-
Stakeholder involvement, knowledge, and gender norms key for effective rainwater management
August 1, 2017 Editor 0
Cattle cool off in the Awash River, Oromia, Ethiopia, after a long trek (photo credit: ILRI).Poor rainwater management (RWM) is a major challenge in the smallholder mixed crop-livestock farming system in Ethiopia. Success of previous RWM interventions by government and international organizations has been hampered by weakness in technical design, minimal community involvement in project design, unfavourable land use policies as well as poor follow-up and monitoring.
A three-year (2010-2013) Nile Basin Development Challenge Program piloted an integrated RWM approach that combined technologies/practices, policies and institutions and involved multiple stakeholders (farmers, researchers, planners and policymakers). Innovation platforms (IPs) where organized to bring together these different stakeholders for knowledge sharing, joint planning and implementation of novel RWM interventions. The goal was to address interrelated problems of land degradation, livestock feed shortage, and soil erosion, in an effort to improve the resilience of rural livelihoods.
Researchers from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) conducted a study to establish the effect of this integrated RWM approach on stakeholders’ knowledge, attitudes, skills and practices and to assess their perceptions about the approach.
Based on a qualitative exploratory study, the research was undertaken in early 2014 using individual semi-structured interviews to collect data from 54 IP members that included farmers, development agents, district administrators, researchers, policymakers and non-governmental organizations representatives from the Diga, Jeldu and Fogera districts of Ethiopia.
The results of the study, which were recently published in the Natural Resources Forum, a United Nations Sustainable Development Journal, reveal that the implementation of the integrated RWM approach had positive effects on stakeholders’ knowledge, attitudes, skills and practices.
The stakeholders acquired new knowledge in how to successfully manage soil and water, while considering local needs, institutions and policies. Farmers acquired more knowledge regarding RWM practices, while planners, policymakers and researchers gained more knowledge in multi-stakeholder engagement processes.
Furthermore, the results show that differences in gender roles and responsibilities influence the RWM technological preferences among male and female farmers. Understanding these differences in light of preferences and gender-based constraints, such as workload, might help researchers and development practitioners design acceptable and sustainable RWM interventions.
The study concludes that RWM approaches that directly address the needs of male and female farmers in the short- to medium-term are more likely to be adopted. Effective rainwater management requires strong collaboration, capacity development of all stakeholders, incentives such as inputs and markets, favourable policies and norms, and continuous monitoring.
Filed under: East Africa, Ethiopia, Gender, Gender news, Livelihoods, LIVESTOCK-CRP, PIL, WLE Tagged: NBDCP, Rainwater management
Go to SourceRelated Posts
Corporate Social Responsibility in Innovation: Insights from two Cases of Syngenta’s Activities in Genetically Modified Organisms
Farming to Invest in the Future
Africa: Gaming Platforms Gaining Ground in Africa
Africa: Largest Solar System Moon Detailed in Geologic Map
Expert group plans small ruminant genetics and breeding to the next level in Ethiopia
What matters – and what doesn’t – for youth financial inclusion
Categories: Agriculture
The absorptive capacity as a key success factor in international strategic alliances: a study of Tunisian firms Organisational resilience: building business value in a changing world
Subscribe to our stories
Recent Posts
- SL Crowd Green Solutions September 21, 2020
- Digital transformation in the banking sector: surveys exploration and analytics August 3, 2020
- Why Let Others Disrupt You? Take the Smart Self-Disruption Journey! August 3, 2020
- 5 Tips for Crowdfunding During the Pandemic August 3, 2020
- innovation + africa; +639 new citations August 3, 2020
Categories
Archives
Popular Post-All time
- A review on biomass-based... 0.9k views
- Can blockchain disrupt ge... 672 views
- Prize-winning projects pr... 646 views
- Apply Now: $500,000 for Y... 602 views
- Test Your Value Propositi... 523 views