Enabling Communities to Regenerate Mountain Landscapes in African Highlands

Tilahun Amede and Team

Stakeholders’ Workshop on Enhancing Communities’ Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change Induced Water Scarcity in Kabe Watershed, South Wollo Zone

Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia, 24-25 November 2011

ILRIIt works at the crossroads of livestock and poverty, bringing high-quality science and capacity-building to bear on poverty reduction and sustainable development.

It has its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, and a principal campus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

(i) Sustainable Intensification of smallholder mixed crop-livestock systems; and

(ii) Reducing Vulnerability of livestock-dependent households in marginal systems

AREO

CPWF Consortium Members

Phase 2

Characteristics of the Nile Basin

Nine Riparian countries ;

Catchment area over 3 million km2, about 6,671 km long; longest river in the world;

Average flow of the Nile is about 84 km3/year, but extreme values of 120 and 42 km3/year, showing wide fluctuations in flow;

Fluctuations are likely to be exacerbated with climate change and variability.

Nile Basin faced with these major challenges:

o Fragile landscapes, unproductive water loss, decline in soil fertility, low productivity and seasonal water shortage;

o Under-utilized potential of local people to manage their resources sustainably and to articulate their demands; Collective action???

o Conventional research approaches that are not addressing complexity of NRM and the real demands arising from local levels;

o Limited capacity of researchers and their organizations to avail technological options;

o Weak institutional capacity to design supportive policies and/or implement them and respond to complex development challenges;

Nile Basin Development Challenge (NBDC)

• NBDC research focuses on the Ethiopian highlands and will examine the interrelated issues of rainwater management at Landscape and Sub-basin scales;

• Understanding causes and its consequences of low rainwater productivity;

• Innovations for improving rainwater management systems; addressing poverty, vulnerability and resources degradation in the basin.

o Managing rainfall variability; increased water storage;

o Crop and livestock water productivity;o Minimizing land degradation and downstream

siltation of water storage infrastructure, increased biomass;

o Resilient communities and systems that will manage climatic and market shocks

Linkages

Sub-regional

Land-scape

Farm level

ImpactLearning

Communication

Nile 5.Coordinati

on, platforms

Nile 4. Consequences, impact, tradeoffs

Nile 2. Innovation

s, technologi

es , practices

Nile 3. Mapping, targeting. Up-scaling

Nile 1. Inventory

and synthesis

Linkages

Link

ages

Kabale

Ginchi

Kakamega-MasenoEmbu

Lushoto

2

FianarantsoaAntsirabe

Benchmark

Elevation > 1200 mPopulation dens. >200 p/km

AHI Benchmark Locations

Areka

o

oo

o

o

o

oo

AHI Benchmark Locations

AHI’s Approach Use a mixture of participatory action and empirical research at pilot sites

while findings and experiences are systematized at regional level

Approaches and methods are defined on the basis of demonstrated local impact

& promoted through strategic partnerships & multi-disciplinary teams with combination of research & development members

Work directly with communities on their issues & aim to build local capacity

combining local and scientific knowledge through community participation

Integrate social, biophysical and policy dimensions

at different levels (plot, farm, landscape) with systems & multiple stakeholder perspectives

Approach to Watershed Management

• Participatory defined around landscape-level NRM issues of interest to local residents only;

• Integrates livelihood / production and conservation concerns of farmers;

• Flexible boundaries encompasses larger social, institutional and biophysical issues required to address watershed issues ;

• Small-scale 5 to 10 villages

Contact & rapport building

Understanding community institutions

Group formation & mobilization

Participatory diagnosis & planning

Implementation participatory R&D & policy reforms

Setting up monitoring & review systems

Linkages between farmer groups

Links / advocacy between groups & district, resource sources and services

Skill building

Methodology development (action research)

Monitoring & documentation

Process Steps for achieving integrated watershed management

Strengthening collective action

Scaling up

Expanding the base: institutionalizing approaches within R&D organizations

Stroud 2001

Creating common understanding; Creating confidenceand managing change through negotiations

Owner(privategood)

Spring(publicgood)

1. Joint Problem

identification

2. Local consultationsOn priorities and potential

interventions

3. Mobilizationof localelders

4. Encouragementof owners to

enter negotiations

5. Communitynegotiations &

concessions

PRA tools to prioritize local constraints

Central highlands (Dendi woreda)

Shortage of oxen

Loss of seeds and fertilizers

Soil fertility decline

Lack of fodder and fuel wood

Water shortage for livestock

South-west highlands(Bolloso Sorre woreda)

Unpredictable weather

Soil erosion

Rising fertilizer price

Soil fertility decline

Shortage of oxen

INRM in Watershed Management

Immediate need for Maximization

• Properties of densely settled highland landscapes in E. Africa

The need to get multiple returns from small areas of land (fuel, fodder, food, income)

Tightly coupled interactions among system components (tree, crop, soil, livestock, water) and users

Maximization for food security but ??

