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© 2021 The Authors Water Supply Vol 00 No 0, 1 doi: 10.2166/ws.2021.330

Achievements, challenges and opportunities of rainwater harvesting in the Ethiopia

context: a review working paper No. 1

Negash Tessema Roba a,*, Asfaw Kebede Kassab, Dame Yadeta Geleta c and Birhanu Kindshih Hishea
a
Department of Water Resources and Irrigation Engineering, Haramaya Institute of Technology, Haramaya University, P.O. Box 138, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia
b
Department of Hydraulic and Water Resources Engineering, Haramaya Institute of Technology, Haramaya University, P.O. Box 138, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia
c
Department of Natural Resources Management, College of Dry Land Agriculture, Samara University, P.O. Box 132, Samara, Ethiopia
*Corresponding author. E-mail: sifankiya53@gmail.com

NTR, 0000-0003-0623-4548; DYG, 0000-0002-5203-198X

ABSTRACT

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is a novel way for developing countries to construct and maintain long-term water supply systems. As a result,
this review article draws on actual findings and lessons learned from various places in Ethiopia to assess the country’s achievements and
opportunities when it comes to RWH, as well as to guide future alternatives toward its sustainability. RWH acts as a tie throughout the
rainy season’s dry spells, benefiting human and livestock consumption as well as crop production through irrigation. So, for the victory of
well-organized rain water collection, watershed treatment, seepage and evaporation control, soil and water conservation, conservation til-
lage, and integration of low-cost water lifting techniques and family drip systems should all be feasible. Given that the country is not further
modernized, it has ancient dated experiences on the operation and exploitation of RWH systems. Aside from financial inadequacies, historical
and political instability, lack of understanding among farmers, and resistance to new technologies, the country has opportunities and has
made some progress on rainwater harvesting systems. In general, rainwater harvesting could enable smallholder farmers to diversify
their crops, thereby enhancing household food security, dietary status, and economic return. In addition, the much-needed green revolution
and climate change adaptations should combine rainwater harvesting ideas with agronomic principles in the country. More work is needed to
strengthen indigenous practices and share best practices to a larger scale.

Key words: Ethiopia, rainwater harvesting

HIGHLIGHT

• Given that the country is not further modernized, it has ancient dated experiences on the operation and exploitation of RWH systems.
Aside from financial inadequacies, historical and political instability, lack of understanding among farmers, and resistance to new technol-
ogies, the country has opportunities and has made some progress on rainwater harvesting systems.

1. INTRODUCTION
The goal of enhancing food production to maintain food security for the world’s continually growing population, particularly
for nations in ecologically susceptible areas like Sub-Saharan Africa, will be the major issue for the future decades (ICSU
2002).
Human population in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) grows at a rate of 3% per year, yet yields of main food crops only grow at
1% per year, signifying a decline in precipitant food supply (Dyson 1999; Rockström 2003; Sachs et al. 2004). More than 41%
of Africa’s population lives in drylands, which cover roughly 43% of the continent (UNEP 2009).
Due to severe fluctuation in rainfall, extended dry seasons, and periodic droughts and dry spells, water is a major barrier for
food production in drylands. The majority of hungry and poor people reside in areas where water scarcity is a major limitation
to food production (Koohafkan & Stewart 2008). Africa’s rainfall variability is twice that of temperate regions, making agri-
cultural droughts more common than anywhere else does on the planet (World Bank 2004). Droughts have primarily afflicted
the horn of Africa and the Sahara regions (IPCC 2013; L’Hôte et al. 2002), although they can affect any dryland in SSA.

