The Upper Blue Nile Basin, the highest sources of the Nile River flow through this area, is still under severe land degradation, which aggravates water scarcity. The productivity of subsistence farming is below 50% of...The Upper Blue Nile Basin, the highest sources of the Nile River flow through this area, is still under severe land degradation, which aggravates water scarcity. The productivity of subsistence farming is below 50% of the potential of agriculture, mainly because of inappropriate rainwater management. At farm level, rainwater is exposed to poor partitioning described as flooding, land degradation, siltation and water scarcity for domestic, irrigation, hydropower and environmental uses in the basin. Hence, it is one of the root causes of food-insecurity in the region. To reverse this situation and achieve increased rainwater productivity knowledge of rainfall partitioning at grassroots level is significantly important. However, rainwater partitioning and partitioning points are not clearly known by farmers in the area. Besides, understanding water-routes helps to manage rainwater with integrated water resources management （IWRM） processes. The objective of this study was to identify the knowledge gap of farmers and experts on rainwater partitioning that help for increased water productivity. Intensive monitoring and interviews have been carried out for 81 farmers and 22 local experts in three pilot sites. The interviewed farmers and experts are clearly aware of the runoff partitioning, since it is easily observable. While, only 10% of the farmers and 25% of experts know about evaporation partitioning, which is the largest compared to other losses. The paper gives recommendations for better understanding of rainfall partitioning points and management of water-routes at grassroots level to increase rainwater productivity and enhance food security in the area with IWRM processes.展开更多
文摘The Upper Blue Nile Basin, the highest sources of the Nile River flow through this area, is still under severe land degradation, which aggravates water scarcity. The productivity of subsistence farming is below 50% of the potential of agriculture, mainly because of inappropriate rainwater management. At farm level, rainwater is exposed to poor partitioning described as flooding, land degradation, siltation and water scarcity for domestic, irrigation, hydropower and environmental uses in the basin. Hence, it is one of the root causes of food-insecurity in the region. To reverse this situation and achieve increased rainwater productivity knowledge of rainfall partitioning at grassroots level is significantly important. However, rainwater partitioning and partitioning points are not clearly known by farmers in the area. Besides, understanding water-routes helps to manage rainwater with integrated water resources management （IWRM） processes. The objective of this study was to identify the knowledge gap of farmers and experts on rainwater partitioning that help for increased water productivity. Intensive monitoring and interviews have been carried out for 81 farmers and 22 local experts in three pilot sites. The interviewed farmers and experts are clearly aware of the runoff partitioning, since it is easily observable. While, only 10% of the farmers and 25% of experts know about evaporation partitioning, which is the largest compared to other losses. The paper gives recommendations for better understanding of rainfall partitioning points and management of water-routes at grassroots level to increase rainwater productivity and enhance food security in the area with IWRM processes.
