A Regional Training was held in Ethiopia on the use of the WATDEV Modelling Toolbox

WATDEV successfully delivered the WATDEV Toolbox Modelling Regional Training in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, marking another key milestone in the project’s capacity building efforts. Held on 5-6 May 2026, the training focused on the practical application of the WATDEV Toolbox, resulting from an integrated modelling system, and featuring an innovative decision-support tool designed to improve water use efficiency and sustainable food production systems in the region.

The event brought together experts, public officials and water managers from Ethiopia and Kenya to explore innovative approaches for sustainable agriculture and climate-smart water management. Through interactive sessions and practical exercises, participants strengthened their technical knowledge and enhanced their ability to support evidence-based decision-making for resilient food systems.

The training started with welcome remarks by Dr. Tena Alamirew, from Water and Land Resource Centre and Mr. Moses Odeke, from ASARECA who equally emphasised on the importance of active engagement of participants and sharing feedback in enhancing the usability and effectiveness of the WATDEV Toolbox.

Following the opening session, Dr. João Nunes, from ISRIC, introduced participants to the WATDEV Toolbox, a platform that allows users to visualize and assess Best Management Practices (BMPs) implementation scenarios, and design new scenarios tailored to local conditions.

During the first day, participants explored three regional real case studies: Koga in Ethiopia, Hola/Bura in Kenya and Gezira in Sudan. The sessions emphasized collaborative learning, with participants working in small groups to design and assess BMPs scenarios, followed by plenary discussions to share insights and feedback.

On the second day, the focus shifted to integrating socioeconomic considerations into water management planning. Participants learnt how to use Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) techniques within the Toolbox to evaluate trade-offs between environmental sustainability and economic viability.

The programme combined theoretical introductions, hands-on tutorials, and group exercises, equipping participants with the practical skills needed to make more informed, data-driven decisions in water resource management under varying socioeconomic and climate conditions.

Advanced Training: From Modelling to Implementation

On 7th May 2026, an additional advanced WATDEV Toolbox training was organised for modelling experts and researchers from Ethiopia and Sudan. The advanced training provided participants with deeper technical insights into the Toolbox and modelling framework, including hands-on experience in modifying model inputs such as crop selection, irrigation practices, and fertilization strategies.

Participants also conducted full BMP analyses, from scenario design and implementation to assessment and interpretation, further strengthening their analytical and scenario-development capacities.

WATDEV is funded by the European Union under the DeSIRA Initiative, and the training was organized through the collaborative efforts of Water and Land Resource Center – WLRC Ethiopia, in collaboration with ISRIC, Syke, CIHEAM Bari, ASARECA, KALRO and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation – AICS Cairo.

By equipping regional stakeholders with advanced modelling and decision-support tools, WATDEV continues to contribute to smarter water management, sustainable agricultural development, and stronger climate resilience across East Africa.

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Ude Kebele groundwater irrigation scheme under the Adaa Becho Groundwater Irrigation system (ABGIS) in the Awash Basin

It is a new intervention area with perspectives to be expanded. It is therefore envisaged that the lessons from other countries could be scaled out in this area.

Ada’a-Becho Groundwater Irrigation (ABGIS) is located in Ada’a Wereda some 50 km from Addis Ababa. The Adama road passes nearby the scheme and has no access limitation.  This scheme is part of Ada’a-Bacho Irrigation Development Project that comprises three conjugate Kebeles (i.e., Dhankaka, Ude and Qallitty) in Ada’a District of East Shawa Zone, Oromia Regional State.

The Ude Kebele Groundwater Irrigation Site is small, scheme selected to demonstrate groundwater irrigation practice demonstration sites as it is new irrigation development area will be a learning site for a medium scale community owned groundwater irrigation development in Ethiopia.

ABGIS landscape is one of the low reliefs that slopes gently north-west and south east wards. Apart from close to the hills virtually all slopes are nearly less than 3- 4%, with the majority of the slopes of 0-2%. 

The climatic variables of the project area are highly governed by the topography of the area (mainly altitude). The highland area lies at an altitude of over 2300 m asl and covers 17.5% of the project area. Mean annual temperature of this part of the project area ranges from 12.50C to 160C.

