Participatory planning of appropriate rainwater harvesting and management techniques in the central rift valley dry lands of Ethiopia

Despite the extensive efforts of rainwater harvesting and management (RWHM) interventions for moisture-stressed areas in Ethiopia, the adoption and wider dissemination of the newly introduced techniques have been generally meager. The objective of this study was, therefore, to develop appropriate RW...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Biazin, B., Sterk, G., Temesgen, M.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Canadian Center of Science and Education 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/65969
_version_ 1855515562184015872
author Biazin, B.
Sterk, G.
Temesgen, M.
author_browse Biazin, B.
Sterk, G.
Temesgen, M.
author_facet Biazin, B.
Sterk, G.
Temesgen, M.
author_sort Biazin, B.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Despite the extensive efforts of rainwater harvesting and management (RWHM) interventions for moisture-stressed areas in Ethiopia, the adoption and wider dissemination of the newly introduced techniques have been generally meager. The objective of this study was, therefore, to develop appropriate RWHM techniques through a participatory planning process in the Central Rift Valley (CRV) dry lands of Ethiopia. To achieve this objective, a combination of literature reviews, focus group discussions, questionnaire surveys, agro-meteorological analyses and field experimentations were undertaken. Perceived agro-meteorological challenges were determined through the questionnaire survey and validated through meteorological data analyses. Potential in situ RWHM techniques were selected in a participatory process and field-tested for two consecutive growing seasons to evaluate their performances. Those techniques which were selected in a participatory process showed statistically higher crop yields than the existing practices under both low and normal rainfall years. The result of this study implied that the introduction of new RWHM techniques can be successful when they are adjusted and modified in accordance with the existing tillage, hoeing and related land management practices. It was concluded that participatory planning of in situ RWHM techniques allows both the utilization of existing knowledge and opportunities while empowering the farmers to select and introduce new practices as per the existing socioeconomic and environmental settings. The new participatory planning approach will augment the recent efforts of promoting various types of RWHM techniques for improved rainfed agriculture in the vast dry lands of Ethiopia.
format Journal Article
id CGSpace65969
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2014
publishDateRange 2014
publishDateSort 2014
publisher Canadian Center of Science and Education
publisherStr Canadian Center of Science and Education
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace659692023-03-17T16:26:00Z Participatory planning of appropriate rainwater harvesting and management techniques in the central rift valley dry lands of Ethiopia Biazin, B. Sterk, G. Temesgen, M. research natural resources management Despite the extensive efforts of rainwater harvesting and management (RWHM) interventions for moisture-stressed areas in Ethiopia, the adoption and wider dissemination of the newly introduced techniques have been generally meager. The objective of this study was, therefore, to develop appropriate RWHM techniques through a participatory planning process in the Central Rift Valley (CRV) dry lands of Ethiopia. To achieve this objective, a combination of literature reviews, focus group discussions, questionnaire surveys, agro-meteorological analyses and field experimentations were undertaken. Perceived agro-meteorological challenges were determined through the questionnaire survey and validated through meteorological data analyses. Potential in situ RWHM techniques were selected in a participatory process and field-tested for two consecutive growing seasons to evaluate their performances. Those techniques which were selected in a participatory process showed statistically higher crop yields than the existing practices under both low and normal rainfall years. The result of this study implied that the introduction of new RWHM techniques can be successful when they are adjusted and modified in accordance with the existing tillage, hoeing and related land management practices. It was concluded that participatory planning of in situ RWHM techniques allows both the utilization of existing knowledge and opportunities while empowering the farmers to select and introduce new practices as per the existing socioeconomic and environmental settings. The new participatory planning approach will augment the recent efforts of promoting various types of RWHM techniques for improved rainfed agriculture in the vast dry lands of Ethiopia. 2014-06-20 2015-05-11T10:12:01Z 2015-05-11T10:12:01Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/65969 en Open Access Canadian Center of Science and Education Biazin, B., Sterk, G. and Temesgen, M. 2014. Participatory planning of appropriate rainwater harvesting and management techniques in the central rift valley dry lands of Ethiopia. Environment and Natural Resources Research 4(3): 123-139
spellingShingle research
natural resources management
Biazin, B.
Sterk, G.
Temesgen, M.
Participatory planning of appropriate rainwater harvesting and management techniques in the central rift valley dry lands of Ethiopia
title Participatory planning of appropriate rainwater harvesting and management techniques in the central rift valley dry lands of Ethiopia
title_full Participatory planning of appropriate rainwater harvesting and management techniques in the central rift valley dry lands of Ethiopia
title_fullStr Participatory planning of appropriate rainwater harvesting and management techniques in the central rift valley dry lands of Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed Participatory planning of appropriate rainwater harvesting and management techniques in the central rift valley dry lands of Ethiopia
title_short Participatory planning of appropriate rainwater harvesting and management techniques in the central rift valley dry lands of Ethiopia
title_sort participatory planning of appropriate rainwater harvesting and management techniques in the central rift valley dry lands of ethiopia
topic research
natural resources management
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/65969
work_keys_str_mv AT biazinb participatoryplanningofappropriaterainwaterharvestingandmanagementtechniquesinthecentralriftvalleydrylandsofethiopia
AT sterkg participatoryplanningofappropriaterainwaterharvestingandmanagementtechniquesinthecentralriftvalleydrylandsofethiopia
AT temesgenm participatoryplanningofappropriaterainwaterharvestingandmanagementtechniquesinthecentralriftvalleydrylandsofethiopia