BONGA UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS

DEPARTEMENT OF ECONOMICS
THE ROLE OF IRRIGATION ON THE HOUSEHOLD INCOME IN GIMBO WOREDA

A SENIOR ESSAY FOR THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF BACHELOR OF ART (BA)

DEGREE IN ECONOMICS

Student name ID

1. Worku Chanie ………………………………………….. …… 0247/13

2. Hilina Mekonnen…………………………………………………. 0365/13

Advisor: Solomon K .

June, 2016

TOGETHER WE CAN.
BONGA, Ethiopia
 CHAPTER ONE

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Back ground of the study

Ethiopia's economy is heavily reliant on agriculture, which accounts for 50% of GDP and
85% of labor force employment (Sisay, E.,et al (2022).

The Ethiopian agriculture is basically rainfall based and characterized by high variation
in magnitude and regularly incoming and forming period such unfavorable climate
condition often resulted in declining of agricultural production with the existing but
dwindle natural resource based under worsening climate conditions (GEBRE, N. (2020).

It is the challenge facing in how to meet the increasing food demand. It is also play
crucial role in providing row material to the local industry. Growth in agriculture is often
the corner stone for overall economic growth in Ethiopian economy; other sector is also
dominated by agriculture that poor agricultural performance drags down the rest of the
economy (Belay, B., et al, (2023).

That is industrial development permits agriculture to release part of its unemployment

and under employment labor force (Bashynska, I., et al, (2023).

Accordingly, Ethiopian has significant irrigation potential and realization its potential
development can contribute towards improving the welfare of the society in water limited
environments the potential for full irrigation decreasing with increased competition for
water from the domestic and industrial sector .

Those main challenges confronting both rain feed and irrigated agriculture is to improve
water use efficiency and securing sustainable water use for agriculture. In the southern
region the traditional schemes both at communal and household level of better proportion
from the point of land coverage. However, the management is at rudimentary stage to
enhance the contribution of the irrigation schemes in ensuring food security through in
come generation and satisfy nutritional needs of population and improving productivity
of the schemes is a prerequisite (Adeniyi, D. A. S. (2019).
Since there is no any empirical researches made on the role of irrigation in Gimbo
woreda the motivation of the researcher is to assess on irrigation and its impact on
household income in the study area.

1.2 Statement of the problem

Rain fed agriculture is the dominant form of farming in Ethiopia and government give
emphasis in irrigation development is a recent phenomenon (Senbeta, A. F., & Worku,
W. (2023). Although traditional irrigation practices in high lands for centuries, it was
only early 1950s. The modern irrigation technologies were adopted in large private and
government schemer primary in the Awash River basin(Tufa, K. N. (2021).

In Gimbo woreda most of the people major economical practice is agriculture where
production is largely substance and predominantly rain fed practiced. It is suffered from
the problem of local area, land size reduction, unproductively of land and there by
production reduction such unfavorable climate condition often result the decline in
agriculture production which turn leads to the decline household income through this
woreda have some water resource which is sufficient to the sustainable food requirement
of some people.

Even if there is sufficient irrigable water resource in the study area the awareness of the
farmers or households is less. Agricultural irrigation practice system has been practiced
in some area of Gimbo with aim of insuring household requirement and improving the
living standard of the community.

According to (AJAR, 2015), it is believed that irrigation both practiced during ancient
times in Ethiopian even if its exact date of emergency is unknown. Ancient use of
irrigation water was through use of surface methods and spate irrigation types. Modern
irrigation was started at the Awash River basin with bilateral cooperation of Ethiopian
and Dutch Company.

Now a day, the policies and strategies of Ethiopia strongly supports the irrigation
development especially the small scale irrigation through the water sector development
program (WSDP) and Ethiopia irrigation development plan (IDP). This irrigation
development is mainly expressed in the development of small scale irrigation (SSI)
schemes by the government, donors & NGOs. Irrigation is believed as a key for food
security and poverty reduction in Ethiopian. Cash income generated from irrigation
farming has been an important source of investment on productive asset of ruler
households.

But there is no empirical works that assess the role of agricultural extension and credit
service which helps to facilitate irrigation practice and for the researcher’s knowledge
there is no empirical evidence regarding with irrigation in the study area i.e. the society in
the study area have no improved awareness about irrigation which has a vital role on
household income. Therefore the researcher will attempte to fill the gaps on the role of
irrigation practice, credit service and extension services. And finally the researcher
answers the following research questions.

