Ethiopia

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GEOGRAPHY, POPULATION AND WATER RESOURCES

Ethiopia is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It is dominated by a highland complex of mountains and plateaux (above 1 500 m), which is split from northeast to southwest by the East African Rift Valley, some 40-60 km wide and occupied by a string of lakes. The maximum elevation is 4 600 m above sea level.

TABLE 1
Basic statistics and population

The total land area is about 1.1 million km² The cultivable land is about 13.2 million ha, or 12% of the total land area. The cultivated land is about 6 million ha, or 45% of the cultivable area, and 5% of the total land area. Small-scale farmers occupy 96% of the cropped area, while the remaining 4% are cropped by State farms and Producers' Cooperatives.

The total population is around 53 million inhabitants (1994), of which 90% is rural. The population growth rate is about 3.1 % per year. The population density is 49/km², but varies from less than 10/km² in Oromiya, to almost 250/km² in Kembata, in the centre of the country. Nearly 90% of the Ethiopian population live in the highlands.

In 1993, the Ethiopian agricultural sector accounted for over 40% of GDP and more than 80% of the exports. It employs 80% of the population.

Climate and water resources

Annual rainfall varies from less than 100 mm along the border with Somalia and Djibouti to 2 400 mm in the southwest highlands, with a national average of 744 mm/year. In the southern and eastern highlands, there is a pronounced bi-modal rainfall distribution, with the first and generally smaller rains (berg) peaking in April, and the second in September. The main dry season extends from October to February, being longer and drier in the north. Rainfall variability is important, particularly in the lower rainfall areas of the northeast highlands. Recurrence of drought is a common phenomenon in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia

TABLE 2
Water balance

TABLE 3
Irrigation and drainage

The main drainage basins are:

• the Blue Nile (Abbey) and the Baro-Akobo towards Sudan;
• the Tekeze-Atbara towards Eritrea and Sudan;
• the Wabi-Shebelle and the Genale-Dawa towards Somalia;
• the Gibe-Omo towards Lake Turkana; and
• the Awash and the central lakes, that are endorheic basins.

Most of the rivers in Ethiopia are seasonal, and about 70% of the total runoff takes place during the months of June, July and August. Dry season flow originates from springs, which provide baseflows for small-scale irrigation. The total annual water resources are estimated at 110 km³ of which 76.6 km³ drain into the Nile Basin. The usable groundwater resource is estimated to be 2.6 km³ for both Ethiopia and Eritrea. However, this estimate is based on scanty hydrogeological information. A small fraction of the groundwater resource is developed for rural water supply. Traditional wells are widely used by nomads.

There are numerous lakes in Ethiopia: the 11 major lakes have a total area of about 7 000 km²

The water withdrawal of former Ethiopia (i.e., including Eritrea) in 1987 was about 2.2 km³ (Figure 1).

IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT

Traditional irrigation is very old in Ethiopia. The traditional small-scale schemes are, in general, simple river diversions. The diversion structures are rudimentary and subject to frequent damage by flood.

'Modern' irrigation was started at the beginning of the 1960s by private investors in the middle Awash valley where big sugar estates, fruit and cotton farms are found. With the 1975 rural land proclamation, the large irrigated farms were placed under the responsibility of the Ministry of State Farms. Almost all small-scale irrigation schemes built after 1975 were made into Producers' Cooperatives. Now the status of the cooperatives is being redefined, and this will have consequences for irrigation development and management.

The Total water managed area is about 190 000 ha and concentrated in the Awash valley, which accounts for 48% of the Total water managed area and 92% of the large schemes built before 1990.

FIGURE 1: Water withdrawal in former Ethiopia, i.e., including Eritrea (total: 2.2 km³ in 1987)

There are three types of irrigation schemes (Figure 2):

• Small-scale (63 581 ha): smallholder projects for a single peasant association and up to 200 ha in size, for which assistance in development or improvement is carried out on a self-help basis, eventually with support from the Ministry of Agriculture. About 359 000 farmers are involved in traditional small-scale irrigation.
• Medium-scale (41917 ha existing and 2 920 ha under construction in 1990): schemes between 200 and 3 000 ha, extending beyond one peasant association, and requiring a greater degree of government assistance in development, provided through the Water Resources Development Authority (WRDA). At first intended as self-help, low-cost developments, they were later modified to include commercial production (coffee, sugar or cotton).
• Large-scale (46 328 ha existing and 34 810 ha that were under construction in 1990): centrally managed state farms for commercial production, and covering 3 000 ha or more, to be planned and designed by WRDA and constructed under its supervision.

