Poster prepared by Gebremedhin Woldewahid, Berhanu Gebremedhin, Dirk Hoekstra and Azage Tegegne for Tropentag 2012: Resilience of Agricultural Systems against Crises, Gottingen, Germany, 19-21 September 2012.

1. Watershed Conservation-based Market Oriented Commodity
Development: A Move Towards Resilient Farming?
Gebremedhin Woldewahid, Berhanu Gebremedhin, Dirk Hokestra, Azage Tegegne
September, 2012
1. Introduction 3. Results
Reversing watershed degradation and food insecurity has been one of the major 3.1 Beekeeping
challenges in the semi-arid areas of northern Ethiopia where the productivity of rainfed
crop-livestock farming is very low. As an entry point, the conservation and enclosure of
watersheds resulted in improved runoff retention in the upstream hilly sides, and surface
and groundwater enrichment in the downstream of the watersheds. Along the conserved
watershed resources gradient, knowledge and skill based market oriented commodity
development interventions has been tested to improve the income of farmers.
2. Interventions
2.1 Commodity development and watershed resources gradient
Market oriented commodity development integrated in synergy with watershed resources
gradient: Beekeeping-upstream hilly sides, sheep fattening-bottomlands and high value 3.2 Sheep fattening
irrigated crops-downstream of the watersheds.
60000 60000
Total fattened sheep
50000 50000
Total fattened sheep sold
Fattened sheep (number/year)
Watershed resources gradient Commodity type
Total biomass (t/yr)
40000 40000
Upstream 30000 30000
hilly sides
20000 20000
10000 10000
0
Bottomlands 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
0
Traditional Improved
Year Management type
High value
irrigated
crops
2.2 Market oriented commodity development along the value
chain framework 3.3 High value
irrigated crops
Watershed
Resources
Gradient
Technical Skill
Knowledge Partners Development
4. Conclusion
 Knowledge and skill based market oriented commodity development unlocks the use of
Commodity
conserved watershed resources gradient effectively and efficiently.
Development
(Value-Chain  The benefits trigger the community to re-invest and protect the watershed resources
Framework) wisely.
 Improved income was recorded in the intervention watersheds when crops failed and
livestock productivity declined in the non-intervention watersheds due to erratic
rainfall.
 This imply that integrating market oriented commodity development in synergy with
the conserved watershed resources gradient provides real income to farmers that is
relatively resilient to extreme rainfall variability.
Gebremedhin Woldewhid
g.woldewahid@cgiar.org, ILRI, P.O. Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,
+251 116 460259, www.ipms-ethiopia.org, www.eap.gov.et, www.ilri.org