Water-Induced Shift of Farming Systems and Value Addition in Lake Tana Sub-basin: The Case of Rice Production and Marketing in Fogera District, Northwestern Ethiopia

Abstract

Fogera district is one of the districts adjacent to Lake Tana in South Gondar zone in Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia. Floods and related water-borne diseases were serious problems in the plains of the Lake Tana Basin and Fogera district in particular for centuries. But with the introduction of rice as a crop, this environmental characteristic has become an opportunity instead of a challenge. To address the lack of documentation about this water utilization-induced change in farming systems in this area, and the resulting rice production and consumption value chain, this chapter presents three survey studies conducted from 2010/11to 2014 by structured interviews of farming households and marketing agents, field observations and group discussions supplemented by review of literatures. Survey data was collected from 200 farming households of high and medium level rice producing kebeles of Fogera district selected randomly, key informant experts and a variety of value chain actors. Participation in the rice industry in this area has increased from 30 participant households in 2 kebeles and area coverage of 6 ha in 1993/94 to 34,249 households in 24 kebeles covering an area of 20,230 ha of land in 2014/15. Fogera district jumps from no contribution in rice production before two decades to a share of 77% of the rice produced in Amhara and 60% produced in all of Ethiopia. Rice is now the primary crop in the district. In addition to rice production, farming households have also adapted to rice consumption by innovative value addition practices to local food items. About 82.5% of the respondents were rice producers, with non-producing households having no access to irrigation; rice production is significantly related to irrigation water utilization. These findings clarify the contribution of water resource utilization in shifting farming systems and the value addition practices in the area. The study has implications for how to promote similar innovations where there are no cultural practices related to commodities targeted by extension interventions exemplify the impacts of proper water resource use.