Comparative performance of irrigated and rainfed agriculture in Ethiopia

With its an estimated human population of 85 million which increases annually at about 2.7 per cent, Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) only after Nigeria. Agriculture contributes about 45% and 85% to the GDP and the export earnings, respectively. However, agric...

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Autores principales: Tilahun, H., Erkossa, Teklu, Michael, M., Hagos, Fitsum, Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2011
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/41794
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author Tilahun, H.
Erkossa, Teklu
Michael, M.
Hagos, Fitsum
Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele
author_browse Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele
Erkossa, Teklu
Hagos, Fitsum
Michael, M.
Tilahun, H.
author_facet Tilahun, H.
Erkossa, Teklu
Michael, M.
Hagos, Fitsum
Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele
author_sort Tilahun, H.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description With its an estimated human population of 85 million which increases annually at about 2.7 per cent, Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) only after Nigeria. Agriculture contributes about 45% and 85% to the GDP and the export earnings, respectively. However, agriculture largely depends on the highly variable rainfall. Accentuated with the rampant land degradation, the seasonal and annual variation in rainfall severely impedes agricultural productivity. In the face of soaring global food prices, importing agricultural products is becoming more challenging. This entails a substantial increase in water and land productivity through investment in both rainfed and irrigated agriculture. Irrigation projects often require huge financial and capital investment. As a result, rain fed agriculture may continue to play a major role in the near future, especially in areas with sufficient rainfall. Therefore, prioritization and resources allocation to the rainfed and irrigated agriculture should ensure the efficient use of the limited resources. This study compared the efficiency of the small-scale irrigation (SSI) and the large-scale irrigated agricultural schemes in different river basins against the rain fed system. The study indicated that irrigated agriculture is more efficient both in terms of water use and economics regardless of the typology or the basins considered. The large-scale schemes are more efficient than the small-scale ones. This may be attributed to the use of other complementary crop management technologies such as fertilizers and the use of improved crop varieties. Although rainfed agriculture remains important for a long period to come, gradual transformation to irrigation particularly to largescale schemes may lead to efficient use of resources for economic development.
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spelling CGSpace417942024-05-04T09:08:56Z Comparative performance of irrigated and rainfed agriculture in Ethiopia Tilahun, H. Erkossa, Teklu Michael, M. Hagos, Fitsum Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele irrigated farming rainfed farming irrigation systems irrigation schemes small scale systems river basins water use efficiency economic aspects With its an estimated human population of 85 million which increases annually at about 2.7 per cent, Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) only after Nigeria. Agriculture contributes about 45% and 85% to the GDP and the export earnings, respectively. However, agriculture largely depends on the highly variable rainfall. Accentuated with the rampant land degradation, the seasonal and annual variation in rainfall severely impedes agricultural productivity. In the face of soaring global food prices, importing agricultural products is becoming more challenging. This entails a substantial increase in water and land productivity through investment in both rainfed and irrigated agriculture. Irrigation projects often require huge financial and capital investment. As a result, rain fed agriculture may continue to play a major role in the near future, especially in areas with sufficient rainfall. Therefore, prioritization and resources allocation to the rainfed and irrigated agriculture should ensure the efficient use of the limited resources. This study compared the efficiency of the small-scale irrigation (SSI) and the large-scale irrigated agricultural schemes in different river basins against the rain fed system. The study indicated that irrigated agriculture is more efficient both in terms of water use and economics regardless of the typology or the basins considered. The large-scale schemes are more efficient than the small-scale ones. This may be attributed to the use of other complementary crop management technologies such as fertilizers and the use of improved crop varieties. Although rainfed agriculture remains important for a long period to come, gradual transformation to irrigation particularly to largescale schemes may lead to efficient use of resources for economic development. 2011 2014-07-25T11:40:44Z 2014-07-25T11:40:44Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/41794 en Limited Access Tilahun, H.; Erkossa, Teklu; Michael, M.; Hagos, Fitsum; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele. 2011. Comparative performance of irrigated and rainfed agriculture in Ethiopia. World Applied Sciences Journal, 14(2):235-244.
spellingShingle irrigated farming
rainfed farming
irrigation systems
irrigation schemes
small scale systems
river basins
water use efficiency
economic aspects
Tilahun, H.
Erkossa, Teklu
Michael, M.
Hagos, Fitsum
Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele
Comparative performance of irrigated and rainfed agriculture in Ethiopia
title Comparative performance of irrigated and rainfed agriculture in Ethiopia
title_full Comparative performance of irrigated and rainfed agriculture in Ethiopia
title_fullStr Comparative performance of irrigated and rainfed agriculture in Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed Comparative performance of irrigated and rainfed agriculture in Ethiopia
title_short Comparative performance of irrigated and rainfed agriculture in Ethiopia
title_sort comparative performance of irrigated and rainfed agriculture in ethiopia
topic irrigated farming
rainfed farming
irrigation systems
irrigation schemes
small scale systems
river basins
water use efficiency
economic aspects
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/41794
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AT hagosfitsum comparativeperformanceofirrigatedandrainfedagricultureinethiopia
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