Impact Assessment of Rainwater Harvesting Technologies: The Case of Astbi Womberta Woreda, Tigray, Ethiopia
Creators: name: Assefa, Ephrem
Publisher: name: National Academic Digital Repository of Ethiopia
Year: 2006

description: To mitigate the erratic nature of rain fall in the arid and semi-arid parts of the country, which threatens the lives of millions of people, a national food security strategy based on the development and implementation of rain water harvesting technologies either at a village or household level has been promoted for improving productivity and sustainable intensification of the rainfed agriculture. This study examines the socioeconomic and biophysical factors affecting a farm household's RWH technology adoption decision in Tigray, Atsibi Womberta Woreda, northern Ethiopia; and the impact of the rainwater harvesting technologies on crop yield. The study develops a theoretical framework to test hypotheses and to investigate the determinants of household's RWH technology adoption decision, the determinants of yield differences across plots, and the impact of rain water harvesting ponds on crop production. The factors are analyzed using plot-level data surveyed from 100 households, (52 households with RWH technology and 48 households without RWH technology). In this study, the econometric analysis adopts OLS and Probit models based on the nature of the dependent variables under investigation. Besides, to augment the results of the econometrics analyses descriptive, crop-mix, and qualitative analyses have been adopted. The result of the crop-mix analysis showed that, a comparison of the "with" and "without" situation with respect to the crop type grown, based on the crop category, shows a major shift on farm household's crop choice decision from cereals and pulses towards perishable and perennial cash crops, including vegetables, spices, and fruits, and/or an intensification in agricultural production. The findings of the econometric analysis of the probit model shows credit access, plot size, plot proximity to residence, purpose of the plot, and savings as the major positive determinant factors of household's RWH technology adoption decision. Consistent with this, results of the analysis of qualitative information witnessed lack of capital, lack of plot or small plot size, and problems related with structure or design of the RWH technology adopted as the main problems facing households, and have a negative impact on the technology adoption rate. Finally, results of the OLS estimation showed that, although the impact of most of the household-level factors was indirect through the factor inputs, except for seed, the impact of the other factor inputs is insignificant. However, household head involvement in nonfarm labor, education level, greater ownership of oxen, and plot fertility have significant positive impact, while credit access, ownership of greater pack animals and small ruminants, and rented plots have witnessed negative impact on value of crop yield. Besides, the study has found no significant effect of RWH technology on value of crop yield. However, other interesting result implied from this study is that, though initially the RWH technology was introduced as a supplementary source of water for cereal and pulse crop production during dry spell periods, majority of the farm households have used the accumulated water for horticulture production. The agricultural intensification would in tern have positive potential to increase the income of farm households.