MapAid Talk – Bread on the Table for Small Farmers in Africa
TALK: Mapping Ethiopian Groundwater to Put Bread on the Table for Small Farmers
MapAid Founder, Rupert Douglas-Bate, will give a talk at the George Mason University, Centre for Resilient & Sustainable Communities (C-RASC) on Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at 12-1PM ET.
The Topic: Mapping Ethiopian Groundwater to Put Bread on the Table for Small Farmers.
REGISTRATION:
ALL registrants will need to register in advance for the Zoom event at the link below.
The zoom room will be opened at 11:59AM ET the same as 4.59pm UK time, and is on Wednesday, October 19, 2022.
PLEASE CONTACT:
[email protected] with any questions between now and then. We are looking forward to your attendance!
Zoom Registration Link:
https://gmu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMtf-yqqTsoHtFYMOny892AhXayqUw2FjkY
C-RASC Calendar Event Link:
- Ethiopia has a significant opportunity to use shallow groundwater for small farm irrigation, that will help double or even triple the food supply from small farm plots.
- MapAid is like "a water detective", using technology to help search and map the groundwater, so that shallow wells can be dug more efficiently.
- We cannot search alone, so we need flexible support, especially sponsorship from governments, corporates, foundations, and individuals.
Mapping Ethiopian groundwater to bread on the table for small farmers.
Ethiopia is experiencing long-term drought from climate change, with several years of crop failures and 25% of their people undernourished every day (1) World Bank.
But many small farmers could double or triple crop yields if development workers and farmers could easily understand where to dig shallow irrigation wells down to 30 meters.
The total area available for shallow irrigation is 6,000 square kilometers, (2) Mengistu et al.
However, only 5.3% of this area is irrigated using shallow wells (3) Worqlul et al.
So they can grow a lot more food on the 94.7% !
What MapAid does is provide detailed socio-economic and groundwater maps that show exactly where irrigation borehole investment will have the best chances of getting water!
We reveal hotspots of local deprivation.
We help build the hydrological case for investing in shallow water in needy areas.
And we minimise wasted well digs by guiding resources to precisely where they’ll work the hardest.
We work with charities and businesses.
We work with government departments and local communities.
We help Ethiopia to become self-sustaining.
And most importantly we’re available to partner on this, with you...
So, get along to the C-RASC talk !
For more information, please call Rupert on WhatsApp:
00 44 7951 958758
R. Douglas-Bate, founder, MapAid
References:
(1) Prevalence of undernourishment (% population) – Ethiopia (2022)
(2) Groundwater resource potential and status of groundwater resource development in Ethiopia. (2019) Authors Mengistu, H.A., Demlie, M.B. & Abiye, T.A. Review: Hydrogeol J 27, 1051–1065.
(3) Assessing potential land suitable for surface irrigation using groundwater in Ethiopia. (2017) Authors: Abeyou W.Worqlul, Jaehak Jeonga Yihun T.Dile, Javier Osorioa, Petra Schmitter, Thomas Gerik, R.Srinivasan, Neville Clark, Elesvier, Applied Geography Volume 85, August 2017