•What are the major crops that are produced in the study area?

•Does irrigation brings an important impact on household income?

•Does the government give credit and extension service for the households in the
study area?

1.3 Objective of the study

1.3.1 General objective of the study

The general objective is to assess the role of irrigation to the household income in the
study area.

1.3.2 Specific objective of the study

The researcher will be attempt to the following specific objectives

•To determine the role of irrigation to the household income in the study area.

•To assess the major crops growing in the study area.

 •To assess whether the government give credit and extension service for
households in the study area.

1.3 Significance of the study

This paper has many purposes, but the following are the major ones.

•For the researcher: the study will be expect to give information about the
contribution of irrigation to the household income and give the awareness about
the determinant of irrigation in over the economies.

•For the government: the study will give prior information for the government
policy maker about irrigation. the research will give information about the factors
affecting irrigation to increase house hold income and make decision.

•For the people: if used to help the people to understand the potential of
irrigation and its contribution for their income. And also it uses for the
government prior information to make a policy design on irrigation.

1.4 Scope of the study

The study will be conducte in Gimbo woreda with only some sample Kebeles. These are
because of time and financial constraints and that selected Kebeles are represent the other
Kebeles. And the time is restricted 2016, because of knowing the current situation of
agricultural sector to develop irrigation in the study area.

1.5 Organization of the paper

This paper is organized in such away, the first chapter deals with introduction of the
study in which statement of the problem, research question, objective of the study,
significance of the study and scope of the study. The second chapter deals with the
review of some theoretical and empirical literature related to irrigation in general and its
contribution to the household income.
 Chapter Two

2. Literature Review

2.1 Theoretical literature

2.1.1Definition of irrigation

Irrigation is the process by which water is diverted from a river or pumped from a well
and used for the purpose of agricultural production( Liberoff, A. L., & Poca, M. (2023).
Areas under irrigation thus include areas equipped for full and partial control irrigation,
spate irrigation areas, equipped wetland and inland valley bottoms, irrespective of their
size or management type (Richards, P. (2023). Irrigation is the artificial application of
water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops,
maintenance of landscapes, and re-vegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during
periods of inadequate rainfall (Jankaro, L. S. (2023).

2.1.2 Source of water supply for irrigation

The major sources of fresh water for the irrigation purpose are surface water and ground
water.

Surface water: it is water on the surface of the earth such as in stream and river lakes. It
is also a chief source of water used for irrigation surface water comes mostly from in the
stream and river great quantity of snows accumulated on highlands and mountains during
winter in spring the snow melts and run and changed in to the surface water is canal
irrigation to use for the irrigation purpose (Hewitt, K. (2014).

ground water: it is a water which stored beneath the earth’s surface in space between
rocks grain sound and other subsistence in soil (Misongo, M. (2020). materials of that in
can be penetrate, many of the best supplies of ground water is near rivers water from a
rivers seeps in to the ground and in to the quitter.
 2.1.3 Types of irrigation

Various types of irrigation techniques differ in how the water obtained from the source is
distributed within the field. In general, the goal is to supply the entire field uniformly
with water, so that each plant has the amount of water it needs, neither too much nor too
little. There are five main types of irrigation systems.

•Surface irrigation: In surface (furrow, flood, or level basin) irrigation systems, water
moves across the surface of agricultural lands, in order to wet it and infiltrate into the
soil.

•Localized irrigation: Localized irrigation is a system where water is distributed under

low pressure through a piped network, in a predetermined pattern, and applied as a small
discharge to each plant or adjacent to it. Drip irrigation, spray or micro-sprinkler
irrigation and bubbler irrigation belong to this category of irrigation methods.

•Subsurface textile irrigation: Subsurface Textile Irrigation (SSTI) is a technology

designed specifically for subsurface irrigation in all soil textures from desert sands to
heavy clays.

•Drip irrigation: Drip (or micro) irrigation, also known as trickle irrigation, functions as
its name suggests. In this system waterfalls drop by drop just at the position of roots.

•Irrigation using sprinkler systems: In sprinkler or overhead irrigation, water is piped

to one or more central locations within the field and distributed by overhead high-
pressure sprinklers or guns. A system utilizing sprinklers, sprays, or guns mounted
overhead on permanently installed risers is often referred to as a solid-set irrigation
systm(Waqas, M. M., Wasim, M., Ashraf, M., & Jatoi, W. N. (2023).
 2.1.4 The main objective and benefit of irrigation

Irrigation may be seen as of achieving one or more of the following national objectives.