Long term interest for Optimization

• Improving resilience of production systems Offers ecosystem services for sustainable use; Provides opportunities through which social and biophysical

trade-offs can be captured and managed

Gully group Forage group

Facilitating Integrated Watershed Management

Soil & Water conservation group

Collective Action for WSM; Byelaws

Collective Action in Watershed Management

To regulate rights & responsibilities & increase investment in public goods

To manage biophysical processes that do not respect farm boundaries (pests, nutrient & water flows, boundary effects)

To negotiate joint investments and technological innovations for ↑ productivity

To regulate benefits and equity

Negotiating benefits between FRG members and the WS community

Integrating insitu water harvesting technologies to maximize productivity

Increased water infiltration

Concentration of resources (OM, nutrients, water)

Year 1

Year 3Year 2

Micro dose

Tu

be

r y

ield

(t/

ha

)

0

4

8

124050607080

Control With ZaiWithout Zai

Tu

be

r y

ield

(t/

ha

)

0123430

4050607080

Tu

be

r y

ield

(t/

ha

)

01234

1215182124

Farm A

Farm B

Farm C

Zai pits

Rehabilitated gullies; changing landscapes

Improved technologies to reach to more communities

Soil fertilityYield (t ha-1) % Biomass in

reference toWater productivity (kg m-3)

Biomass Grain well watered

well fertilized

Biomass Grain

Poor 7.5 2.5 100 39 5.1 1.7

Near optimal 14.3 6.4 100 75 5.3 2.4

Non limiting 19.2 9.2 100 100 5.4 2.6

Low Crop yields constrained by soil fertility and water availability in the Blue Nile basin (Erkosa, 2010)

Lenche Dima - all cropland

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

evap

orat

ion

trans

pira

tion

runo

ff

deep

perc

olat

ion

flow

s pe

r HH

(m3)

livestock

crops

Kuhar Michael - all cropland

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

evap

orat

ion

tran

spira

tion

runo

ff

deep

perc

olat

ion

flo

ws

per

HH

(m

3)

livestock

crops

Unproductive water loss in our Landscapes

Most of the Livestock feed is used for survival; little for productive use

Kuhar Michael - energy requirements

77%

4%

3%

3%

1%

0%

6%

6%

maintenance

feeding

lactation

pregnancy

draught power

transport

walking

growth

Lenche Dima - energy requirements

73%

4%

3%

3%

1%

0%

11%

5%

maintenance

feeding

lactation

pregnancy

draught power

transport

walking

growth

Current land use

EnsetKalePotatoWheatBarelyFaba bean

Suggested land use

Optimized land allocation for an improved human nutrition in Ginchi Highlands, Ethiopia

Amede, Stroud & Aune, 2004

Functions/ local institution

Areka (Ethiopia) Ginchi (Ethiopia) Lushoto (Tanzania)

Land institutions Sharecropping, contracting and renting

Yekul -

Livestock institutions

Kota, Missa–kotta, Ulo – kottaa, Hara and Gatuwa

As in Areka Rotational livestock groups (kopa ng’ombe, lipa ng’ombe)

Labor institution Debo and Zaye Debo Kiwili, Ngemo

Mutual assistance institutions

Iddir, Iqube, and Meskel Banking

Iddir kube, Senbete

Kibati

Traditional leaders - Jabir, Gadu,Qaalluu, Qaallitti

ZumbeCouncil of elders

Recreation Mahiber Mahber Traditional dances, Kidembwa (kitchen Parties (women on), sports

Conflict resolution Council of elders Jabir, Gadu, Qaalluu, council of elders

Zumbe, council of elders

Local institutions for NRM

Evolution of adoption of NRM technologies

Evolution of adoption –

1) Elephant grass (cultivars from ILRI selected by farmers) planted on conservation bunds feeds more cattle in dry season more income and more milk

2) Causes farmers to put in more bunds along the slopes

more conservation, more fodder, more organic matter

3) Farmers combine & add other technologies on the bunds (fruit trees, fodder trees, etc.)

more food, more income

Matching resource endowments with niches to improve resource management

Endowment Category Niche for Intensification

POOREST: Limited land, wage laborers, less diversified, no livestock, no inputs

Low input labor; legumes & MTPs; higher value cash crop (CBD coffee)

MOST: Excess land & rent, hire labor, large livestock, buy inputs, well diversified

Wood lots, experiment on behalf of others; pay higher wage rates?, micro-enterprise development, livestock feed system, S&W conservation (soil bunds with grass & compost)

MIDDLE: More land, own labour but limiting, some cash crops, some livestock, some trading

Livestock feed system, intensify manure use, increase diversification - range of options (inorganic x organic, legume covers, improved crop management)

1) Start with entry points: “best bets” Separate pathways for different social groups emerge

“poor” select varieties & bunds

“better off” select varieties

2) Farmer experimentation expands as change agent catalyzes greater experimentation

“poor” select multipurpose trees, CBD coffee

“medium” select organic x inorganic combinations, legume cover crops, crop management

“better off” select compost, bunds with fodder grasses

3) Farmers start to share through farmer groups & exchanges

move towards integrating many options

Expanding Adoption and Integration of Soil Fertility Technologies: Using Farmer Experimentation & Exchange

A model from plot to watershed management

Integrated soil fertility management

.

