Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small-Scale Irrigation

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Browsing Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small-Scale Irrigation by Author "Adie, A."

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    Berken plow and intercropping with pigeon pea ameliorate degraded soils with a hardpan in the Ethiopian highlands
    (Geoderma, 2021) Fenta, H. M.; Hussein, M. A.; Tilahun, S. A.; Nakawuka, P.; Steenhuis, T. S.; Barron, J.; Adie, A.; Blummel, M.; Schmitter, P.; Faculty of Civil and Water Resource Engineering, Bahir Dar Institute of Technology, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia; International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA; International Water Management Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka; International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
    Closing the yield gap and enhancing efficiency in rainfed maize production systems in Ethiopia requires urgent action in increasing the productivity of degraded agricultural land. The degradation of land through continuous compaction and decline in the organic matter has resulted in a wide-spread formation of a hardpan that restricts deep percolation, prevents plant root development, and, ultimately can lead to increased erosion. Studies exploring practical low-cost solutions to break the hardpan are limited in Ethiopia. The main objective was to evaluate soil mechanical (i.e. modified plow or Berken plow) or biological intervention (i.e. intercropping with pigeon pea) effectiveness to enhance soil water management and crop yield of rainfed maize systems whilst reducing soil erosion and runoff. Five farm fields, each including four plots with different tillage treatments, were monitored during two rainy seasons in 2016 and 2017. The treatments were: (i) farmers practice under conventional (CT) tillage; plots tilled three times using an oxen driven local plow Maresha, (ii) no-till (NT), (iii) Berken tillage (BT), plots tilled three times using an oxen pulled Berken plow, and (iv) biological (CT + Bio), tap-rooted pigeon pea intercropped with maize on plots conventionally tilled. Results showed that mean tillage depth was significantly deeper in the BT (28 cm) treatment compared to CT and CT + Bio (18 cm) treatments. Measured soil penetration resistance significantly decreased up to 40 cm depth under BT and maize roots reached 1.5 times deeper compared to roots measured in the CT treatment. Under BT, the estimated water storage in the root zone was estimated at 556 mm, 1.86 times higher compared to CT, 3.11 times higher compared to NT and 0.89 times higher compared to CT + Bio. The positive effects on increased water storage and root development resulted in an average increase in maize grain (i.e. 15%, 0.95 t ha−1) and residual above ground biomass (0.3%, 6.4 t ha−1) leading to a positive net benefit of 138 USD ha−1 for the BT treatment compared to the CT treatment. The negative net benefit obtained under CT and CT+Bio was mainly related to the high labor cost related to plowing, weeding, planting, and fertilizer application whilst in the NT this was related to the significantly lower maize yields. The positive effects in the BT treatment, and to some extent the CT+Bio treatment show great potential for smallholder rainfed maize systems where degraded soils with hardpans and high variability in rainfall prevail.
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    Constraints of small-scale irrigated fodder production and nutrition assessment for livestock feed, a case study in Ethiopia
    (Agricultural Water Management, 2021) Worqlul, A. W.; Dile, Y. T.; Schmitter, P.; Bezabih, M.; Adie, A.; Bizimana, J.-C.; Srinivasan, R.; Lefore, N.; Clarke, N.; Blackland Research Center, Texas AgriLife Research, Temple, TX, USA; Spatial Sciences Laboratory, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA; International Water Management Institute C/o Irrigation Head Office, Yangon, Myanmar; International Livestock Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA; The Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, College Station, TX, USA
    Livestock is an integral part of the agricultural system in sub-Saharan Africa, serving as a food source, income, fertilizer, and power for farming and transportation. However, the productivity of the livestock system has been hampered due to a lack of sufficient quantity and quality feed. This study evaluates the gaps and constraints of fodder and nutritional potential for livestock feed using small-scale irrigation (SSI). The study comprised of 30 randomly selected farmers from two different ecological zones in Ethiopia. Half of the farmers cultivated Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) in the Robit watershed in northern Ethiopia, and the other half cultivated mixed vetch (Lathyrus cicera) and oats (Avena sativa) in Lemo watershed in southern Ethiopia. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and Agricultural Policy Environmental eXtender (APEX) were applied in an integrated manner to assess the impacts of SSI at the watershed and field-scale levels, respectively. The watershed-scale analysis showed that there is a substantial amount of surface runoff and shallow groundwater recharge that could be used for dry season fodder production using irrigation. Field data calibrated APEX model indicated that Napier yield could be maximized with 550 mm of water in Robit watershed. While in the Lemo watershed, maximum vetch and oats yield may be achieved with 250 mm of water. The major constraints for Napier and oats production in the study sites were soil fertility, especially nitrogen and phosphorus, and vetch production was limited by high temperature. Fodder samples were collected at the time of harvest to evaluate feed quality. The nutritional analysis indicated that Napier grass has a higher dry matter and ash (mineral) content compared to oats and vetch. However, vetch has higher crude protein content (18%) compared to Napier (10%) and oats (6%). Overall the study indicated that cultivating vetch provided superior performance in terms of providing quality feed and environmental services.
