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Gravity water flow project aids farmers in Ethiopian village

Nguse Adhane, a smallholder farmer who lives in a small village in Ethiopia, collects his water from a spring source, which runs dry for months at a time.

Photo credit: WaterAid/Guilhem Alandry
Photo credit: WaterAid/Guilhem Alandry

Farmers face a range of challenges related to crop production. Nguse Adhane, a smallholder farmer who lives in a small village in Ethiopia, collects his water from a spring source, which runs dry for months at a time.

Charity WaterAid and its partner Development Inter Church Aid Commission are building a gravity flow scheme, which will mean the 875 village residents will not have to depend on an unreliable water source.

Adhane, shown in this picture taken by Guilhem Alandry, has cattle and grows tomatoes, pepper, maize, teff, wheat, lentils and onions on his small farm.

“When I collect water from here for my crops, the roots become dry,” he said.

“There are worms in the water and this impacts on the crops. The cattle become distended after they drink the water as there are worms in it.

“Because there is no water, we cannot water our crops. We have a shortage of water. Our irrigations have been dry for a month now. The rains start in June.”

“If we have water, we will be very happy,” he said.

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