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY 4.0), which permits copying, adaptation and
redistribution, provided the original work is properly cited (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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Agriculture is Ethiopia’s mainstay of the economy, accounting for the majority of GDP, export trade, and earnings, and
employing 84 percent of the people (Teshome 2006). Agriculture, on the other hand, is the most volatile industry, owing
to its reliance on rainfed systems (about 97 percent of agricultural land is rainfed) and the periodic seasonal shocks
(Awulachew et al. 2007).
By 2050, the country’s freshwater availability per capita will be less than 1,000 m3 per person per year, making it one of the
world’s most water-scarce countries (Fischer & Heilig 1997; Wallace 2000). Arid, semiarid, and dry sub-humid areas make up
about 65 percent of Ethiopia’s total landmass (about 700,000 km2) (EPA 1998) and 46% of all arable land is in this state
(Yonas 2001). Semi-arid zones, in particular, cover 301,500 km2 (27% of the country) and are the crop producing zone
most affected by moisture stress (Ephraim 2001).
Seasonal and yearly rainfall in Ethiopia is very unpredictable and varied, with a higher risk of crop failure in arid and semi-
arid regions due to a lack of water during the growth seasons (Gissila et al. 2004; Tesfaye & Walker 2004). During the years
1994–2003, the production of main grains in Ethiopia’s northern region had statistically significant relationships with seaso-
nal rainfall variations (Bewket 2007). Because rainfed agriculture accounts for the majority of Ethiopia’s GDP, annual GDP
growth was connected with annual rainfall variance from 1983 to 2000 (World Bank 2015). Rainwater loss through non-pro-
ductive channels adds greatly to water scarcity in rainfed agriculture, in addition to the unpredictability and unreliability of
annual and seasonal rainfalls. Surface runoff might lose anywhere from 10% to 40% of the rainfall (Welderufael et al. 2008;
Araya & Stroosnijder 2010). Soil evaporation may reach 50% of the rainfall in dryland regions (Daamen et al. 1995;
Rockström et al. 2009; Stroosnijder 2009).
As a result, in drylands, the percentage of rainfall utilized for plant transpiration might be as low as 15% of total rainfall
(Stroosnijder 2009). Dryland soils that deteriorated have little infiltration and water holding capacity, shallow depths, and
are vulnerable to crusting (Hoogmoed 1999). Farmers in Ethiopia have to do repeated tillage techniques before seeding
cereal crops due to insufficient ploughing with the traditional Maresha ard instrument, causing the soil to be severely crushed
(Temesgen 2007). As a result, the soil structure deteriorates, reducing rainfall penetration and increasing surface runoff
generation.
The demand for water is proportional to the expansion of the human population. Agriculture still consumes more than 70%
of all water in the planet. When demand for freshwater rises, there is often a competition among municipal, industrial, and
agricultural sectors, resulting in a reduction in agricultural allocation and threatens food security (Awulachew et al. 2008).
Water harvesting and conservation strategies have been successful in enhancing food yield in some poor nations through
an ecological strategy that needs collective effort at the local level, as well as engagement from government and non-govern-
ment groups (Rosegrant et al. 2002; Komariah & Senge 2013). Rainwater harvesting research with extensive impact
assessments and economic evaluations demonstrated the significance of interdisciplinary and integrated techniques. It was
demonstrated that these methods may be used for a variety of purposes, including water supplementation, flood prevention,
water table recharging, and erosion control (Ouessars et al. 2004; Komariah & Senge 2013).
Low yields or crop failure are the result of poor rainfall distribution caused by dry spells combined with low nutrient input
during crucial growth phases; thus, dry spell mitigation in Sub-Saharan Africa must improve water productivity (Komariah &
Senge 2013). Ethiopia, like the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa, is prone to famine, having a long history of famines and food
shortages dating back to 250 BC (Webb & von 1994).
Rainwater harvesting is particularly important because rainfall is the sole source of water accessible locally. Despite the fact
that the country has vast water resources, including 12 river basins with annual runoff volumes of 122 billion cubic meters of
water and an estimated 30 billion m3 of groundwater potential, the country has made very little effort to harness these
resources (Awulachew et al. 2007; MoWIE 2021).
Small-scale farmers in Ethiopia oppose a reduction in productivity, a scarcity of arable land, irrigation extension limits, irre-
gular rainfall, and frequent dry spells, therefore innovative rainwater harvesting (RWH) technology should be adopted more
widely to improve water productivity for rain-fed agriculture. When contemplating the concept of rainwater harvesting, the
distinction between ‘rainfed’ and ‘irrigated’ agriculture becomes evident (Rijsberman & Manning 2006; Rockström et al.
2010). The potential of RWH for crop production rests in combining the utilization of rainfall events with the management
of existing water to boost water productivity. Kahinda et al. (2007) discovered that supplemental irrigation of maize from
RWH minimizes the probability of full crop failure and mitigates dry spells during the rainy season in Zimbabwe.
Many RWH ponds are mostly used for cattle, according to an IWMI assessment on Ethiopia (Awulachew et al. 2007). The
mixed system of livestock and crops decreases the risks associated with livestock rearing; in the event of a drought, cattle

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production takes a long time to recover, whereas crop production recovers rather rapidly. RWH ponds and cisterns are also
utilized in the dwelling.
RWH ponds have been linked to detrimental health effects in Ethiopia, such as malaria outbreaks, in some areas. The
measures’ environmental viability is also questioned, because to soil salinization caused by micro dams (Awulachew et al.
2007). RWH on a wide scale, according to Rijsberman & Manning (2006), might lead to water shortages in downstream com-
munities. Furthermore, sufficient runoff is required, which is constrained by the available catchment area (Ngigi et al. 2005).
This is likely to become a more critical element as the scope of RWH increases.
It is commonly known that RWH, as a production-enhancing intervention, should be part of a comprehensive strategy. Fer-
tilizer, in particular, is a crucial component of this (Awulachew et al. 2007; Kahinda et al. 2007). In Zimbabwe, a research
(Maisiri et al. 2005) discovered that fertilizer application, not irrigation, determined final production. It’s vital to understand
the impact of water scarcity at critical growing phases if you’re going to employ supplemental irrigation effectively (Kahinda
et al. 2007). Choosing the proper planting date is also part of water management (Ngigi et al. 2005). The major goal of this
study was to examine the various efforts made, achievements obtained, and roles played by rainwater harvesting technologies
in sustaining agricultural productivity throughout the preceding decade, as well as their future responsibilities on food pro-
duction in Ethiopia.

