Water Implications of Foreign Direct Investment in Ethiopia’s Agricultural Sector
Ethiopia is often highlighted as a country in which a lot of foreign land acquisition is occurring. The extent to which these investments also constitute significant acquisitions of water is the subject of this paper. It is apparent that water availability is a strong driver of the recent surge of i...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Water Alternatives Association
2012-06-01
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| Series: | Water Alternatives |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/alldoc/articles/vol5/v5issue2/167-a5-2-3/file |
| _version_ | 1811328041916301312 |
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| author | Deborah Bossio Teklu Erkossa Yihun Dile Matthew McCartney Franziska Killiches Holger Hoff |
| author_facet | Deborah Bossio Teklu Erkossa Yihun Dile Matthew McCartney Franziska Killiches Holger Hoff |
| author_sort | Deborah Bossio |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ethiopia is often highlighted as a country in which a lot of foreign land acquisition is occurring. The extent to which these investments also constitute significant acquisitions of water is the subject of this paper. It is apparent that water availability is a strong driver of the recent surge of investments in agricultural land globally, and in general the investments occur in countries with significant 'untapped' water resources. Ethiopia is no exception. We propose that the perception of unused and abundant water resources, as captured in dominant narratives, that drives and justifies both foreign and domestic investments, fails to reflect the more complex reality on the ground. Based on new collections of lease information and crop modelling, we estimate the potential additional water use associated with foreign investments at various scales. As a consequence of data limitations our analyses provide only crude estimates of consumptive water use and indicate a wide range of possible water consumption depending on exactly how foreign direct investment (FDI) development scenarios unfold. However, they do suggest that if all planned FDI schemes are implemented and expanded in the near future, additional water consumption is likely to be comparable with existing water use in non-FDI irrigation schemes, and a non-trivial proportion of the country’s water resources will be effectively utilised by foreign entities. Hence, additional water use as well as local water scarcity ought to be strong considerations in regulating or pricing land leases. If new investments are to increase local food and water security without compromising local and downstream water availability they should be designed to improve often very low agricultural water productivity, and to safeguard access of local populations to water. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T15:18:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cbc81a6c231343c4b05498b591c64971 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1965-0175 1965-0175 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T15:18:04Z |
| publishDate | 2012-06-01 |
| publisher | Water Alternatives Association |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water Alternatives |
| spelling | doaj.art-cbc81a6c231343c4b05498b591c649712022-12-22T02:41:47ZengWater Alternatives AssociationWater Alternatives1965-01751965-01752012-06-0152223242Water Implications of Foreign Direct Investment in Ethiopia’s Agricultural SectorDeborah Bossio0Teklu Erkossa1Yihun Dile2Matthew McCartney3Franziska Killiches4Holger Hoff5International Center for Tropical Agriculture, Nairobi, KenyaInternational Water Management Institute, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaStockholm Environment Institute and Stockholm Resilience Center, Stockholm, SwedenInternational Water Management Institute, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaStockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm, Sweden; and Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Potsdam, GermanyStockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm, Sweden; and Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Potsdam, GermanyEthiopia is often highlighted as a country in which a lot of foreign land acquisition is occurring. The extent to which these investments also constitute significant acquisitions of water is the subject of this paper. It is apparent that water availability is a strong driver of the recent surge of investments in agricultural land globally, and in general the investments occur in countries with significant 'untapped' water resources. Ethiopia is no exception. We propose that the perception of unused and abundant water resources, as captured in dominant narratives, that drives and justifies both foreign and domestic investments, fails to reflect the more complex reality on the ground. Based on new collections of lease information and crop modelling, we estimate the potential additional water use associated with foreign investments at various scales. As a consequence of data limitations our analyses provide only crude estimates of consumptive water use and indicate a wide range of possible water consumption depending on exactly how foreign direct investment (FDI) development scenarios unfold. However, they do suggest that if all planned FDI schemes are implemented and expanded in the near future, additional water consumption is likely to be comparable with existing water use in non-FDI irrigation schemes, and a non-trivial proportion of the country’s water resources will be effectively utilised by foreign entities. Hence, additional water use as well as local water scarcity ought to be strong considerations in regulating or pricing land leases. If new investments are to increase local food and water security without compromising local and downstream water availability they should be designed to improve often very low agricultural water productivity, and to safeguard access of local populations to water.http://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/alldoc/articles/vol5/v5issue2/167-a5-2-3/fileLease agreementsforeign direct investmentcrop water requirementsEthiopia |
| spellingShingle | Deborah Bossio Teklu Erkossa Yihun Dile Matthew McCartney Franziska Killiches Holger Hoff Water Implications of Foreign Direct Investment in Ethiopia’s Agricultural Sector Water Alternatives Lease agreements foreign direct investment crop water requirements Ethiopia |
| title | Water Implications of Foreign Direct Investment in Ethiopia’s Agricultural Sector |
| title_full | Water Implications of Foreign Direct Investment in Ethiopia’s Agricultural Sector |
| title_fullStr | Water Implications of Foreign Direct Investment in Ethiopia’s Agricultural Sector |
| title_full_unstemmed | Water Implications of Foreign Direct Investment in Ethiopia’s Agricultural Sector |
| title_short | Water Implications of Foreign Direct Investment in Ethiopia’s Agricultural Sector |
| title_sort | water implications of foreign direct investment in ethiopia s agricultural sector |
| topic | Lease agreements foreign direct investment crop water requirements Ethiopia |
| url | http://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/alldoc/articles/vol5/v5issue2/167-a5-2-3/file |
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