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ZAI IMPROVES NUTRIENT AND WATER PRODUCTIVITY IN THE ETHIOPIAN HIGHLANDS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 January 2011

TILAHUN AMEDE ,
MESFIN MENZA  and
SELESHI BEKELE AWLACHEW
TILAHUN AMEDE*
Affiliation:
International Livestock Research Institute and Challenge Programme on Water and Food, P.O. Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia International Water Management Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
MESFIN MENZA
Affiliation:
Wollega University, Ethiopia
SELESHI BEKELE AWLACHEW
Affiliation:
International Water Management Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
*
†Corresponding author: [email protected]
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Summary

In the East African highlands, crop yields tend to increase with proximity of the farm plots to homesteads. Farmers identified soil erosion as the most detrimental cause of low crop yield in the outfields followed by soil compaction due to livestock trampling. The main objective of this study was to determine whether zai pits (i.e. small water harvesting pits) developed for dryland regions of the Sahel could increase crop yield and water productivity of degraded outfields in high rainfall areas, where mean annual rainfall exceeds 1300 mm but soil water infiltration is reduced by slope, low soil organic matter and hardpans. The pits were enlarged to resist strong runoff flows. The research was conducted over three years from 2004 to 2006. Potatoes and beans were used as test crops. Overall, compared to control plots, the zai pits, in combination with nitrogen (N) inputs, increased potato yields from 500% to 2000% (p ≤ 0.001). The pits contributed more to increased crop yield than N inputs. Similarly, bean yields from the zai pits were up to 250% higher. Crop water productivity was 300–700% higher with zai pits than with control plots. The income of farmers who used zai pits was up to 20-fold higher than the labour costs required to prepare them. Contrary to conventional wisdom, this study reveals that the major constraint of the outfields is not nutrient deficiency per se rather low soil water holding capacity, which hinders crop growth and efficient utilization of available nutrients.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 47 , Issue S1: Improving Water Productivity of Crop-Livestock Systems in Drought-prone Regions , January 2011 , pp. 7 - 20
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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