1.1. Approaches to the review and literature compilation

This review paper critically reread the issues of rainwater harvesting achievements, challenges and opportunities in the Ethio-
pian context. This systematic review uses secondary data published in journals, research centers, annual reports, technical
and consultant reports done by several researchers, institutions and organizations. Though the review focused on generally
available literature, but, published original researches in the country were the principally used sources. All sources utilized in
the work were searched and identified from different electronic databases such as Web of Science, AGRIS, Research Gate,
Science Direct, Springer, different African and Ethiopian Journals, and libraries of the Ethiopian research institutes. The sec-
ondary data available at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT) and
Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia relevant to the review were also used. Based on the review objectives and contents,
all required sources were retrieved from databases mainly focusing on empirical results reported. Therefore, technically,
the rainwater harvesting achievements, challenges and opportunities were reviewed and recommendations and future scen-
arios are forwarded.

2. OVERVIEW OF WATER HARVESTING

Water storage in small ponds, tanks, and cisterns has been practiced for millennia all throughout the world. Since Roman
times, water held in ponds or tanks has been used for a number of reasons throughout North Africa. Tunisia and Egypt
are said to have some of these in operation (Gharp 2003). Water-harvesting devices dating back 4,000 years or more have
been uncovered in some of the world’s earliest farms, in Israel’s Negev Desert (Evenari et al. 1971). During the 1970 and

Table 1 | Summary of achievements of four regions (North western, central eastern, western and eastern of the country) in 2003/2004
physical year (adopted from Lakew 2006)

No Type of technologies Achievements (in number) Beneficiary Households Estimated area of land (ha)

1 Shallow wells (hand dug wells) construction 308,338 308,338 18,500

2 Shallow wells improvement 850 850 51
3 HH trapezoidal surface ponds 205,787 205,787 6,173.61
4 Cisterns/tanks 5,632 5,632 168.96
5 Cistern’s improvement 877 877 26.31
6 Community ponds 49,311 – –
7 Spring development 32,727 – –
2
8 River diversion in ha 37,020 148,080 37,020
9 Runoff diversion in ha 31,386 62,772 31,386
Total 732,336 93,326

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1980s, when there was a widespread drought that resulted in crop failures, there was a growing awareness regarding the
potential of rainwater gathering for enhanced crop production in Africa. Several rainwater collecting projects have been
built in Sub-Saharan Africa over the last three decades, each of which has cost a significant amount of money, time, and
effort. Their goal was to improve plant production and rehabilitate abandoned and damaged land in order to mitigate the
consequences of droughts (Dile et al. 2013; Kasso & Bekele 2016).
Water is most likely the key to lowering the risk of crop failure due to water constraint. Improved rainwater harvesting
could lead to higher crop yields, food security, and a better standard of living for people (Komariah & Senge 2013;
Nyamadzawo et al. 2013). Hence, water harvesting is a promising approach that is frequently employed to address water
scarcity issues in agricultural production around the world. Depending on the goal and circumstances, micro- and macro-
water harvesting techniques are used in arid, semi-arid, and tropical areas. Water harvesting systems are found to have a
favorable impact on agricultural productivity by providing irrigation water during important growing stages of crops, resulting
in higher yields. A water collecting system also assists to groundwater recharge by reducing runoff velocity and soil erosion
(Komariah & Senge 2013).
In addition to increasing agricultural output, RWH technologies have been shown to improve household food security and
raise revenues (Mutekwa & Kusangaya 2006; Welderufael et al. 2008). Furthermore, in-situ rainwater harvesting procedures
improved hydrological indicators such as infiltration and groundwater recharge, soil nutrients were enriched, biomass output
rose, and soil temperatures improved, according to Li et al. (2000), Vohland & Barry (2009), and Komariah & Senge (2013).
Also, rainwater collection strategies have been shown to promote floral diversity, change the ecosystem’s spatial organization,
and improve animal biodiversity by increasing the amount of biomass available for food and shelter (Rockström et al. 2004;
Komariah & Senge 2013).
The use of RWH expands the irrigation area, converting more ‘blue’ water into ‘green’ water. This has a favorable influence
on groundwater recharge but reduces stream flow downstream, enhancing the groundwater system’s resilience and sustain-
ability (Glendenning & Vervoort 2011; Komariah & Senge 2013). Farmers may find water collecting appealing because it
minimizes the risk of crop loss due to spatial or temporal drought, gives them more alternatives by extending the growing
season, provides more ‘rainfall’ to allow them to produce a wider variety of crops, and allows them to cultivate ‘abandoned’
land (Tabor 1995; Welderufael et al. 2008; Komariah & Senge 2013).
Rainwater harvesting has a longstanding experience in Ethiopia, with strong ties to the old Orthodox churches (Habtamu
1999). Rainwater harvesting in Ethiopia dates back to the pre-Axumit period 560 BC, according to Habtamu (1999). Rain-
water was collected and stored in ponds and tanks for agriculture and water supply at this time. In Axum’s oldest palaces,
the ruins of an ancient roof-water collection system can still be seen. Other evidence includes the ruins of one of Gondar’s
medieval castles, built in the 15th and 16th centuries, and the rock-hewn chapels of Lalibela (almost 800 years ago), which
include a pool used to hold water for religious rites. Rainwater harvesting systems may be found in monasteries such as
Mahbre Selassie in Gondar and Debrekerbie in Shoa. The Konso people in the south of the country have a long and well-
established history of creating level terraces to catch rainwater, which is then utilized to effectively grow sorghum in an excep-
tionally hard climate marked by low, inconsistent, and variable rainfall as per Begahew (2005).
Structures like Tank are used to collect rainwater in the Ogaden of Eastern Ethiopia. People in North Omo (Gatto Valley),
Eastern Hararghe, and other parts of Ethiopia have been practicing soil and water conservation for years (Habtamu 1999).
With the launch of the Food for Work (FFW) program in response to the 1971–74 droughts, Ethiopian government initiatives
of soil and water conservation programs began to promote and apply rainwater harvesting technologies as an option to solve
water scarcity. Construction of ponds, micro dams, micro basins, bunds, and terraces were among the first rainwater harvest-
ing efforts in most drought-stricken areas (Kebede 1995).