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    Constraints of small-scale irrigated fodder production and nutrition assessment for livestock feed, a case study in Ethiopia
    (Agricultural Water Management, 2021) Worqlul, W. A.; Dile, T. Y.; Schmitter, P.; Bezabih, M.; Adie, A.; Bizimana, J-C; Srinivasan, R.; Lefore, N.; Clarke, N.; Blackland Research Center, Texas AgriLife Research, Temple, TX, USA; Spatial Sciences Laboratory, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA; International Water Management Institute C/o Irrigation Head Office, Yangon, Myanmar; International Livestock Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA; The Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, College Station, TX, USA
    Livestock is an integral part of the agricultural system in sub-Saharan Africa, serving as a food source, income, fertilizer, and power for farming and transportation. However, the productivity of the livestock system has been hampered due to a lack of sufficient quantity and quality feed. This study evaluates the gaps and constraints of fodder and nutritional potential for livestock feed using small-scale irrigation (SSI). The study comprised of 30 randomly selected farmers from two different ecological zones in Ethiopia. Half of the farmers cultivated Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) in the Robit watershed in northern Ethiopia, and the other half cultivated mixed vetch (Lathyrus cicera) and oats (Avena sativa) in Lemo watershed in southern Ethiopia. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and Agricultural Policy Environmental eXtender (APEX) were applied in an integrated manner to assess the impacts of SSI at the watershed and field-scale levels, respectively. The watershed-scale analysis showed that there is a substantial amount of surface runoff and shallow groundwater recharge that could be used for dry season fodder production using irrigation. Field data calibrated APEX model indicated that Napier yield could be maximized with 550 mm of water in Robit watershed. While in the Lemo watershed, maximum vetch and oats yield may be achieved with 250 mm of water. The major constraints for Napier and oats production in the study sites were soil fertility, especially nitrogen and phosphorus, and vetch production was limited by high temperature. Fodder samples were collected at the time of harvest to evaluate feed quality. The nutritional analysis indicated that Napier grass has a higher dry matter and ash (mineral) content compared to oats and vetch. However, vetch has higher crude protein content (18%) compared to Napier (10%) and oats (6%). Overall the study indicated that cultivating vetch provided superior performance in terms of providing quality feed and environmental services.
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    Lessons from pilot trials with small-scale irrigated forage production in the Amhara Region: potential of integrating the perennial forage Napier grass with Desmodium and Pigeon Pea in cropping systems. 2nd Amhara Agricultural Forum 2017 on 16 Jan 2018, Jacaranda Hotel, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
    (The Second Amhara Agricultural Forum, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, 16 January 2018, 2018) Adie, A.; Yitayew, A.; Demeke, B.; Ferede, Y.; Yeheyis, L.; Bezabih, M.; Schmitter, P.; Blümmel, M.; CGIAR; ILRI; IWMI; USAID; ARARI; Sari
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    Potential of Urochloa grass hybrids as fodder in the Ethiopian highlands
    (Agronomy Journal, 2021) Worku, M.; Lemma, H.; Shawle, K.; Adie, A.; Duncan, A. J.; Jones, C. S.; Mekonnen, K.; Notenbaert, A.; Bezabih, M.; Wolaita Sodo Univ., P.O. Box 138, Sodo,Ethiopia; Mekedela Amba Univ., PO Box 999,Tuluawliya, Ethiopia; International Livestock Research Institute,P O Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Univ. of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; International Center for TropicalAgriculture, P. O. Box, Nairobi, Kenya",Urochloa grasses have shownpromising results for smallholders to cope with feed shortages in tropical Africa. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of two Urochloa hybrids
    Mulato-I and Mulato-II