Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T07:37:34.254Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Sustainable agriculture in the Blue Nile Basin: land and watershed management practices in Ethiopia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 December 2013

Emily Schmidt  and
Fanaye Tadesse
Emily Schmidt
Affiliation:
Development Strategy and Governance Division, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), IFPRI c/o DSG, 2033 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006-1002, USA. E-mail: [email protected]
Fanaye Tadesse
Affiliation:
Ethiopia Strategy Support Program II, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The trade-off between short-term welfare and long-term agricultural development in the highlands of Ethiopia represents a challenge to successful economic development in a predominantly agriculture-based economy. We employ nearest neighbor and kernel-based matching techniques to measure the impact of sustainable land and watershed management (SLWM) on the value of production at the plot level. Analysis suggests that plots that received SLWM investments (terraces, bunds, check dams) within the first study period (1992–2002) had a 24 per cent higher value of production in 2010. In addition, continuous treatment effects analysis provides a robustness check and suggests that plots with existing SLWM infrastructure have a positive and increasing value of production seven years after construction. Although value of production increases over time, net benefits may not outweigh costs, and mechanisms to incentivize maintenance may be needed.

Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 19 , Issue 5 , October 2014 , pp. 648 - 667
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abadie, A., Drukker, J., Herr, L., and Imbens, G. (2004), ‘Implementing matching estimators for average treatment effects in Stata’, Stata Journal 4(3): 290–311.Google Scholar
Abadie, A. and Imbens, G. (2002), ‘Simple and bias-corrected matching estimators for average treatment effects’, Technical Working Paper T0283, National Bureau of Economic Research, NBER.Google Scholar
Amadalo, B., Jama, B., Niang, A., Noordin, Q., Nyasimi, M., Place, F., Franzel, S., and Beniest, J. (2003), Improved Fallows for Western Kenya: An Extension Guideline, Nairobi: World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF).Google Scholar
Berhane, G., Hoddinott, J.F., Kumar, N., et al. (2011), ‘Evaluation of Ethiopia's Food Security Program: documenting progress in the implementation of the Productive Safety Nets Programme and the Household Asset Building Programme’, Background report, Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Brighton, [Available at] http://www.ids.ac.uk/files/dmfile/Ethiopia_full_document_FINAL_OCT20111.pdf.Google Scholar
Bojö, J. and Cassells, D. (1995), ‘Land degradation and rehabilitation in Ethiopia: a reassessment’, AFTES Working Paper No. 17, World Bank, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Boserup, E. (1965), The Conditions of Agricultural Growth, New York: Aldine.Google Scholar
Bravo-Ureta, B.E., Almeida, A.N., Solis, D., and Inestroza, A. (2010), ‘The economic impact of Marena's investments on sustainable agricultural systems in Honduras’, Journal of Agricultural Economics 62(2): 429–448.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caliendo, M. and Kopeinig, S. (2008), ‘Some practical guidance for the implementation of propensity score matching’, Journal of Economic Surveys 22: 31–72.Google Scholar
Cocchi, H. and Bravo-Ureta, B.E. (2007), ‘On-site costs and benefits of soil conservation among hillside farmers in El Salvador’, OVE Working Paper No. 04/07, Inter-American Development Bank, Office of Evaluation and Oversight, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
de Janvry, A., Fafchamps, M., and Sadoulet, E. (1991), ‘Peasant household behavior with missing markets: some paradoxes explained’, Economic Journal 101(409): 1400–1417.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis-Jones, J. and Tengberg, A. (2000), ‘The impact of indigenous soil and water conservation practices on soil productivity: examples from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda’, Land Degradation and Development 11: 19–36.Google Scholar
Feder, G. and Umali, D. (1993), ‘The adoption of agricultural innovations: a review’, Technological Forecasting and Social Change 43: 215–239.Google Scholar
