eprintid: 11498
rev_number: 10
eprint_status: archive
userid: 3170
dir: disk0/00/01/14/98
datestamp: 2020-05-04 16:21:53
lastmod: 2020-05-04 16:21:53
status_changed: 2020-05-04 16:21:53
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Amede, T
creators_name: Van den Akker, E
creators_name: Berdel, W
creators_name: Keller, C
creators_name: Tilahun, G
creators_name: Dejen, A
creators_name: Legesse, G
creators_name: Abebe, H
icrisatcreators_name: Amede, T
affiliation: ICRISAT (Addis Ababa)
affiliation: German Development Cooperation (GIZ-Ethiopia), (Addis Ababa)
affiliation: Woldya University, Woldya, Ethiopia
affiliation: Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia
country: Ethiopia
title: Facilitating livelihoods diversification through flood-based land restoration in pastoral systems of Afar, Ethiopia
ispublished: pub
subjects: F20
subjects: L1
subjects: wa1
divisions: CRPS5
crps: crp1.13
full_text_status: public
keywords: Bylaws, Crop, Flood, Forage, Pastoralists, Risk,
Water-Spreading weirs
note: This research was supported by BMZ-Germany,
through GIZ-SDR Ethiopia and the CGIAR Research Program Water, Land
and Ecosystems (WLE) which are carried out with support from the CGIAR
Trust Fund and through bilateral funding agreements. We thank the communities
and local authorities, particularly the Pastoral Agricultural Development
Office (PADO) of Chifra and Yallo districts for facilitating our engagement.
We also acknowledge the strong technical support from Dr Mezgebu
Getnet, Tadesse Gashaw, Dr Mohammed Abate, Abubeker Mohammed,
Mohammed Abdulatife, and local support of Indris Siraje and Henok Aragie.
abstract: The pastoral systems of Eastern Africa have been affected by the alternated incidence of recurrent
drought and flood for the last decades, aggravating poverty and local conflicts. We have
introduced an innovation to convert floods to productive use using water spreading weirs
(WSW) as an entry point to capture and spread the torrential flood emerging in the neighboring
highlands into rangelands and crop fields of low-lying pastoral systems in Afar,
Ethiopia. The productivity and landscape feature have changed from an abandoned field to
a productive landscape within 3 years of intervention. The flood patterns and sediment
loads created at least four different crop management zones and productivity levels. Based
on moisture and nutrient regimes, we developed land suitability maps for integrating crops
and forages fitting to specific niches. The outcome was a fast recovery of landscapes, with
150% biomass yield increment, increased access to dry season feed and food. These positive
outcomes could be attributed to the proper design of weirs, joint planning and execution
between pastoralists, researchers and development agents, identification and availing best-fitting
varieties for each management zone and developing simple GIS-based parcel level maps
to guide development agents and pastoralists. The major ‘agents’ were community leaders
(‘Kedoh Abbobati’) who keenly debated potential benefits and drawbacks of innovations,
enforced customary rules and byelaw and suggested changes in approaches and choices of
interventions. In general, an innovation system approach helped to create local confidence,
attract attention of government institutions and helped local actors to identify investment
areas, develop implementation strategies to increase productivity, define changes as it occurs
and minimize conflicts between competing communities. However, the risk of de facto use of
a plot of communal land translating into long-term occupation and ownership may be
impacting a communal territory and social cohesion that was subject to other collective choice
customary rules.
date: 2020-02-03
date_type: published
publication: Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems (TSI)
publisher: Cambridge University Press
pagerange: 1-12
id_number: doi:10.1017/S1742170520000058
refereed: TRUE
issn: 1742-1705
official_url: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742170520000058
funders: BMZ-Germany through GIZ-SDR Ethiopia
funders: CGIAR Research Program Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE)
citation:   Amede, T and Van den Akker, E and Berdel, W and Keller, C and Tilahun, G and Dejen, A and Legesse, G and Abebe, H  (2020) Facilitating livelihoods diversification through flood-based land restoration in pastoral systems of Afar, Ethiopia.  Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems (TSI).  pp. 1-12.  ISSN 1742-1705     
document_url: http://oar.icrisat.org/11498/1/AFAR%20WSW%20Conceptual%20paper.pdf