It is difficult to assess the area actually irrigated in Ethiopia. Some schemes have been damaged and are currently not operational. Some other schemes, built and managed by the Producers' Cooperatives but not used by the farmers, who mostly did not want to join these cooperatives, are deteriorating.

The irrigation potential of Ethiopia is estimated to be between 1.8 and 3.7 million ha. The potential for medium- and large-scale irrigation projects was identified as 3 300 000 ha. Separate studies have indicated a potential for small-scale irrigation of between 165 000 and 400 000 ha, although it is probable that there was a degree of double-counting. A recent study gives irrigation potential on a river basin basis, with a total of 3 637 000 ha.

In 1988, the costs of developing large-scale irrigation schemes were between $US 18 000 and $US 25 000/ha, without accounting for water storage. Development costs of medium-and small-scale schemes were between $US 10 000 and 15 000/ha and between $US 2 300 and 3 400/ha, respectively. These high costs are one of the reasons for low economic returns from irrigation in Ethiopia, especially for large schemes, and can explain why the irrigated area is less than 8% of the area potentially irrigable.

FIGURE 2: Types of full or partial control irrigation schemes (1994)

INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT

Several institutions are involved in water sector assessment and development.

• The Ministry of Natural Resources Development and Environmental Protection (MNRDEP), created in 1994, with a Natural Resources Bureau office in every region. This Ministry is in charge of soil and water protection, rural water supply, sanitation, and medium- to large-scale irrigation schemes. This Ministry supervises the activities of different Departments or Organizations, namely:

• the Water Resources Development Authority (WRDA), which is responsible for the design of irrigation projects;
• the Ethiopian Valleys Development Studies Authority (EVDSA), established in 1987, with the mandate to prepare multisectorial, river basin development master plans, and to investigate water resource development projects to feasibility (technical, economic and environmental) level; and
• the Water Supply and Sewerage Department. [A new Water Resources Development Authority was to be formed in 1994 from WRDA and EVDSA]

• The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), in charge of small-scale irrigation. The Irrigation Development Department, created in 1983 and formerly responsible for small-scale irrigation development and management, was dissolved in 1994.

At national level, responsibility for small-scale irrigation remains in MOA, with the creation of an Irrigation Agronomy Team, under the supervision of the Agricultural Development and Crop Production Department.

At regional level, small-scale irrigation, including planning, design and construction, now rests with the Natural Resources Bureaux - the regional offices of MNRDEP, under its Irrigation Development Study Team (IDST).

• The Ministry of State Farm Development (MSFD), responsible for the management and operation of large, state irrigation farms.
• The Ministry of Economic Planning and Development (MEPD), coordinating all the sectorial resource assessment and development planning that can be done by the different ministries.

The regions have considerable autonomy in determining, for example, the approach to extension, the role of the cooperatives, and the form of land leasing.

In 1994, there still was no water law in Ethiopia. A development plan for the irrigation subsector was under preparation in 1994.

TRENDS IN WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Seventy percent of Ethiopians live in the mountainous areas, where 60% of the land has slopes greater than 16%. Annual soil losses can reach 300 t/ha. Soil and water conservation, and water harvesting at the catchment-area level, are very important. A policy of supporting peasant activities in soil conservation is necessary.

Government policy in irrigation consists of channelling direct investment and support to farmers, while promoting commercial investment in agriculture. Smallholder irrigation in most of Ethiopia will form an integral part of a basically rainfed farming system. MOA, responsible for support to farmers, is in an ideal position to identify needs for irrigation and to mobilize beneficiary participation. That explains why the responsibility of irrigation is shared between MOA for small-scale irrigation and MNRDEP for large- and medium-scale irrigation.

With the latest political and economical reforms, the importance of private agriculture as the foundation of economy is recognized and a greater share of budgetary and human resources will be devoted to the rehabilitation and expansion of the sector. As Peasant Associations and Producers' Cooperatives have failed, the farmers are now forming Water Users' Associations with the technical support of the government or of non-governmental organizations.

MAIN SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Aytenffisu, M. 1981. Groundwater in Ethiopia.

FAO. 1990. Irrigation policy and strategy in Ethiopia. Report of FAO Technical Cooperation Project TCP/ETH/8963.

FAO. 1994a. Studies for integrated irrigation systems - Ethiopia - Project findings and recommendations. Terminal Report of UNDP/FAO project ETH/88/001.

FAO. 1994b. Ethiopia: Small-scale irrigation consolidation project, Preparation report. FAO/DDC Report 59/94 ADB-ETH 48.

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