Gebremedhin, B., Swinton, S.M., and Tilahun, Y. (1999), ‘Effects of stone terraces on crop yields and farm profitability: results of on-farm research in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia’, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 54(3): 568–573.Google Scholar
Haileslassie, A., Priess, J., Veldkamp, E., Teketay, D., and Lesschen, J.P. (2005), ‘Assessment of soil nutrient depletion and its spatial variability on smallholders’ mixed farming systems in Ethiopia using partial versus full nutrient balances’, Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 108(1): 1–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heckman, J., Ichimura, H., and Todd, P.E. (1997), ‘Matching as an econometric evaluation estimator: evidence from evaluating a job training program’, Review of Economic Studies 64(4): 605–654.Google Scholar
Heckman, J., Ichimura, H., and Todd, P.E. (1998), ‘Characterizing selection bias using experimental data’, Econometrica 66(5): 1017–1098.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hengsdijk, H., Meijerink, G.W., and Mosugu, M.E. (2005), ‘Modeling the effect of three soil and water conservation practices in Tigray, Ethiopia’, Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 105: 29–40.Google Scholar
Hirano, K. and Imbens, G.W. (2004), ‘The propensity score with continuous treatments’, in Gelman, A. and Meng, X. (eds), Applied Bayesian Modeling and Causal Inference from Incomplete-Data Perspectives, New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Holden, S.T. and Shiferaw, B. (2002), ‘Poverty and land degradation: peasants’ willingness to pay to sustain land productivity’, in Barrett, C.B., Place, F.M. and Aboud, A.A. (eds), Natural Resource Management in African Agriculture: Understanding and Improving Current Practices, Wallingford and New York: CABI Publishing in Association with International Centre for Research in Agroforestry.Google Scholar
Holden, S.T., Deininger, K., and Ghebru, H. (2009), ‘Impacts of low-cost land certification on investment and productivity’, American Journal of Agricultural Economics 91(2): 359–373.Google Scholar
Hurni, H. (1988), ‘Degradation and conservation of the resources in the Ethiopian highlands’, Mountain Research and Development 8 (2–3): 123–130.Google Scholar
Kassie, M., Pender, J., Yesuf, M., Kohlin, G., Bluffstone, R., and Mulugetu, E. (2007), ‘Impact of soil conservation on crop production in the Northern Ethiopian Highlands’, IFPRI Discussion Paper No. 00733, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Kassie, M., Holden, S., Köhlin, G., and Bluffstone, R. (2008), ‘Economics of soil conservation adoption in high-rainfall areas of the Ethiopian Highlands’, Working Papers in Economics No. 400, Environment for Development, Göteborg.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kassie, M., Zikhali, P., Pender, J., and Köhlin, G. (2010), ‘The economics of sustainable land management practices in the Ethiopian Highlands’, Journal of Agricultural Economics 61(3): 606–627.Google Scholar
Kato, E., Ringler, C., Yesuf, M., and Bryan, E. (2011), ‘Soil and water conservation technologies: a buffer against production risk in the face of climate change? Insights from the Nile Basin in Ethiopia’, Agricultural Economics 42(5): 593–604.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keele, L.J. (2010), ‘An overview of rbounds: an R package for Rosenbaum bounds sensitivity analysis with matched data’, [Available at] http://www.personal.psu.edu/ljk20/rbounds%20vignette.pdf.Google Scholar
Kumar, N. and Quisumbing, A.R. (2010), ‘Access, adoption, and diffusion’, IFPRI Discussion Paper No. 00995, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Little, I. and Mirrlees, J. (1974), Project Appraisal and Planning for Developing Countries, Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Mekonnen, A. (2000), Handbook on Vetiver Grass Technology – From Propagation to Utilization, [Available at] http://www.vetiver.com/ETH-handbook.htm.Google Scholar
MoFED (Ministry of Finance and Economic Development) (2010), Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) 2010/11-2014/15, Addis Ababa: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, September.Google Scholar
Nyssen, J., Clymans, W., Descheemaeker, K., et al. (2010), ‘Impact of soil and water conservation measures on catchment hydrological response – a case in north Ethiopia’, Hydrological Processes 24(13): 1880–1895.Google Scholar