•Setting drought victim and or land less people

•Increase the proper use of farmed area

•Increase farmers income

•The direct benefit drive from the incremental agriculture production due
to irrigation

• The primary need of irrigation to the country is for increased production

of stable food. To achieve this objective the speed crop rotation in line
with irrigation possibilities intensity cropping with wet and dry season and
increase yield.

2.1.4 Positive impact of irrigation

Irrigation is the potential growth of crops, which increase land productivity (Muhie, S.
H., Akele, F., & Yeshiwas, T. (2024). In addition on efficient utilization of irrigation
water could enhance the efficient allocation of the other productivity Inputs used in
farming; consequently this could result in an overall increase in agricultural production
that is larger than the sum of contributions of individual input used. There are other direct
and indirect benefits that are generated from backward and forward linkage of irrigation
engineering and supply of different manufactured equipment and machinery. Moreover it
is larger area market for non-agricultural product and services in the ruler economy. It
generates employment due to its help for industrial growth and hence eliminate ruler
under employment and unemployment by releasing these creeps to the industrial sector. It
farther increases livestock population by supplying water for consumption and by
increasing food production.

2.1.5 The role of irrigation in food consumption

In irrigated agriculture water takes up crops in partly or totally provided agriculture
though human intervention. Irrigation is with draw from a water source (river, lave, or a
quitter) and lead to the filed though an appropriate convenience infrastructure. To satisfy
their water requirement irrigated crops benefit from both more and less unreliable natural
rainfall, and from irrigation water. Irrigation provides a power full management tool
against the vagaries of rainfall and makes it economically attractive to grow high yield
seed verities.

2.2 Empirical literature review

Irrigation development in the world states that the world sustainable development plans
(WSDP) is show that irrigation development plan program will give emphasis to the
development of small scale irrigation (ABEBE, A. (2023). Also where possible priority
shall also give to the completion of ongoing and suspended large scale irrigation project
have been categorized according to the level of their studies feasibility, prefeasibility and
reconnaissance.

African irrigation does not currently play a significant role in African agricultural despite
highly reliable in many case insufficient rainfall and highly incidence of drought in food
production. Africa is entirely rain fed. Irrigation area as a total cultivate area is estimated
at only 6% for Africa compared with 37% for Asia and 14% for Latin America (Bin
Rahman, A. R., & Zhang, J. (2023). More over more than two third of existing irrigation
areas concentrated in five countries like Egypt, Madagascar, million hectares of irrigated
areas.

For the remaining counties, the irrigated area varies from a few thousands hectare to
almost half of a million hectares each for Algeria, Libya and Tunisia (Alborghetti, C. P.
(2023). Agricultural growth is clearly the key to ruler poverty reduction can make an
important contribution to achieving millennium development goal of having poverty by
2015( Vogt, M. (2023).
Irrigation in East Africa is a good soil in the eastern African highlands have favorable for
the development of intensive agriculture, although soil required conservation measures
because of steep slope less favorable land are cultivated under arid and semi-arid
conditions. Forest covers less than 20% of the total area of the sub-region due to land
scarcity (Tumushabe, J. T., Rogers, B., Bwanika, B., & Twongyirwe, R. (2023). The east
Africa up land verities which have been developed for the east African rain fed
contribution have been growth since 1958 while the hole scheme becomes operational.

Ethiopian has a very large resource potential. The development of these resources has
been impended for decades, first by agreement made by colonial power and by political
instability. The Ethiopian Blue Nile and other tributaries contribute over 80% of water in
Sudan and Egypt. The mobilization of these potential would have to take in to account
environmental and basin issues to mitigate the impact on downstream users( McDermid,
S., Nocco, M., Lawston-Parker, P., Keune, J., Pokhrel, Y., Jain, M., ... & Yokohata, T.
(2023).

Irrigation in south region of Ethiopian has more of potentially irrigable land. Despite
these potential of irrigation land only small part of these irrigable land is currently under
irrigation. The irrigable land can be further categorized in to traditional and modern
irrigation schemes. To traditional belong those schemes which are designed, develop and
operated by farmers themselves without any external assistance. They are ancient in its
history and farmer have developed their own indigenous knowledge and skill ranged
from designing, operation, maintenance and equitable sharing of water resource
synergistic both rain fed and irrigation farm activities to maximize benefits.
Conceptual frame work

Age Sex

Family size
Credit House hold income
service Marital
status

Education
level
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