BY TSEGAYE TILAHUN
Since the provision of raw materials to the industrial sector, trade and investment, export items and import substitution trajectory is well driven by agriculture, the sector is the mainstay of the Ethiopian economy.
Boosting agricultural productivity and quenching the demand for goods and services in both rural areas and urban localities is of great importance in improving the lives of smallholder farmers.
One of the government’s impetuses to achieve the agricultural policy objective is the promotion of irrigated agriculture. According to documents, traditional irrigation had been practiced since the ancient times. However, modern irrigation development was started during the imperial regime in the 1950s with large scale irrigation and hydroelectric power projects.
The then large scale irrigation projects were intended to produce crops used for inputs of agro-industries. The Derg regime gave emphasis to development of large and medium irrigation schemes in a bid to mitigate the impact of drought and famine.
Currently, it has been working to develop huge irrigated agriculture potential for the production of food crops and raw materials needed for agro industries, in an efficient and sustainable basis and without degrading the fertility of the production fields and water resources.
Recently, launching the Khalid Dijo Irrigation Development Project in Dolacha Woreda of Silte Zone, Dr.Eng.Sileshi Bekele, Minster of Water, Irrigation and Electricity said that studies conducted in the irrigation sector show that 5.8 to 7.5 million hectares of land can be irrigated in the country. If the potential is utilized properly, the country can sustain its food security within a short period of time.
According to him, a 10-year master plan has been prepared to support and implement as well as utilize the country’s water potential in a fair and sustainable manner. The project is also part of it.
Ethiopia has been attempting to boost irrigated agricultural production through irrigation development; the country still could not exploit its irrigation potential efficiently and effectively, instead, it is highly dependent on a rain fed agricultural production system.
Irrigation is considered as one of the mechanisms to reduce poverty and promote economic development. A lot of effort is exerted to develop and expand irrigation activity in Ethiopia to improve its contribution to national economy and income.
The government has been performing various activities to develop irrigation to support the country’s economy and contribute smallholder irrigated agriculture to the overall GDP.
As a result of expansion, smallholders managed irrigation to the national economy, assuming that existing cropping pattern, and the average gross margin values for different crop categories.
The Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity has laid cornerstones to build small and large scale irrigation dams and others in various parts of the country to enable the country benefit many more people.
Although Ethiopia is considered as a water tower of Africa, only a small percentage of irrigation potential is developed. It is believed that irrigation can increase security of crop production and income earning. The development of irrigation can uplift food security of many smallholder farmers if it is performed in better capacity.
According to evidence, the sector has key challenges impeding the success of irrigation development in Ethiopia such as poor scheme management, imperfect market, financial shortage, insufficient technical skill, lack of awareness, environmental, social impact as well as institutional problems.
To strengthen the development of irrigation, local resources and adequate catchment management; soil and water conservation using physical and biological measures are essential.
Providing farmers and professionals with the required training by governmental and non-governmental organizations will have a significant impact on improving production as well as promoting the poor irrigation management system.
There is a strong need to improve access to market information to irrigators in order to improve the system in general and an effective extension system should be in place to guide farmers to manage traditional irrigation efficiently with a view to addressing food insecurity problems in Ethiopia.
As most of the population in the country lives in highland areas as well as more than 85 percent are rural residents who predominantly depend on agriculture with a low level of productivity, agriculture is a mainstay of Ethiopian economy. Besides, close to 95 percent of agricultural output is produced by smallholder farmers.
Ethiopia is endowed with ample water resources with 12 river basins with annual runoff volume of 122 billion metric cubes and an estimated over 2.6 billion metric cube of ground water potential. Although Ethiopia is considered a water tower of Africa, the cultivated agricultural land of the country is unbalanced.
Moreover, even if the potential and actual irrigated area is not precisely investigated, estimates of irrigable land in Ethiopia are small. The total irrigable potentials are currently under production using traditional and modern irrigation schemes.
Irrigation use in Ethiopia dates back several centuries, and continues to be an integral part of Ethiopian agriculture. In Ethiopia, modern irrigation began in the 1950s through private and government-owned schemes in the middle Awash Valley where big sugar, fruit and cotton state farms are found. Irrigation development is a priority for agricultural transformation, but poor practices of irrigation management discourage efforts to improve livelihoods, and expose people and the environment to risks.
In most parts of Ethiopia, production from rain-fed agriculture has been highly fluctuating, corresponding to the amount and distribution of rainfall. When there is too little rainfall with uneven distribution, crop failure is unavoidable.
Agricultural growth still contributes to the improvement of food security conditions and household empowerment. Irrigation would have to be introduced in a significant way for a sustainable attainment of food security and rural transformation at the national level.
Nowadays, modernized irrigation systems are mostly used based on the pressurized energy system. Irrigation is considered as a basic strategy to alleviate poverty and hence food security. It is useful to transform the rain-fed agricultural system into the combined rain-fed and irrigation agricultural system.
Ethiopia is a rich country having considerable water resource potential. However, the level of development of the sector is very low despite the country’s considerable endeavors to promote development of the sector. The government has been implementing systems to boost the sector via formulating policies, strategies and programs for water resources development.
The overall national potential for small, medium and large-scale irrigation in the country is still minimal. The government has to formulate a strategy to attach due emphasis to the importance of enhancing small farm productivity and irrigation is of paramount importance in increasing the overall agricultural productivity and crop diversification.
The irrigation development trend seems very low even when compared with other African countries.
The Ethiopian Herald January 27/2021