3. RAINWATER HARVESTING IN ETHIOPIA: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

Farmers have always evolved and adapted to ever-changing environments by building varied and resilient farming systems in
response to rapid climate changes and available opportunities (Pandey et al. 2003; Altieri & Koohafkan 2008). For sup-
plemental irrigation on farm fields, micro-catchment and in situ RWH techniques are used more frequently than macro-
catchment techniques. This may be because to the micro-catchment and in situ approaches’ lower complexity of designs
and lower startup costs compared to macro catchment systems. Traditional spate irrigation systems in eastern Africa are
the only macro-catchment techniques that have proved popular with smallholder farmers (Tesfai & Stroosnijder 2001).

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Despite the prospect of improving indigenous methods through scientific skills and lessons learned from other places, recent
RWH interventions have centered on the introduction of new techniques without sufficient farmer engagement. The vast
attempts to implement new rainwater harvesting systems, on the other hand, have only yielded minor gains and low levels
of adoption among smallholder farmers (Abera 2004; Spaan et al. 2005; Mengistu & Desta 2011).
Rainwater harvesting techniques alone can improve grain yields by up to 56 percent, while when combined with extra fer-
tilizer, grain yields can increase by 200–600 percent when compared to traditional practices, according to a review of
experiments across Ethiopia. Implementation of in situ and micro-catchment RWH methods can enhance the soil water con-
tent of the rooting zone by up to 30%, reducing the negative effects of dry spells. Despite the fact that integrating rainwater
gathering with soil additives is usually necessary due to the existing low fertility of most dryland soils, grain production
benefits vary depending on seasonal rainfall patterns. RWH techniques without the addition of nutrients had minimal
effect on crop yields in the Sahara during years with evenly distributed rainfall, whereas nutrients alone led in considerably
greater grain yields (Zougmoré et al. 2003). Despite the favorable effect of tied-ridges in near-normal (500–600 mm) rainfall
years in Tanzania, waterlogging effects in rainy years (700–900 mm) have to be addressed with bigger applications of fertili-
zers that increase maize’s water uptake capacity (Jensen et al. 2003). As a result, accurate seasonal weather forecasting will
aid farmers in making better immediate judgments and tactically planning for responsive farming in the next seasons.
Due to the uneven performance of RWH procedures in response to varied environmental and socioeconomic conditions,
previous experiences have shown that transferring best practices from one location to another should be done with caution.
As a result, it is critical to take into account current crop production factors, local knowledge, and opportunities while design-
ing and developing rainwater gathering strategies. Implementation of zai pits with compost and manure repaired crusted
desert soils in the degraded areas of the Sahel region in Burkina Faso, where soil degradation is also a key determinant
for crop productivity (Spaan 2003; Reij et al. 2009).
With not only sufficient backing from local research and development, but also with suitable governmental directives, the
remarkable results of supplemental irrigation through rainwater harvesting for enhanced agriculture in China’s dry regions
might be repeated in Ethiopia. Farmers will be able to methodically analyze the worth of the innovations they want to exam-
ine thanks to the facilitation of farmer-driven experimentation, while academics will be able to learn about socioeconomic
and biophysical implications on farmers’ decisions (WOCAT 2007; Sturdy et al. 2008). Integrated rainwater collection
methods must be identified, and indigenous knowledge must be used as a decision-making tool for appropriate development
(Mbilinyi et al. 2005). To systematically out-scale the impacts of micro-catchment and macro-catchment rainwater harvesting
techniques to a catchment size, a methodological flowchart has been developed as a decision-support tool (Ncube et al.
2008).
In situ and micro-catchment RWH methods can help to minimize long dry spells. Other agro-meteorological variables,
such as short growing seasons, early rainy season termination, or protracted dry spells, could be effectively addressed through
deficit or supplemental irrigation with rainwater storage ponds (Fox & Rockström 2003; Araya and Stroosnijder 2011). How-
ever, due to poor topography conditions or a lack of runoff-inducing precipitation, macro-catchment water harvesting
techniques may not be appropriate everywhere. It’s also critical to look at what’s accessible locally, such as rock fragments
for stone mulching or bunds, manure for soil enhancement, or crop leftovers for surface mulching. Water production per unit
of rainfall could be improved via genetic changes that target early growth vigor to reduce evaporation and increase drought
resilience (Bindraban et al. 1999; Bennet 2003; Molden et al. 2010; Asfaw 2011).
There are two types of water scarcity: (1) geographic water scarcity resulting from lack of direct water sources and (2) econ-
omical water scarcity resulting from weak economic and poor infrastructure that prevents the effective use of water resources.
This economic water scarcity is due to a lack of financial resources to invest in water supply and infrastructure in a variety of
ways, including RWH. Northern China, India, the Middle East, Northern Africa, Western North America, and Eastern Aus-
tralia are examples of water-scarce regions. The average use efficiency of water resources, on the other hand, can exceed 75%.
The typical economic water-scarce places are mostly in the African continent, including Ethiopia, where the average usage
efficiency of water resources is even less than 25% due to its weak economic base and incomplete infrastructure. Geography,
climate, economics, population, and technology all have an impact (Shendong et al. 2021).
Irrigation uses over 70% of the available water on the planet. Water demand for higher-valued uses such as home, industry,
and hydropower is increasing. More food must be produced with less water in the agriculture sector. Many believe that
achieving this aim will rely severely on enhancing the efficiency of canal irrigation systems and increasing water supplies
through the WH (Barker et al. 2000).