Okumu, B.N., Jabbar, M.A., Colman, D., and Russell, N. (2002), ‘A bio-economic model of integrated crop-livestock farming systems: the case of Ginchi watershed in Ethiopia’, in Barrett, C.B., Place, F.M. and Aboud, A.A. (eds), Natural Resources Management in African Agriculture: Understanding and Improving Current Practices, Wallingford: CAB International.Google Scholar
Olarinde, L., Oduol, J.B., Binam, J.N., Diagne, A., Njuki, J., and Adekunle, A.A. (2011), ‘Impact of the adoption of soil and water conservation practices on crop production: baseline evidence of the Sub Saharan Africa Challenge Programme’, Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research 9(1): 28–40.Google Scholar
Pender, J. and Gebremedhin, B. (2006), ‘Land management, crop production and household income in the highlands of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia: an econometric analysis’, in Pender, J., Place, F. and Ehui, S. (eds) Strategies for Sustainable Land Management in the East African Highlands, Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.Google Scholar
Pender, J., Place, F., and Ehui, S. (2006), ‘Conceptual framework and hypotheses’, in Pender, J., Place, F. and Ehui, S. (eds) Strategies for Sustainable Land Management in the East African Highlands, Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.Google Scholar
Rosenbaum, P.R. and Ruben, D.B. (1983), ‘The central role of the propensity score in observational studies for causal effects’, Biometrika 70: 41–55.Google Scholar
Shiferaw, B. and Holden, T.S. (1998), ‘Resource degradation and adoption of land conservation technologies in the Highlands of Ethiopia: a case study of Andit Tid, North-Shewa’, Agricultural Economics 21: 53–67.Google Scholar
Shiferaw, B. and Holden, T.S. (2001), ‘Farm-level benefits to investments for mitigating land degradation: empirical evidence for Ethiopia’, Environment and Development Economics 6: 336–359.Google Scholar
Shively, G. (1999), ‘Risks and returns from soil conservation: evidence from low-income farms in the Philippines’, Agricultural Economics 21: 53–67.Google Scholar
Sonneveld, B.G.J.S. (2002), ‘Land under pressure: the impact of water erosion on food production in Ethiopia’, PhD thesis, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Stern, N. (2007), The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review, Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Tadesse, M. and Belay, K. (2004), ‘Factors influencing adoption of soil conservation measures in Southern Ethiopia: the case of the Gununo area’, Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics 105(1): 49–62.Google Scholar
Tefera, B., Ayele, G., Atnafe, Y., Jabbar, M.A., and Dubale, P. (2002), ‘Nature and causes of land degradation in the Oromiya Region: a review’, Socio-economic and Policy Research Working Paper No. 36, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Nairobi.Google Scholar
Weitzmann, L.M. (2007), ‘A review of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change’, Journal of Economic Literature XLV: 703–724.Google Scholar
Werner, C. (1986), ‘Soil conservation experiment in the Anjeni area’, Soil Conservation Research Project No. 13, Gojam Research Unit, University of Berne, Ethiopia and Switzerland.Google Scholar
WFP (World Food Programme) (2005), ‘Report on the cost-benefit analysis and impact evaluation of soil and water conservation and forestry measures’, Managing Environmental Resources to Enable Transitions to More Sustainable Livelihoods (MERET) Project, World Food Programme, Addis Ababa.Google Scholar
Yesuf, M. and Bluffstone, R.A. (2008), ‘Wealth and time preference in Ethiopia’, Environment for Development EfD Discussion Paper No. 08-16, EEPFE/EDRI, Addis Ababa.Google Scholar
Yitbarek, T.W., Belliethathan, S., and Stringer, L.C. (2010), ‘The onsite cost of gully erosion and cost-benefit of gully rehabilitation: a case study in Ethiopia’, Land Degradation and Development 23(2): 157–166.Google Scholar
Zeleke, G. and Hurni, H. (2001), ‘Implications of land use and land cover dynamics for mountain resource degradation in the Northwestern Ethiopian highlands’, Mountain Research and Development 21(2): 184–191.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Schmidt and Tadesse Supplementary Material

Appendix

Download Schmidt and Tadesse Supplementary Material(PDF)
PDF 188.7 KB