Assessing potential land suitable for surface irrigation using groundwater in Ethiopia

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dc.creatorWorqlul, Abeyou W.
dc.creatorJeong, J.
dc.creatorDile, Y.T.
dc.creatorOsorio, J.
dc.creatorSchmitter, Petra S.
dc.creatorGerik, T.
dc.creatorSrinivasan, R.
dc.creatorClark, N.
dc.date2017-08
dc.date2017-09-13T05:12:33Z
dc.date2017-09-13T05:12:33Z
dc.date.accessioned2026-06-27T18:32:33Z
dc.descriptionAlthough Ethiopia has abundant land for irrigation, only a fraction of its potential land is being utilized. This study evaluates suitability of lands for irrigation using groundwater in Ethiopia using GIS-based Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) techniques in order to enhance the country's agricultural industry. Key factors that significantly affect irrigation suitability evaluated in this study include physical land features (land use, soil, and slope), climate (rainfall and evapotranspiration), and market access (proximity to roads and access to market). These factors were weighted using a pair-wise comparison matrix, then reclassified and overlaid to identify suitable areas for groundwater irrigation using a 1-km grid. Groundwater data from the British Geological Survey were used to estimate the groundwater potential, which indicates the corresponding irrigation potential for major crops. Results indicated that more than 6 million ha of land are suitable for irrigation in Ethiopia. A large portion of the irrigable land is located in the Abbay, Rift Valley, Omo Ghibe, and Awash River basins. These basins have access to shallow groundwater (i.e., depth of groundwater less than 20 m from the surface) making it easier to extract. The comparison between available groundwater and total crop water requirements indicate that groundwater alone may not be sufficient to supply all suitable land. The study estimates that only 8% of the suitable land can be irrigated with the available shallow groundwater. However, groundwater is a viable option for supplementing surface water resources for irrigation in several basins in the country.
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/83487
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/158906
dc.languageen
dc.publisherElsevier
dc.rightsOpen Access
dc.sourceWorqlul, A. W.; Jeong, J.; Dile, Y. T.; Osorio, J.; Schmitter, Petra; Gerik, T.; Srinivasan, R.; Clark, N. 2017. Assessing potential land suitable for surface irrigation using groundwater in Ethiopia. Applied Geography, 13p. (Online first). doi: 10.1016/j.apgeog.2017.05.010
dc.subjectsurface irrigation
dc.subjectgroundwater recharge
dc.subjectgroundwater
dc.subjectwater storage
dc.subjectgeographical information systems
dc.subjectland suitability
dc.subjectland use
dc.subjectirrigated land
dc.subjectagroindustry
dc.subjectsoil texture
dc.subjectslopes
dc.subjectrain
dc.subjectevapotranspiration
dc.subjectwater requirements
dc.subjectwater resources
dc.subjectwater availability
dc.subjectriver basins
dc.subjectpopulation density
dc.subjectmapping
dc.subjectcrops
dc.subjectfarmer-led irrigation
dc.titleAssessing potential land suitable for surface irrigation using groundwater in Ethiopia
dc.typeJournal Article

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