Agricultural Water Management: Technology Options and Adoption under Hydro Climatic Constraint. The Case of Halaba Special Woreda

Abstract

The ultimate purpose of this study was to assess the agricultural water management practices in Halaba special district where hydro climate constraint is prevalent and framers were straggling with water shortage. The study area was selected purposively, while 247 respondents for questionnaire survey were identified through simple random sampling technique. Moreover, focused group discussion, key informants interview and field observation were conducted for the same purpose. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and linear regression analysis. The result of the investigation shows that farmers were using several agricultural water management technologies including river diversion, rain water harvesting, ground water extraction and demand management. The commonly used agricultural water management technologies were relatively cheap and mainly demand labor of the farmer. In spite of having a number alternative technologies, lack of the private investors participation in water resources infrastructure development and community views "water as free gift of God and has no economic value” were the challenges for sustainable water management in the area. Hence, it is important that the local communities to recognize fresh water is finite and has opportunity cost of capital.

Keywords: Agricultural Water, Technology, Adoption, Halaba Special Woreda