–barley, barley–wheat, teff–millet and rice farming systems of the Gumera watershed (in the Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia). We randomly selected 180 farm households. The sizes of the samples, in each system, were proportional to the respective system’s area. Then we grouped the samples, using a participatory wealth ranking method, into three wealth groups (rich, medium and poor) and used structured and pre-tested questionnaires to collect data on crops and livestock management and applied reference evapotranspiration (ET0) and crop coefficient (Kc) approaches to estimate depleted (evapotranspiration) water in producing animal feed and food crops. Then, we estimated LWP as a ratio of livestock’s beneficial outputs to water depleted. Our results suggest strong variability of LWP across the different systems: ranging between 0.3 and 0.6 US$ m-3 year-1. The tendency across different farming systems was comparable with results from previous studies at higher spatial scales. The range among different wealth groups was wider (0.1 to 0.6 US$ m-3 year-1) than among the farming systems. This implies that aggregating water productivity (to a system scale) masks hotspots and bright spots. Our result also revealed a positive trend between water productivity (LWP and crop water productivity, CWP) and farm households’ access to resources. Thus, we discuss our findings in relation to poverty alleviation and integrated land and water management to combat unsustainable water management practices in the Blue Nile Basin. 2009 2009-11-28T17:32:11Z 2009-11-28T17:32:11Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147 en Limited Access Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Haileslassie, A., Peden, D., Gebreselassie, S., Amede, T., Wagnew, A., & Taddesse, G. (2009). Livestock water productivity in the Blue Nile Basin: assessment of farm scale heterogeneity. The Rangeland Journal, 31(2), 213. https://doi.org/10.1071/rj09006
spellingShingle livestock
feeds
water productivity
farming systems
crop management
evapotranspiration
river basins
land use
poverty
water depletion
households
surveys
Haileslassie, Amare
Peden, Donald G.
Gebreselassie, S.
Amede, Tilahun
Wagnew, A.
Taddesse, G.
Livestock water productivity in the Blue Nile Basin: assessment of farm scale heterogeneity
title Livestock water productivity in the Blue Nile Basin: assessment of farm scale heterogeneity
title_full Livestock water productivity in the Blue Nile Basin: assessment of farm scale heterogeneity
title_fullStr Livestock water productivity in the Blue Nile Basin: assessment of farm scale heterogeneity
title_full_unstemmed Livestock water productivity in the Blue Nile Basin: assessment of farm scale heterogeneity
title_short Livestock water productivity in the Blue Nile Basin: assessment of farm scale heterogeneity
title_sort livestock water productivity in the blue nile basin assessment of farm scale heterogeneity
topic livestock
feeds
water productivity
farming systems
crop management
evapotranspiration
river basins
land use
poverty
water depletion
households
surveys
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147
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