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In Africa and Asia, it is customary for each family to construct their own water catchment system, either by digging a shal-
low well or by constructing a rudimentary rainwater harvesting system. Both methods have advantages, but they also have
disadvantages: they are unreliable decentralized water sources, they are subject to nature’s whims, water quantities collected
during the dry season are insufficient, the quality of water collected could be hazardous, and structures suffer due to a lack of
expertise. Furthermore, due to distance and physical constraints, most small communities and villages in Africa and Asia do
not benefit from the centralized water supply system (Yongkyun et al. 2016).
Peoples lack of equal access and benefit from water harvesting technology (WHTs) due to natural and human-induced pro-
blems and constraints mainly linked with the following attributes. Biophysical suitability: Building dependable WHTs
necessitates a variety of requirements and design parameters, including terrain, soil, hydrology, geology, as well as environ-
mental, social, and cultural considerations. However, many WHTs are built without considering their viability against these
needs, and as a result, current water harvesting facilities that were intended for supplementary and full irrigation are becom-
ing obsolete. Rational and equitable utilization of water resources: The upper stream communities are less benefited than
the downstream communities because many of the reliable WHTs are built at the discharge site (downstream part of the
watersheds), but they contribute significantly to the enhancement of the water resources, resulting in a conflict of interest
among the communities. As a result, the ecosystem service’s continuity may be jeopardized, as well as the upper stream com-
munities’ motivation and excitement for protecting, conserving, and expanding their watershed, which provides water to be
harvested and used downstream. This is not to say that there are no water harvesting practices on the upstream parts; various
in-situ water harvesting techniques are used on a large scale, but because they serve as a point of retention, their economic
impact on the spot is not comparable to their impact at the point of discharge (off-site), because better irrigation activities are
practiced and relatively a better quality of water is available.
Infrastructural and economic limitation: The cost of setting up WHTs is out of reach for the rural poor unless the govern-
ment, NGOs, and aid organizations help. As a result, providing material, technical, and financial support, as well as
infrastructure amenities, particularly road access, are critical. The cost of setting up WHTs is out of reach for the rural
poor unless the government, NGOs, and aid organizations help. As a result, providing material, technical, and financial sup-
port, as well as infrastructure amenities, particularly road access, are critical.
Unattractive institutional arrangements to financial services: Rural communities’ economic ability is limited, and they
will be unable to finance the technology’s installation costs unless appealing credit and savings options are made available.
However, the existing institutional arrangements make it difficult to do so, as the local microfinance institution’s interest rate
for loans is high while the interest rate for savings is low, and there are lengthy bureaucratic procedures to gate the services.
This significantly reduces household interest in using credit and savings services to cover the costs of establishing WHTs and
associated investments on their property in order to increase production and productivity and, as a result, assure household
food security. Weak organizational monitoring and evaluation: Once structures are built, funders, advocates, and govern-
ment agencies do not strictly monitor their performance and functioning against their original aims, and the culture of
timely facility upkeep is poor. As a result, it leads to poor performance and a shorter lifespan for WHTs in general. There
is also a scarcity of trained labor at the ‘Tabia’ level who is sufficiently knowledgeable about the technologies. Unreliability
of rainfall: Rainfall is the primary design element that defines the structural component dimensions in the implementation of
WHTs. However, due to the unpredictability and erratic nature of rainfall, farmers are hesitant to invest in and build prom-
ising water harvesting technologies because there are circumstances where the cost of construction may not be recouped from
the benefit of water harvesting, i.e., the demanded water may not be supplied in sufficient quantities, lowering the value of the
investment in the technologies and, in turn, lowering the value of the technologies.
The main issues that prevent the adoption and implementation of WHTs are usually related to a lack of resources, such as
capital, human resources by labor, and knowledge, followed by a lack of organizational follow-up throughout building and
maintenance. Problems with the physical availability and biophysical suitability of the land resource, on the other hand,
are reported in smaller numbers (Tesfaye et al. 2021).

