Rainwater Harvesting Practices for Smallholder Farmers for Climate Change Adaptation: Evidence from Minjar Shenkora Woreda, North Shewa Zone of Amhara Region, Ethiopia
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Date
2021-03
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Climate change, which manifested in the form of temperature increases and rainfall variability,
has been increasing over the last two decades. The change has been influencing crop and
livestock production particularly in vulnerable areas including the study area. In tackling the
problem, the Ethiopian government and non-profit making organization has been promoting
water harvesting over the last two decades in different parts of the country with due attention in
drought prone areas. However, limited empirical based research conducted so far so as to
examine role and contribution of the practice for climate change adaptation. Therefore, this
research is designed to assess rainwater harvesting practices of smallholder farmers for climate
change adaptation tacking Minjar Shenkora Woreda, North Shewa Zone of Amhara Region, as a
case. The research applied mixed research design approach that used both qualitative and
quantitative data, where the quantitative and qualitative data were generated through household
(HH) survey, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), Key Informants Interviews (KIIs) and filed
observation. The survey covered 100 HHs, 6 FGDs were conducted with 24 participants and
KIIs were conducted with 9 participants. The survey data were analyzed using simple descriptive
statistics. The analysis revealed that climate change is the existing reality in study area over the
last two decades that manifested through increasing temperature and erratic rainfall. The survey
respondents indicated that they have been experiencing real climate change incidences such as
rainfall amount has been highly decreasing, emergence and expansion of new weed types,
expansion of invasive plant species, incidence of livestock and crop diseases. The analysis also
verified that in response to the climate change effects most farmers in the study area have been
adapting different types of rain water harvesting (RWH) practices for production and domestic
purposes. Thus, farmers engage in construction and usage of traditional and plastic lined ponds
for the purpose of small scale irrigation. The study showed that rainwater harvesting practices
improved the crop and livestock production. Nevertheless, the farmer efforts to adopt the RWH
practice have been challenged by finance, labor, technical skills and management capability
problems. Therefore, there should be policy and strategic measures to support farmer’s effort in
adapting climate change impact through promotion and support of RWH practice. The support
could be formulating enabling policies and cost-sharing strategies, providing different
technologies, facilitating capacity building modalities to enhance the technical skill of farming
communities in RWH practices
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Keywords
Rainwater harvesting, climate change adaptation, crop, livestock.