Variety trialVariety trialVariety trial Soil bunds

Researcher -Farmer Linkage phase

Entry points and evolution of INM in Areka benchmark site

W I W II W III &IV W III &IV

Integrated Watershed Mangnt(new components)

Integrated soil fertility management

Variety trialVariety trialVariety trial Soil bunds

Researcher -Farmer Linkage phase

W I W II W III &IV W III &IV

Integrated soil fertility management(commodities + management)

Forage trial Fertilizer trialVariety trial Soil bunds

Researcher - farmer linkage-

W I W II W III &IV W III &IV

Compost Soil bunds with forages Conservation farming

• LCCs• Residue management• Organic-Inorganic

• Multipurpose trees• CBD resistant coffee • Small enterprises

Amede etal, 2004

B

C

D

E

Decreasing soil fertility With distance from homestead

Own livestock Don’t own livestock

Fertile land Large/small farmGood market

Food & feed legumes

Non-fertile land Large farm size Good market

Food & feedlegumes, cover crops

Fertile land Small land size Good/ poor market

Food legumes

Non-fertile land Small land sizePoor market

Cover crops

Amede, Delve & Kirkby, 2002

Decision guide for integration of legumes into systems

Reaching more farmers and Communities through field days, cross site visits, community meetings.

(Photo Courtesy Gebre Medhin, 2005).

Building the capacity of extension agents and Communities (A case in Alaba, Southern Ethiopia)

More communities More communities

Local organizations and institutions

National organizations and institutions

Regional/global organizations

Scaling out (horizontal)

SCALING

UP

Scaling up: From Bottom Up …to Bottom (Scaling down)

Technologies,Tools &methodsdeveloped

Tested andverifiedacross thecommunityand beyond

Decision-makersbetter informed tohelp farmers collectivelymanage landscapes

Tools and methodsextensively usedto facilitatescaling-up

AFRICA

UGANDA

o

o

o

o

oo

o

ooo

o o

o

More protected soils, minimized risks

Increased water budgets; improved water storage

Increased biomass cover, more food, more feed, resilient systems

Increased organic matter, more C-sequestration

Collective action, improved planning of watersheds, niches for investments

Implications for climate change adaptation

Scaling up good technologies and practices

• Availability of technological options;

• Development of convincing approaches;

• Financial capacity of the users / risk;

• Functional partnership;

• Supportive policy;

• Supportive infrastructure;

• Attractive market opportunities

Challenges ... Moving into non-conventional INRM research frontiers

Maintaining & forming partnership

Dealing with diversity & complexity

Farm communities taking charge slowly

Complex Institutional arrangements

Weal Institutional Capacity to promote NRM agenda

Scaling-up beyond learning sites

Our Joint Project:

Enhancing Communities’ Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change in Drought-

prone Hotspots of the Blue Nile basin (Kabe, Ethiopia)

(Wollo University, ILRI, UNEP, ARARI)

This book documents a decade of research, methodological innovation and lessons learned in an eco-regional research-for-development program operating in the eastern African highlands, the African Highlands Initiative. It does this through reflections of the protagonists themselves - AHI site teams and partners applying an action research orientation to development innovation as a means to enhance the impact orientation of research. It summarizes the experiences of farmers, research and development workers, policy and decision makers who have interacted within an innovation system aiming to operationalize an approach to Integrated Natural Resource Management in the humid highlands. The book demonstrates the crucial importance of 'approach' in the outcomes derived from research and development work, and distills lessons learnt on 'what works, where and why.' It is enriched with examples and case studies from five benchmark sites in Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya, whose variability provides the reader with an in-depth knowledge of the complexities of NRM in agroecosystems that play an important role in the rural economy of the region. It is shown that the struggle to achieve sustainable agricultural development in challenging environments is a difficult one, and can only be effectively achieved through combined efforts and commitment of individuals and institutions with complementary roles.

Acknowledgement

• ARARI• SARI, Areka research centre• EIAR, Holleta ARC• KARI-Kenya• DRD-Tanzania• NARO-Uganda• MOAs in the respective countries• Donors: SDC, Netherlands Govnt, EU, DFID

Thank you !