The major crops produced include Teff, chick pea, wheat, barley, vetch, and maize.  Few farmers also produce tomato and onion as cash crops. Crop production in the area is by and large rain-dependent. But in few farmers produce vegetables twice a year using pumped water from Mojo and Waddecha rivers.

The problems in ABGIS are connected with the limited experience in fruit crop production.

Koga Irrigation System (KIS) in the Abbay Basin

KIS is an established and relatively well performing irrigation scheme in Ethiopia. In here besides Irrigation water management, there are also success stories in watershed management.

Koga is located some 40 km from Bahri Dar town (Regional capital of Amhara Regional State. The  Bahir Dar –Addis Ababa highway passes through the scheme (Fig 2), hence the scheme is year round accessible.

Koga irrigation system comprises of 19.7 km of lined main canal, 52 km of lined secondary canals, 156 km of unlined tertiary canals, 905 km of unlined quaternary canals and 11 lined Night Storage Reservoirs (NSRs). The main canal was designed to provide irrigation water for 24 h during irrigation period.

There are 12 secondary canals designed for 12 h irrigation supply each covering an area of irrigated land ranging from 220 ha to over 1000 ha. Tertiary canals are designed for 12 h irrigation supply. The area irrigated by a tertiary canal range between 20 ha to 65 ha. The quaternary canals have a capacity of irrigating 8–16 ha of land while field canals will serve an area of 2.0 ha within the quaternary unit. The maximum field canal design capacity is 30 l/s.

KIS is the best performing among many community-managed irrigation schemes. Unlike other schemes this was designed and developed as an integrated watershed and irrigation development project.

Among the problems associated to the KIS are Seasonal water shortage and associated conflicts between Irrigation water user associations, low irrigation water application efficiency, catchment degradation. In order to increase water productivity in the KIS, water saving technologies will be promoted.

The Gezira irrigation scheme

The Gezira Scheme is located between the Blue Nile and the White Nile Rivers within a semi-arid agro-climatic zone. In terms of accessibility, it is easily accessible by Wad Medani road and the trip between Wad Medani, the capital of the Gezira State and headquarter of the scheme (Barakat), and Khartoum takes about three hours. The scheme is one of the largest irrigation schemes in the region with 880,000 hectares (ha). It is one of the main sources of foreign currency (cotton export), and food security (wheat, sorghum, vegetables) for Sudan. It has huge infrastructure with a value estimated at about US $ 8 billion. The scheme had played a vital role in the history of irrigation in Sudan and Africa and has become a model for many irrigation schemes in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of design and operation system. Therefore, any research aiming at improving water management in Gezira scheme is not only beneficial to the project, but also to similar projects at national and regional scale.  There are many challenges that the scheme face and urgent need to investigate Best Management Practices (BMPs) that  can overcome these challenges and enhance productivity. Some of these challenges are deterioration of irrigation infrastructure, inefficient water distribution within the scheme, agricultural drainage discharges directly in the Blue Nile without treatment impacting water quality, institutional weakness and instability.

Belbies district

Belbies district is located 20 km south of El Zagazig city between Long. 31o 24′ and 31o 39′ E and Lat. 30o 19′ and 30o 29′ N. It is bounded at the east by Abu Hammad, at the west by Minia El Kammh and in the south by the Tenth of Ramadan City districts.

As a part of the east Nile Delta, Belbies district constitutes a portion of an arid belt of north Egypt. It is characterized by a long dry summer and short temperate winter with a rainfall period from October to March. The climate is hot in summer; the average temperature is in the range of 19.7oC and 34.7oC, while during winter it ranges from 7.4oC and 18.4oC.

Due to intensive agricultural practice, which involves the application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, many soils and shallow aquifers are contaminated. Consequently, pollution of groundwater has become a major concern in recent years. Wastewater disposed in canals can diffuse in groundwater. Overexploitation of groundwater and intensive irrigation in major canal commands has posed serious problems for groundwater managers in Nile Delta e.g. Sharkia governorate. The development of groundwater resources, technology-oriented management skills, adequate and efficient groundwater monitoring system, empowerment of women in unprivileged areas are among the challenges to be addressed. Indeed, water management projects are one of the priority topics in the political agenda of Egypt.