4. PREVIOUS RESEARCH RESULTS

To assess the economics of water harvesting, analysts have utilized a variety of methods. The most straightforward method is
to compare the yields of a certain crop achieved utilizing water harvesting and standard farming approaches under the same
set of experimental settings, often using the same type and quantity of fertilizer in similar soil conditions. Tabor (1995)

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conducted a millet and sorghum research study. Water harvesting enhanced yields for both millet and sorghum in this study
when compared to traditional farming, although the gain in yield was dependent on whether it was a dry or rainy year.
Several studies made on this research by comparing crop yields under four alternative scenarios: traditional techniques,
water harvesting only, fertilizer usage solely, and a combination of water harvesting and fertilizer use. Under the scenarios
described above, this research looked at maize (Barron & Okwatch 2005; Rodney et al. 2011) and sorghum (Fox & Rock-
ström 2003; Rodney et al. 2011) production. Water collecting alone can increase yields, but when combined with fertilizer
application, yields increase even more. These increases, like those reported by Tabor (1995), are dependent on the overall
amount of rain received during the growing season. Carsky et al. (2001) are the exception to this rule, finding that water har-
vesting alone increases yields more than fertilizer use. Finally, Zougmoré et al. (2004) examined sorghum yields from two
different water harvesting systems under three different scenarios: water harvesting without fertilizer use, fertilizer use with-
out water harvesting, and water harvesting and fertilizer usage together. They came to the conclusion that combining water
gathering with fertilizer application improves water efficiency and yield (Rodney et al. 2011).
According to research conducted in Burkina Faso (Fox et al. 2005) water harvesting increases yields by at least 40% in
millet and white sorghum mono-crops. The research also investigates a directional output distance function for joint pro-
duction of white sorghum and cowpea with water harvesting as an input, to estimate a quadratic production technology
for millet and white sorghum mono-crops and a directional output distance function for joint production of white sorghum
and cowpea. Sorghum and cowpea multi-cropping benefits from water harvesting as well. These findings shed light on the
financial benefits of water collecting as well as its potential as a poverty-reduction technique in Sub-Saharan Africa
(Rodney et al. 2011).
Rainwater harvesting systems in macro and micro-catchments have had a mixed but generally positive effect on soil moist-
ure regimes and crop yields (Walker et al. 2005; Mupangwa et al. 2006; Komariah & Senge 2013). Because of the higher
water use efficiency (WUE), Li & Gong (2002) and Tian et al. (2003) discovered that micro-water harvesting of ridges and
furrows with plastic mulch increased the tuber yield of potatoes by 158–175 percent for two years (Wang et al. 2008), and
the corn yield by 1.9 times (Li et al. 2004; Komariah & Senge 2013).
Rainwater harvesting systems were demonstrated to be a reasonably low-cost solution for temporal access to a water
source, according to Aftab et al. (2012). Some of the issues connected with irrigation, including as water rivalry between mul-
tiple applications and users, low water use efficiency, and environmental deterioration, are mitigated by RWH. Rainwater
harvesting is a low-cost, ecologically friendly technology that can be easily handled with little technical knowledge (Ngigi
2003; Komariah & Senge 2013). Supplemental irrigation with micro-catchment rainwater gathering during dry spells
could improve the rooting zone’s soil water content by up to 30% (Biazin et al. 2012; Komariah & Senge 2013). Sorghum
yields increased by 41% when harvested water from a small pond was used, and by 180 percent when paired with fertilizer
(Fox & Rockström 2003; Komariah & Senge 2013).
In-situ rainwater collecting with a sand-ditch was confirmed by Abu-Zreig et al. (2011), with runoff and sediment loss
reduced by 46 percent and 60 percent, respectively, while infiltration and soil moisture enhanced. In Tunisia and the
Middle East, rainwater harvesting practices like jessr or jessour lowered runoff volume and velocity, reducing soil erosion
and improving soil water storage capacity and fertility (Schiettecatte et al. 2005; Komariah & Senge 2013).
Mesfin (2014) found that 48 percent of households in the Amhara regional state of Ethiopia were unable to meet the daily
recommended caloric requirement, and that the percentage of food consumption required to bring the entire food insecure
population into food poverty is 18 percent, with 8.7% of sample households experiencing the most food insecurity. Further-
more, the descriptive statistics reveal that there was evidence of location, with rural households experiencing higher levels of
insecurity than urban households.

4.1. Water harvesting achievements in Ethiopia

According to the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWIE 2021), around 67 percent of the country’s landmass is classified as dry
or semi-arid, which is characterized by acute water scarcity due to unpredictable rainfall distribution, resulting in repeated
drought and hunger. Apart from solely pastoralist areas, more than 90 districts/woredas in the country, with a total of
more than 2 million households, are drought prone and experience severe water shortages on a regular basis. More than
12 million people’s lives are in grave danger as a result of this (Hugo 2003). The expanding imbalance between food pro-
duction and rapid population increase, the deterioration of natural resource bases, and the domination of cereal-based

