Irrigation technologies and management and their environmental consequences: Empirical evidence from Ethiopia

Bekele, Rahel Deribe; Mekonnen, Dawit; Ringler, Claudia; and Jeuland, Marc. 2024. Irrigation technologies and management and their environmental consequences: Empirical evidence from Ethiopia. Agricultural Water Management 302(1 September 2024): 109003. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2024.109003

The main objective of this study is to understand the interlinkages between different irrigation technologies and management systems and environmental outcomes. We use a unique and comprehensive household and plot-level dataset covering ten districts of Ethiopia complemented with remotely sensed data and qualitative information collected from the study sites. The econometric results show that compared to open-access plots equipped with pump irrigation, other irrigated configurations, and especially private groundwater-based systems, have higher vegetation cover and show less susceptibility to the most common environmental concerns mentioned in the survey regions: water logging, soil salinity, and erosion externalities.