Impact assessment of TPLF invasion on irrigated agriculture by using remote sensing approach in the Eastern Amhara, Ethiopia

The main objective of this study is to assess the impact of the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) invasion on irrigation agriculture in Eastern Amhara, with a particular focus on Raya Kobo Woreda, using a remote sensing approach. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was derived from Sentinel-2B and was later used to identify vegetated areas. The results showed that agricultural implements, inputs and other resources were stolen; most of the people who lived in the area and agricultural service providers were displaced. The nursery centers used to produce seedlings for irrigation were damaged. Market availability for purchasing irrigation inputs and selling irrigation output were closed. Irrigation infrastructure and crops ‘grown’ before the war were damaged by weapons, passengers, and looted. For this reason, most of the Irrigation farm was not prepared, the land was fasting, and the crop yield significantly decreased. Remote sensing data analysis indicated a 69.35% reduction in vegetation (54,500.37 ha) in the post-war period compared to the pre-war period. Of this change, agricultural land, particularly irrigation areas, accounted for 12,900.24 ha. Ground truth data further revealed a significant depletion of irrigated land, with 11,612.30 hectares lost. The validation process reveals a strong alignment between the remote sensing-estimated values and the ground truth data. We concluded that remotely sensed values could be used to identify croplands in a war zone.