“Smallholder farmers are the backbone of Ethiopia and its economy.” - Vikas Choudhary
The agriculture sector is essential for the Ethiopian economy, approximately 50% of Ethiopia's GDP is generated by agriculture, while over 80% of the country's exports are produced by agriculture (Stellmacher and Kelboro, 2019). Moreover, more than 80% of the employment sectors are employed within the agricultural sector, with most of them being smallholder farmers (Aweke, 2017). The smallholder farmers produce more than 90% of the main crops in Ethiopia, including vegetables, fruits and cash crops. However, these smallholder farmers face multiple constraints that reduce their productivity - including poor soil fertility, high dependence on rainfall, land degradation and poor quality of seeds and fertilisers (Ogato, 2014). This issue is exacerbated as these farmers also lack income and financial support, as well as the lack of support and guidelines from institutions (Gezie, 2019). Climate change related weather events including severe drought and unreliable rainfall have an impact on agriculture, and smallholder farmers suffer particularly in overcoming this as they have limited resources (Aweke, 2017).
Introduction of Climate-Smart Agriculture
Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) is a newly introduced strategy aiming to increase productivity in dealing with climate change. Increased soil fertility and carbon sequestration, improved climate change resistance, and a stronger agriculture sector are all part of this new approach (Nciizah and Wakindiki, 2015).
Average crop yields compared with research stations in Ethiopia - Source
Currently in Ethiopia, around 60% of the farmers cultivate in extremely fragmented landscapes (Headey, Dereje and Taffesse, 2014). Smallholder farmers cultivate more than 90% of total farmland and provide more than 90% of the total crop output. However, in comparison to their theoretical capability, smallholder agricultural yields remain exceedingly low (Van Loon et al., 2018). With an average yield of 2.6 t ha-1 compared to the theoretical yield of 7.8 t ha-1 obtained in on-farm trials, the difference is very noticeable for maize. Low crop yields have an impact on food security, as a substantial amount of grain must be imported. For example, in the past, due to a lack of indigenous production, 30 to 50 percent of wheat consumed was imported. (Berhane, 2018). Also, rainfall is the lifeblood of Ethiopian agriculture. Low agricultural production and food insecurity have historically stemmed from irregular rainfall patterns. Extreme weather events - such as severe droughts and strong rains are becoming more common, posing a new threat to smallholder farmers.
Smallholder farmer in Ethiopia - Source
CSA in Ethiopia
Water harvesting is done through the collection and storing of rainwater (catchments and rooftops), floodwaters (local streams) and conserving water from watershed management. Ethiopia's rainfall pattern is diverse in both geography and time, with annual rainfall varying from 2700 mm in the south-western highlands to less than 200 mm in some parts of the northern and south-eastern plains (Berhane, 2018). Water harvesting is critical to compensate for the inadequate precipitation in some places. It's also a smart approach for dealing with Ethiopia's unpredictable rains and dry spells, which frequently cause crop failures in smallholder farming systems (Dile et al., 2013). Ethiopia has discovered a number of benefits to small-scale irrigation and water collection. Farmers in the Tigray region increased their household income by 5% by gathering water for tomato and onion crops (Mourad and Yimer, 2016). Furthermore, small-scale irrigation allows for the production of more crops every year in a given region, which helps Ethiopia's long-term food security (Adela, Aurbacher and Abebe, 2018). According to research, there is a considerable difference in welfare between farmers who use irrigation and those who don't.
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