Ethiopia has a diverse climate ranging from temperate highlands to arid lowlands, with significant rainfall variability across regions. Agriculture is the backbone of Ethiopia’s economy, employing the majority of the population. The country’s dependence on rain-fed agriculture makes it particularly vulnerable to shifts in rainfall patterns and droughts, which exacerbate food insecurity and livelihood challenges.
IWMI in Ethiopia
Based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, IWMI researchers are focused on enhancing agricultural resilience and promoting sustainable natural resource management through innovative approaches to land, water, and irrigation. A key focal area is improving irrigation infrastructure and water management systems, with projects such as the development of an Irrigation Infrastructure Quality Management System toolkit. This toolkit, applicable across Sub-Saharan Africa, is helping to enhance the quality and effectiveness of irrigation systems in Ethiopia, as well as in neighboring Kenya and Uganda.
Additionally, IWMI is implementing climate-smart agricultural practices to improve livelihoods and build resilience among smallholder farmers, particularly through improved water and nutrient management. Our work in landscape rehabilitation, such as in Halaba, emphasizes the restoration of degraded land, supporting ecosystem services and sustainable agricultural practices. IWMI is also addressing water management challenges in regions like the Awash River Basin, working with communities to prioritize climate-smart water management practices that enhance both water availability and productivity. In the Bale Ecoregion, researchers are examining the impact of land use and land cover changes on ecosystem services, which informs strategies for maintaining the health and productivity of these landscapes. These initiatives, alongside efforts to promote financial inclusion and sustainable resource management, are collectively contributing to Ethiopia’s path toward a more resilient, sustainable, and climate-smart agricultural future.
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Financial inclusion is recognized as a vital driver of sustainable development and serves as a fundamental pillar of climate action. It is crucial to enhance the climate resilience of smallholder farmers in the face of severe and unpredictable climate shocks, which disproportionately affect them. However, the level of financial inclusion in Ethiopia remains low, and its impact on the climate resilience of smallholder farmers has not been thoroughly examined using rigorous model and comprehensive dataset. This study investigates the impact of financial inclusion on the climate resilience of rural households, using a large data set from the Ethiopian Socio-Economic Survey. The principal component analysis was applied to construct a climate resilience index. The financial inclusion was measured using an index that encompasses three dimensions: penetration, availability, and usage. In order to address the endogenous nature of financial inclusion, an instrumental variable approach was employed, using the distance to the nearest financial institution and religion as instrumental variables. The results demonstrated a positive and significant impact of financial inclusion on the climate resilience of rural households. Therefore, the government should strengthen the provision of essential financial and related infrastructures in rural Ethiopia to improve access to financial products and services. Furthermore, it is essential for policymakers to initiate and implement financial sector reforms that ensure the availability of affordable and tailored financial services. These reforms should also prioritize the development of climate-resilient agricultural finance, thereby contributing to the achievement of climate action goal of sustainable development.
Principal component analysis / Households / Rural areas / Farmers / Sustainable development / Climate change / Financial inclusion / Climate resilience Record No:H053273
Climate change remains a significant threat to farm households, especially in developing countries. It exacerbates their vulnerability to food insecurity by reducing agricultural productivity and raising agricultural production costs. Adoption of climate smart-agricultural (CSA) practices is a promising alternative to build resilient farm households. In this study, we assessed the impacts of adopting CSA practices on climate resilience and vulnerability among farm households in Bale-Eco Region, Ethiopia. A power calculation was used to determine the sample size, and 404 farm households were randomly selected to collect data using structured questionnaire. We estimated household climate resilience index using categorical principal component analysis, and vulnerability index using vulnerability as expected poverty approach. Endogenous switching regression model, which is conditional on the adoption of multiple CSA practices and used to control selection bias and unobserved heterogeneity, was used to assess the impacts of CSA practices on household climate resilience and vulnerability. We employed counterfactual approaches to assess the impacts. The results show that the average treatment effects for most CSA practices are statistically significant and positive for resilience, but negative for vulnerability. This provides empirical support for interventions in climate-smart agriculture, which can help farm households build resilience and reduce vulnerability. We, therefore, suggest that agricultural policies should encourage the adoption of CSA practices and provide incentive packages to farm households that promote this.
Spatially customized land management strategies are crucial for mitigating land degradation and fostering effective landscape restoration. A deep understanding of local biophysical conditions ensures that interventions are both contextually relevant and impactful, promoting long-term environmental sustainability and delivering socio-economic benefits to local communities. With this consideration, this report, drawing on data collected through field surveys, GIS, and remote sensing techniques, uses Halaba, Ethiopia, as a case study to highlight the region’s varied biophysical conditions and their implications for the design and planning of sustainable land management (SLM) practices. This document is intended for agricultural and natural resource management professionals involved in the design, planning, implementation, and monitoring of SLM practices.
Communities / Land restoration / Land degradation neutrality / Planning / Sustainable land management Record No:H053824
To construct economic growth and poverty reduction, farmer-led irrigation is increasing nowadays in many African, South Asian, and Latin American countries. Smallholder farmers’ vulnerability to climate shocks due to rainfall variability, frequent droughts, and inadequate water resources, which threaten agricultural productivity and food security is known. Understanding the current and future crop water demand is key for improving agricultural productivity, and bringing food security, especially in arid and semi-arid areas where irrigation is needed to overwhelm shortage and rainfall variability. Water productivity (WP) is to produce more yield with less water use, increase income, improve livelihoods, and bring ecological benefits at less social and environmental costs per unit of water used. Some of the approaches for increasing WP include more yield with proper water use, changing the cropping pattern from low to high-value crops, decreasing costs related to social, health, and environmental aspects, and achieving more livelihood support such as more job opportunities, diversified nutritious food, and income for the same amount of water. Potential opportunities are vastly needed to achieve the productivity of irrigated agricultural systems around the globe through the full engagement of smallholder farmers, public-private sectors, government entities, and potential water resource management stakeholders. This chapter will briefly discuss opportunities for improving WP about farmer-led irrigation, focussing on smart utilization of water resources and agronomic practices to achieve higher yields using less water. Using the available water sources and low-cost water-lifting alternative technology options, implementing efficient irrigation water application methods, practicing deficit and supplemental irrigation techniques, and adopting climate-smart on-farm water management techniques and technologies are potential opportunities for improving WP in farmer-led irrigation areas.
Case studies / Irrigation scheduling / Irrigation water / Technology / Techniques / Farmer-led irrigation / Water productivity Record No:H053752
