MS-GIRE-FOGERA

Location

Location of Lake Tana and the Blue Nile in Ethiopia.

Map of the hydrological network of the Gumera river, Fogera

General description

Fogera is a district located in northern Ethiopia, in the Amhara Regional State. It is located east of the Tana Lake. 

According to CSA (2008), there are 226,594 inhabitants. Roughly 5.4% live in the cities and the rest in rural areas.

There is a chain of mountains in the central eastern region which gives course to two principal rivers. The Gumara river (southern river) and the Reb river (northern river) flow in parallel towards the Tana Lake.

The average altitude of the region is about 2000 meters above sea level, going from 1774 m and reaching 2400 m. With the climate being mainly temperate, the annual rainfall reaches an average of 1216.3 mm (IPMS, 2005; Zamadim et al., 2010).

The region has two principal seasons. The rainy season occurs from June to September and the dry season from September to June. (Ergano yet al., 2010)

The plains are predominantly dominated by a black clay soil (ferric vertisols), whilst the mid and high altitude zones are occupied by orthic luvisols.

There are two main topographic areas: the upper plateau zone located in the east close to the mountain range, and the lower plain that covers 70% of the district. The lower plains are flooded annually due to the intensity of the rainfall coming from the highlands during the rainy season. These floods cause the deposit of eroded alluvial soils.

67.8% of Fogera’s total land is used for agriculture, 14.57% is allocated for pastures and grazing, 4.7% is covered by forests and the rest (12.8%) is urbanized (Ergano et al., 2010).

Farming is the most important income source for the district’s population. The mean farm size is small, spreading from 0.5 to 3 ha (IPMS, 2005). Rice, maize, pulses and horticulture are the principal grown crops. 

Irrigation techniques have become more popular among farmers in the plains where nearly half of the cultivated land is irrigated for onion, tomato and rice.

There are other minor sources of income from petty trade in livestock, extracted minerals (sand production), and farmed trees (various eucalyptus species) .

Map of the Forgera region with distinguishing figures on altitude and crop production

Main issue / objective

Context of issues Fogera :

-          Compared to other regions in Ethiopia the land is very fertile (due to the composition of black soil and high pluviometry)

o   These conditions are favourable for the production of cash crops

-          However the poverty level limits the population from accessing certain sources (education, technology, etc.)

-          Demographic growth raises the demand in resources (water, food, energy, etc.)

-      The 2 climate seasons have various effects on the land (rainy season : June-Septembre/  dry season : Septembre-June)

o   Flooding of low lands (rainy season)

o   Lack of water for domestic and agricultural uses ( last months of dry season)

-          Pastoralism is in decline due to the extension of crop production (rice and horticultural plants)

Main issues

-          Lack of water :

The lack of rainfall during the dry season causes a scarcity of water in most of the region. Irrigation practices during this season worsen the water problem. It impacts the water resources and effects the supply of water for the rest of the users. Moreover irrigation techniques (gravitational, motorized pumps, manual pumps, etc.) is unequally used and unregulated among farmers. This need for water is one of the causes of disputes between neighboring land users.

From a topographic point of view accessibility to water resources vary depending on the geographical location of users. Those living near the lake and rivers have easier access to water even during the extreme conditions of the dry season. However those living in higher altitudes and away from the lake sometimes even lack water from the river they use.

-          Soil degradation (erosion and loss of fertility):

Soil erosion is more frequent in the mountain areas do to the steepness of the slopes and the density of the rainfall during the rainy season. This phenomenon is accentuated by the deforestation and conversion of woodlands into agricultural lands. The soil erosion of highlands also causes the siltation of the rivers and affects the communities of the low lands which depend on this water. The traditional agricultural practices, which are still the most practiced today, have been causing a depletion of soil nutriments due to their extensive use.

-          Conflicts about the uses of land:

There is a transition in the use of the land, from extensive cattle breeding (based on free grazing lands) to crop production lands,such as rice and horticultural crops which are known to be more profitable even if they require a lot of water. With the spread of agricultural lands cattle can longer graze freely but are confined to restricted areas. The cultural change in the use of the land has pushed cattle breeding into the high lands and has also caused a decrease in the cattle population.

The decrease of areas dedicated to cattle grazing has limited the animals feeding supply and has pushed farmers to find other feeding resources sometimes at an extra cost. A diminishing cattle population impacts local inhabitants on a grand scale because cattle provide them with milk and their main fuel resource (manure).

Spatial schema

Actors-resources schema

Strategies proposed

Actors-actions table

Game structure

Map

Roles

Low Land Farmer :

Role:

You have the choice to cultivate rice, horticulture or breed cattle.

Constraint:

Rice is an irrigated crop (located close to the river bed).

Horticulture is a rainfed crop (refer to general rules if irrigation is needed).

Objectives :

• • Keep your soil fertile

  • Improve your livelihood

Middle Land Farmer :

Role:

You have the choice to cultivate rice, cereals or breed cattle.

Constraint:

Rice can be an irrigated crop (located close to the river bed).

Cereals is a rainfed crop (refer to general rules if irrigation is needed).

Objectives:

• • Keep your soil fertile

  • Improve your livelihood

High Land Users :

Role:

You have the choice to cultivate eucalyptus, to cut down trees or breed cattle.

Constraint:

Eucalyptus is rainfed.

1 deforestation activity is obliged.

Objectives:

• • Keep your soil fertile

  • Improve your livelihood

Remember, the main problems of the basin is that farmers are eroding the soil by intensively growing crops and deforestation upstream degrades the water quality.

So, the general objective is to keep a good soil and water quality for a sustainable production.

Process

Rules

·         The board is divided into 3 zones based on their altitude:

                       - Low Lands (located on the right of Tana Lake)

                       - Middle Lands (located in the middle)

                       - High Lands (located in the mountains on the right)

·         Every activity is constrained to a certain zone and each zone is limited to 4 number of activities.

·         At the start of the game 5 soil units are attributed to each zone and to be shared among the different activities (negotiate with the other players of the same zone). Every round after 2 soil units are added to each zone. 

·         Every player starts the game with 4 work units.

·         When extracting water from the river, the player must do so without looking.

 ·         After having played one round, it costs 1 work unit to remove an activity.

·         Each activity requires a certain amount of soil units. A player can decide not to cultivate for one round and recuperate 1 soil unit. 

·         If an activity is not satisfied by rain fed water, it can pump 1 unit of water from the river at the cost of 1 unit of work.

 ·         Each time a farmer uses 1 polluted water unit he loses 1 livelihood unit.

 ·         A player can exchange 1 livelihood unit for 1 work unit at the end of each round.

Objectives

The aim of the game for each actor is to avoid polluting the river, and eroding the soil whilst sustaining a good livelihood.

At the end of one round there can be no more than 50% of polluted water.

At the end of 4 rounds each zone must have a minimum of 4 soil units.

Evaluation session