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farming systems that are solely dependent on sporadic and inconsistent rain fall are all important contributors to current food
insecurity (Welderufael et al. 2008).
In numerous places of the world, rainwater harvesting during excess seasons for use during crucial periods has become a
viable approach. This aims to enhance the lives of rural people by bridging dry spells with supplemental irrigation of rain-fed
crops in smallholder farming systems at a low cost and with few outside inputs. This could be attained by a water harvesting
system that collects runoff in small storage structures. Water harvesting can lower the risk of crop failure by allowing for early
planting, which allows for the most efficient use of rainfall and so protects the crop from rainfall fluctuations. In food-insecure
places where land is becoming scarce, efficient rainwater collection and storage is crucial. Capturing additional runoff from
rainfall, as well as efficient water storage and usage, has become a key component of the country’s drought and famine
response strategy (OFS 2002).
In the highlands, heavy and prolonged rainfall during the wet season is the primary source of degradation, notably soil ero-
sion. Rain/runoff flushes the nutrient-rich soil, seed, and fertilizer down the drain. Large gullies serve as permanent drainage
ditches, reducing soil moisture levels. Water is a serious limitation in many regions of the country during the dry season, and
women, children, and cattle must travel long distances to obtain it. In this way, it’s as if a blessing has been turned into a curse.
Peak hydrographs during rainy seasons and no flow during dry seasons, high rainfall fluctuation that leads to large runoff
variability, and erosion and sedimentation problems all risk water availability. Effective watershed treatment and diverse
RWH initiatives are required to change it (Araya & Stroosnijder 2010).
Water is one of the three pillars (land, labor, and water) for development under the country’s Agriculture Development Led
Industrialization (ADLI) policy and food security programs. Despite the fact that the country’s entire surface and ground-
water potential is projected to be more than 120 billion cubic meters, access remains a major issue. Only 247,500
hectares (5.8%) of the overall 4.25-million-hectare irrigation potential has been realized through small, medium, and large-
scale irrigation projects. Traditionalists make up 55% of the developed. The Oromia area, which covers 32 percent of the
country, has the most irrigation potential. The financial, physical, and human capital required to successfully exploit the avail-
able potential are insufficient. Obviously, there are a number of physical, technical and socio-economic problems Yihun et al.
(2013).
Ethiopia’s Water Policy was recently published by the Ethiopian government. Most of the major rivers have been the sub-
ject of basin-wide integrated master plan studies that look ahead 30–50 years. Another approach for increasing water
productivity in the production system was presented as a key pillar in the national food security policy (FDRE 2000). In
each of the short term (2002–2006), medium term (2007–2012), and long term (2013–2016) planning stages, the targeted
aim in the water sector, primarily through home level water collection, micro and small irrigation, is 400,000 hectares
(EIAR, OARI, OIDA and JICA 2006).
Over 42,000 water harvesting structures have started production in the Amhara region (northwestern region of the
country), out of 242,000 completed water harvesting structures. As a result, 21,194 acres of land have been irrigated, benefit-
ing 148, 244 farm households. Women lead 14 percent of these households (21,194). The region’s irrigated land is mostly
made up of shallow wells, river diversion, and spring development Lakew (2006) and Dereje (2006).
In the Oromia area (central eastern and western parts of the country), total irrigated land with water harvesting is
65,508 ha, compared to 68,565 ha in the plan (95.5 percent achievement). A total of 343,953 households (92%) have benefited
as a result of this. On top of the 31,311 hectares that already exist, 379 hectares of traditional irrigation through river diversion
are being established. 75 percent of the 216,290 ponds planned are in food insecure districts, with the remaining 25% in non-
food insecure districts. Apart from drinking and crop production, farmers have sold the stored water, utilized it to make mud
for house construction, soil blocks, and raised seedlings at the nursery Fax et al. (2003) and Lakew (2006).
So far, 732,336 programs have been implemented in the country, benefiting 93,236 homes, totaling 3.7 million people. As a
result, this is thought to help with household food security. Low-cost water lifting and family drip equipment/systems have
been and continue to be pushed alongside the storage facilities. Treadle pumps, watering cans, family drip systems, and
tie-ridges are all examples of this. However, the quantity necessary in terms of the number of schemes is far less than that
required. Many farmers find that hand-lifting and watering with cans to the root of each plant takes too much time and effort.
Historically, the Embankment dam in Somalia was introduced by UNHCR in the Aware refugee camps in Sudan. It was
designed to gather water only for human consumption when it was first built. However, hope for the Horn, a local NGO that
works closely with pastoralists, has been striving to improve the technology by taking into account some of the pastoralists’
suggestions. Machine-built Embankment dams were intended to serve both animals and humans. The main dam and the silt

