Site updates - Jeldu, Diga & Fogera Alan Duncan, Gerba Leta, Beth Cullen and Kebebe Ergano NBDC Stakeholder Forum 5 October 2011

Rainfall, altitude & agro ecology WoredaMean annual RF (mm) & its distribution Altitude (m asl)Agro-ecology (%) Jeldu (unpredictable with erratic & erosive nature) Lowland (25), Midland (30) & Highland (45) Fogera (Poor distribution/erratic) Midland/plain(75) Highland (25) Diga (well distributed and some high intensity events) Midland (40) Lowland (60)

Predominant crops and farming systems of the sites WoredaPredominant crops along agro-ecology Highland Midland Lowland JelduBarley, wheat, potato-livestock Wheat, barley, teff-livestock Sorghum, maize, teff- livestock FogeraBarley, Niger seed, wheat, – livestock Rice, maize, millet, teff-livestock ---- Diga---Teff, millet, maize- livestock Maize, sorghum, sesame-livestock Source: WoARD

Crop-livestock contribution to the livelihood (source of income) WoredaPercent contribution (on average) LivestockCrop Jeldu3070 Diga3070 Fogera3367

Livestock numbers

Historical trends in land use/cover High population growth Forest clearing for cultivation is a dominant trend particularly in Jeldu & Diga Soils are fragile Land degradation has become the critical problem in all three woredas NRM interventions were introduced during the Derg regime as part of the response to the great Ethiopian famine. The approach has been top-down. Other than in Fogera, the current efforts to arrest and reverse the growing land degradation problem is marginal

Land feature & soil types WoredaLand featureSoil types JelduUndulating /rolling/ Diverse shallow soil (Leptic)* Growing acidity Poor fertility mng’t practices FogeraFlat plain and steep highlandUtric vertisol (plain) & leptosol (highland)* DigaUndulating midland to relatively flat lowland Dynamic soil types b/c changes in landuse- Histic Nitosols *is common Acidity is widespread problem Low fertility mng’t practices * Specific soil types will be verified in the future

Innovation platform updates

Action 2 NBDC Local Research NGO Private sector Woreda extension Woreda water Woreda admin Champio n farmers Woreda offices NBDC research outputs National research Indigenous knowledge Business ideas Comm Action 1 Action 3 Platforms based around NRM

Diga First meeting on 21/07/11 Actors: Government line departments, Bako Agricultural Research Center, HUNDEE-Oromo Grassroots Development Initiative Key land and water management constraints identified – Population increase leading to cultivation of steep slopes and land deforestation, soil erosion etc. – Limited understanding of land and water management problems and potential solutions – Poor farming practices – Very short land use planning horizon by farmers. – Farmers’ limited knowledge of improved manage land and water practices – Limited use of improved land and water management technologies

Fogera First meeting held on 19/07/11 Participants: Government line departments, Adet Agricultural Research Center, Ethio-Wetlands and Natural Resources Association, etc Key land and water management constraints identified – Free grazing featured strongly by many stakeholders – Soil erosion due to the absence of upstream afforestation – Improper use of new technologies – Limited access to markets – Under-developed markets for fruits and vegetables – Plant diseases

Jeldu First meeting on 26/09/2011 Participants: Ambo university, GIZ-SLM Oromia, farmers, Holetta Agricultural Research Center, Office of Agriculture, RIPPLE, Woreda Office of Administration, Woreda office of Environmental Protection and Land Administration, Woreda Office of Livestock Agency, Woreda Office of water, mining and Energy office Key land and water management constraints identified – Population pressure – Land shortage – Deforestation – Declining soil fertility – Water scarcity – Lack of awareness – Limited market access – Limited use of new technologies

Baseline diagnosis update Looked at planning, implementation, innovation and livelihoods issues Worked with researchers from ARARI, Bahir Dar University, Bako Research Centre, Wollega University, Ambo University and Holetta Research Centre (EIAR) Preliminary research orientation workshop  development of research methods  data collection  analysis workshop  site reports  synthesis report

Highlights from Diga report

System failures – Top-down implementation and lack of farmer/community participation seem to be major historical factors in deteriorating NRM practices. – Community based institutions may have been weakened due to strong government intervention during the Derg regime. – Despite having an improved overall NRM policy, present government implementation shows room for improvement – Although current approaches are said to be participatory, this is debatable which has implications for long-term sustainability.

NRM base in flux NRM base has changed radically – Floods in rainy season, drought in dry season – Rivers drying up – Eucalypt planting along rivers  problems – Scope for reforestation but distrust of govt to do this

Collective action not working Planning and implementation – Most successful NRM activities are on farm and initiated and carried out by farmers – Those requiring collective action are not working due to previous efforts in which farmers have been co-opted and ownership has been lacking.

Farmer awareness Many govt respondents stated that “farmer awareness” was a major stumbling block to progress – such attitudes are not conducive to building farmer engagement.

Implementation Land and water management interventions Quotas Campaigns

Farmers often destroy the results of their work under collective schemes which is perhaps indicative of their feelings towards these activities.

There are prominent local traditional institutions and these demonstrate that collective action is possible if initiated by community members themselves. Potential for harnessing these.

The DA Crisis DA’s have most contact with farmers but training is inadequate They are stuck in the middle of farmers and higher level govt. They pass info down to farmers but info flow back does not happen easily. They are not listened to in planning process They are de-motivated and transmit this to farmers Capacity building for DAs and developing greater communication between DAs and higher level actors could be important

Different perspectives on way forward Govt needs to step in with NRM approach which is strictly enforced in order to address the severity of the problems There are issues with sustainability due to lack of participation and motivation of farmers and DAs at lower levels