Watershed management intervention on land use land cover change and food security improvement among smallholder farmers in Qarsa Woreda, East Hararge zone, Ethiopia

ABSTRACT

Natural resource bases are the basic foundations of food security. However, they are facing problems both in quantity and quality, leading to decreased land productivity and societal issues. Watershed management is the most effective technique for managing and utilising these resources while improving food security. The study evaluated the effectiveness of the watershed management approach using Arc GIS 10.5 to track changes in land use cover for the years 2009, 2014, and 2020 and surveyed 337 households in three different Programmes. The findings showed six land-use land cover areas, where the proportion of farmland and bare land decreased while the proportion of settlements and shrub land increased in the three micro-watersheds. Population pressure and exotic species' invasion were significant factors contributing to the decline in farmland, while a decrease in bare land and an increase in shrub land were the results of successful watershed management interventions. Survey results showed that approximately 93.4% and 84.9% of respondents reported reduced soil erosion and deforestation, respectively. Further, the integrated watershed approach implemented in the area improved water availability, reduced dependency on single crops, and increased off-farm activity. Thus, scaling up an integrated watershed approach can enhance food security and protect natural resources.

KEYWORDS:

• Natural resources
• production, and productivity
• watershed approach

Acknowledgments

First, let us give thanks to God for this day and time. Second, we thank all the respondents’ farmers and experts for their cooperation in providing the data for this study

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data will be made available on request.

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies.

Notes on contributors

Tena Gobena

Tena Gobena is PhD student at the Center for Food Security Studies, College of Development Studies, Addis Ababa University. He obtained his first degrees from Haromaya University in plant science in 2007 and his second degree from Jimaa university Natural Resources Management specialization of watershed management in 2011. He is senior watershed management expert at Oromia Regional state Bureau of Agriculture.

Amare Bantider

Amare Bantider (PhD) is Associate Professor of Geography and Natural Resource Management. He is senior researcher in Water and Land Resource Centre of Addis Ababa University and also lecture at the Center for Food Security Studies, College of Development Studies, Addis Ababa University. He obtained his first and second degrees from the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia) in 1987 and 1996 respectively. He obtained his PhD degree from Bern University, Switzerland in 2007. He authored and co-authored papers and book-chapters and published in peer reviewed journals and books on thematic areas of land use and land cover changes, watershed management, climate change, soil and water conservation, resource governance and related fields.

Messay Mulugeta

Messay Mulugeta (PhD) is an associate Professor of Socioeconomic Development, Food Security and Environmental Studies at CoDS/AAU. He obtained his first degree in Geography & Environmental Studies in 1997, second degrees in Environmental Science specialization in Environmental Resources Management in 2002, and his PhD degree in GeES (specialization in Socioeconomic Development Planning and Environment) in 2012 from Addis Ababa University. He is Ph.D Programme and Research Coordinator, Center for Food Security Studies, College of Development Studies, Addis Ababa University.

Ermias Teferi

Ermias Teferi (PhD) is a Director for Water Division in Water and Land Resource Center. He is also an Associate Professor at the Centre for Environment and Development, Addis Ababa University. He received his PhD in Hydrology and Water Resources from Technical University of Delft and UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, the Netherlands, in July 2015. He was one of the recipients of the Netherlands Fellowship Programme (NFP) PhD fellowship award (2011) and WOTRO research grant award (2009).