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trap were augmented with an outlet canal connected to two shallow wells, from which water is pumped to an elevated dis-
tribution cistern and then delivered to cattle troughs and human collecting sites by gravity (Yohannes 2015). The average
Embankment dam costs around 1.4 million Ethiopian Birr to build, with a capacity of 60,000 cubic meters of water (one
dollar is about 8.5 Birr). It is assumed that such a volume of water will last for four or three months, supplying up to
20,000 people and their animals. The Embankment dam is part of a system that includes environmental rehabilitation,
which includes closing the command area, planting trees, and using site-specific soil and water conservation measures
such as micro basins, soil bunds, and check dams (Yohannes 2015).
As a result, biological and physical interventions such as a silt trap and fodder banking were beneficial. The check dams
were constructed using locally available dead and living tree branches. The nurseries were also producing a lot of indigenous
multi-purpose trees (for fodder, fruit, and medicinal purposes), as well as a few fast-growing exotic plants. Water and environ-
mental committees, made up of elders, women, and youth, were formed at the start of the dam construction Hussien and
Hanjra (2003) and Yihun et al. (2013).
Currently, 17 Embankment dams have been built throughout 400 kilometers, with an average distance of 60 kilometers
between them. The five districts of Gashamo (5 Embankment dams), Aware (5 Embankment dams), Harshen (3 Embank-
ment dams), Kebrebehyah (3 Embankment dams), and Jigiga (3 Embankment dams) are covered by these dams, which
function as a blue (water) and green (fodder) belt (1 Embankment dam). The blue and green belts’ spatial distribution is
based on a number of factors, including the distribution of other water sources (natural, traditional, and tanks), clan and
sub-clan distribution, mobility patterns, and reciprocity among clans with territorial flexibility (Yohannes 2015).
Only when paired with enhanced soil fertility management is the water collection system economically viable (Fox et al.
2005). The run-off agroforestry system, which combines micro-catchment with agroforestry, provides enough water to pro-
duce both woody and herbaceous plants for the provision of feed in Ethiopia (Abdelkadir and Schultz 2005; Komariah &
Senge 2013). Because the micro-water harvesting system collects water across a vast region, it necessitates additional
effort during construction. Because the plastic used to mulch the ridges is hazardous to the environment, biodegradable plas-
tic film should be used instead (Wang et al. 2008; Komariah & Senge 2013). Despite the effectiveness of a number of RWH
systems (Rockström et al. 2009; Glendening and Vervoort 2010; Komariah & Senge 2013), Ngigi (2003) noted that the
impacts of a RWH system in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda are still negligible.
Soil storage and watershed treatment elements of RWH are largely absent due to capacity constraints, with considerable
variance between locales. Hand-watering using cans is time-consuming and labor-intensive, resulting in water waste. High
seepage and evaporation losses (estimated at 24 and 6 liters/day m2, respectively), high sediment in the ponds, loss of pro-
ductive land to surface ponds, cost versus benefit for cisterns having an excessive payback period, technical capacity
limitation at the grass-roots level during implementation and insufficient extension follow-up on already established schemes,
concern about malaria and inadequacy of local market in view of the targeted high value horticultural crops are to be men-
tioned (Amsalu and De Graaff 2006).

5. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE PROSPECTS

Subsistence rainfed agriculture will continue to be the primary source of food for Ethiopia rapid growing population due to
physical and economic water constraint. The severe agricultural water scarcity in this region is linked to rainfall unpredict-
ability and substantial non-productive water flows rather than total yearly precipitation. In drought-prone area, productive
green transpiration accounts for less than 15% of total terrestrial precipitation (source). As a result, rainwater harvesting tech-
niques have the potential to significantly improve and sustain rainfed agriculture in the region. In Ethiopia, for supplemental
irrigation on farm fields there are numerous RWH approaches at in-situ, micro and macro-catchment. The attempts to
implement new rainwater harvesting systems in the country, on the other hand, have only yielded minor gains and low
levels of adoption among smallholder farmers. Therefore, focus should be given to indigenous techniques, or those adapted
from indigenous RWH traditions, which are more extensively used and accepted by smallholder farmers than introduced
technologies.
Rainwater harvesting through conservation tillage practices has influenced the partitioning of rainfall by significantly redu-
cing surface runoff over agricultural lands by up to 100% when compared to conventional tillage, according to an
investigation of catchment hydrology in response to agricultural water use innovations (Kongo et al. 2010). Rainwater har-
vesting systems received little attention from research and development actors three decades ago. A number of regional or

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international organizations working in Ethiopia have recently undertaken research and development projects. In the region,
efforts to include remote sensing and modeling approaches for assessing agricultural water management techniques and
watershed hydrological responses have yielded promising results. The economic, environmental and social constraints to
the development of acceptable RWH technologies, on the other hand, have yet to be resolved. Ethiopian farmers require tech-
nological and institutional assistance in order to develop their traditional techniques.
Not only with sufficient backing from local research and development, but also with suitable governmental directives, with
the exemplary results of supplemental irrigation through rainwater harvesting for enhanced agriculture in China’s dry regions
might be reproduced in Ethiopia. Farmers will be able to methodically analyze the worth of the innovations they want to
investigate owing to the facilitation of farmer-driven experimentation, while academics will have a place to learn about socio-
economic and biophysical implications on farmers’ decisions. To systematically out-scale the impacts of micro-catchment and
macro-catchment rainwater harvesting techniques to a catchment size.
According to an analysis of Ethiopia’s numerous indigenous soil and water conservation systems, development projects
should use traditional practices in resource conservation programs. Stone bunds were first popularized in northern and
southern Ethiopia once they were combined with the traditional knowledge of lynchets, locally known as ‘Daga.’ As a
result, more coordinated efforts are required to establish indigenous traditions and adapt RWH approaches to the existing
socioeconomic and biophysical contexts. In the country, the much-needed green revolution and climate change adaptations
should combine rainwater harvesting ideas with agronomic principles.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST
There are no conflicts of interest declared by the authors.

FUNDING
The preparation of this manuscript was not aided by any funding.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

All relevant data are included in the paper or its Supplementary Information.

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First received 5 July 2021; accepted in revised form 15 September 2021. Available online 28 September 2021

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