Evaluation of teff production in Ethiopia using water footprint analysis for food security

Achieving Sustainable Development goal (SDG)2; Zero Hunger by 2030 in Africa requires reconsidering the challenges of food security in relation to several factors including agricultural practices and water availability. Teff crop plays a significant role in Ethiopia but the yield is low due to rain-fed production practices. The water footprint (WF) concept provides a useful perspective on the dependency of crops on precipitation, revealing the need for irrigation. So, WF analysis of teff production can help farmers to increase the yield and maintain water efficiency. In this study, the green and blue water footprints of teff production in Ethiopia were estimated for 2019/2020 season using the CROPWAT 8.0 and CLIMWAT 2.0 models. The results show that WFgreen is dominant with a value of 1170 m3 ton-1 in Tigray region to 1481 m3 ton-1 in SNNPR region. On the other hand, the WFblue varied significantly from 264 m3 ton-1 in Amhara to 1022 m3 ton-1 in Tigray, respectively, indicating the need for irrigation since water requirement is much higher than the effective precipitation. The economic water productivity of teff was found to be 0.68 USD m-3, which is higher than other crops such as maize. Given the potential impact of climate change and droughts, this study suggests increasing water allocation to teff production and implementing appropriate irrigation practices at a national level. Integrating water footprint analysis into river basin-level water allocation plans would be beneficial for sustainable water resource management and food security.