article · ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS RESEARCH
In rainfed farming areas, water availability is the primary constraint limiting agricultural output. In the Beressa watershed located in the highland region of Ethiopia, substantial amounts of rainwater are lost as runoff during periods of heavy rainfall, leaving little water available during drier periods. An assessment using the CROPWAT 8.0 model alongside the Rainfall Contribution Index evaluated crop water requirements and net irrigation demands across different crops. The findings indicate that crops grown between February and June experience the highest irrigation requirements, as rainfall contributes insufficiently across total crop growth cycles. Addressing these shortages requires supplemental irrigation, rainwater harvesting, and integrated water resources management. Implementing soil and water conservation practices at the watershed scale can mitigate runoff losses and assist communities in determining optimal water consumption for irrigated agriculture.
Water scarcity in rainfed agricultural regions threatens food security as populations expand. Understanding precise crop water needs and rainfall deficits enables agricultural planners and farming communities to capture excess seasonal rainwater, schedule supplemental irrigation effectively, and conserve soil and water resources to sustain crop yields through dry spells.
The research provides early-stage baseline modelling data that could inform agricultural extension services, watershed management planners, and irrigation technology providers designing local water harvesting schemes. However, the abstract focuses entirely on analytical assessments and recommendations, offering no specific commercial products, services, or immediate pathways to commercialisation.
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In the rainfed areas, water, not land, is the foremost restraining resources for better agricultural production to satisfy the growing demand of food and other needs. Water harvesting and enhancing productivity of available water, and not volume of yield per units of land, is therefore a better solution for rainfed agriculture. Under these circumstances, it is necessary toimplement efficient and effective integrated water resources management practices. Elsewhere rainfed dependent highland parts of Ethiopia, in the Beressa watershed most of the rainwater lost in the form of runoff particularly during excess rainfall; therefore, the benefit of rainwater during less rainy season is insignificant. The objective of this study therefore was to assess crop water requirement and net irrigation requirement using CROPWAT8.0 model and Rainfall Contribution Index (RCI) for various crops and to describe the benefits of water harvesting and integrated and sustainable water resources management. Crops growing during the month of February to June (less rainy season) are among the highest irrigation requirements. Based on RCI (as the value far from 1) reflect rainfall contribution is insufficient to satisfy the crop water requirements for the whole growth stages. Therefore, there is a need for supplemental irrigation and rainwater harvesting and a necessity for integrated water resources management. To reduce the intensity of water shortage therefore conservation planning and water management at watershed level in an integrated manner is critical. Similarly, soil and water conservation management practices is essential for the communities to reduce runoff and other resources for future uses and determine the optimal amount of water resources consumption at the irrigation fields is an urgent issues. As a result, there is a need to do more efforts related to water harvesting and integrated water resources management for the sustainability of agriculture and over all human survival.
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DOI: 10.1186/s40068-019-0134-4
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