Towards water security with Heineken
Name: Marije Doolaard Student number: 10789340 Supervisor: Andres Verzijl MSc
Second reader: prof. dr. Maarten Bavinck
Bachelor programme: Future Planet Studies with a major in Human Geography E-mail: marije.96@live.nl
Bachelor Thesis
Towards water security with Heineken
A case study on the influence of Heineken’s activities on the
livelihoods of the local population in Ethiopia
Towards water security with Heineken
A case study on the influence of Heineken’s activities on the
livelihoods of the local population in Ethiopia
Marije Doolaard – 10789340
University of Amsterdam – Human Geography Bachelor thesis – Political Ecology
Supervisor: Andres Verzijl (MSc) Word count: 17168
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Abstract
Over the past decades transnational corporations are increasingly investing in ‘new’ land, mostly in developing countries, which may be appointed as so-called ‘land grabs’. These land grabs are most often accompanied by water grabs, therewith possibly affecting existing water usage and the water security of local communities. Activities that could be approached as such, are the activities of Heineken in Ethiopia, that consist no complete acquisition of land, but do include the use of land through local farmers and water use of local water sources for the breweries. In order to examine the possible impacts of virtual water and land grabs on marginalized groups, this case study assesses how the water security of the local population in Ethiopia is affected by the water related activities of Heineken. Whereby the impact of these activities is brought in relation to the livelihoods of the local population. The research showed that the water security of the local population is strongly determined by the water-related practices of Heineken, however Heineken currently appears to have no negative impact on this water security. Yet Heineken proves to be negatively affecting the livelihoods of the local population through a dependency relation that is created via contract farming. Besides, the ‘water balancing’ activities of Heineken that should compensate for Heineken’s water use are rather paradoxical and are performed in an act of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The complex interrelationship between Heineken and the local population concerning the latter’s water security and their livelihoods, is important to be aware of since these investments might provoke social issues and conflicts with marginalized groups.
Keywords: Political ecology, water security, virtual water, water grabbing, contract farming, Heineken, Ethiopia
v Table of Contents Abstract ... iii Acknowledgments ... vii 1. Introduction ... 1 2. Theoretical framework ... 3 2.1 Theories ... 3 2.2 Concepts ... 4 3. Research questions ... 7 4. Methodology ... 9 4.1 Methods ... 9 4.2 Limitation of Methods ... 10 4.3 Research population ... 10 4.4 Reflection on methods ... 10 5. Results ... 13
5.1 Heineken’s activities in Ethiopia ... 13
5.1.1 Brewing a Better World ... 15
5.1.2 CREATE ... 16
5.1.3 Sustainable Water Services in Harar Regional State (SWHS) ... 17
5.1.4 Water discharge ... 18
5.2 Community of Ethiopian smallholder farmers ... 19
5.2.1 Characteristics ... 20
5.2.2 Rain-fed ... 21
5.2.3 Irrigated ... 21
5.2.4 Political regimes & land tenure ... 22
5.2.5 Water rights & regulations by the Ethiopian government ... 22
5.3 Brewery water use ... 23
5.3.1 Brewery related water security ... 23
5.4 Analysis on the activities of Heineken ... 24
5.4.1 Local sourcing ... 25
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6. Conclusion and discussion ... 33
6.1 Conclusion ... 33 6.2 Discussion ... 34 References ... 35 Appendix ... 39 Interview reports ... 39 Conversation reports ... 45
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Acknowledgments
This thesis became a reality with the kind support and help of many individuals. Both those who helped me obtaining the information needed and those who helped me personally getting through the process.
Foremost I would like to thank Dhr. Andres Verzijl (MSc) as my thesis supervisor for sharing his knowledge and expertise in the field of this research. He provided me with useful advice and steered me in the right direction whenever I needed it. Moreover a special thanks to the individuals who have been a great help in this research by providing me with the needed data for this research and taking the time to help me out. This thanks is in particular dedicated to Ton Haverkort, Reinier Visser, Adriaan Mels, Ivar Abas, Arjen de Vries and Fantahun Tarekegn who took the time for an interview or provided me with essential information. And finally, I would also like to express my gratitude towards my family, friends and boyfriend for encouraging me to continue and complete this thesis. Marije Doolaard
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1. Introduction
Over the past several years the need for ‘empty’ land to serve food production in the interest of decreasing future food spikes has increased. Investments in such ‘new’ land are defined by a neo-colonialism setting, that reflect ‘grabbing’ countries taking advantage of the ‘grabbed’ countries (Borras et al., 2011 ; Cotula, Vermeulen, Leonard & Keeley, 2009). These investments can be subordinated as so- called land grabs, and a vast amount of research over the past decade has shown that these land grabs have increased rapidly in the 2000’s. Moreover, these land grabs are most frequently accompanied by freshwater grabs therewith possibly affecting existing water use and the water security of local communities (Rulli, Saviori & D’Odorico, 2013 ; Woodhouse & Ganho, 2011). Besides, the labelling of these pieces of land as ‘new’ and ‘empty’ is rather questionable, since the land is often already owned by rural habitants and displacement is frequently the by-product of these land and water grabs (Borras et al., 2011; McMicheal, 2012).
Foreign Direct Investments (FDI’s) related to land resources might be categorized as such grabs, since these are often accompanied by displacement of local people from their land or a change of land and water use needed for this investment. In addition, one should realize that ‘change of use and access may involve potentially negative effects on local food security and raise complex economic, social and cultural issues’ (FAO, 2009: p. 3). Hence is it of great interest to examine the motives behind these investments and the consequences they might have for marginalized groups (e.g. their water security) in order to prevent social issues and conflicts.
Similarly, the activities of Heineken as a multinational in Africa could be addressed according to this view. Heineken is officially participating in the beer industry in Africa since 1935, and nowadays counts more than 31 (partly) owned breweries on the continent, which makes it a powerful player in the contemporary market (van Beemen, 2016). The brand especially saw great potential in Ethiopia for a new market, since it has a fast growing population on a growth rate of 2,5% in 2015 and is one of the fastest growing economies of the world with an annual growth rate of approximately 10,8% in comparison to the average growth rate of the region of 5,4%. Consequently this is accompanied by an increasing purchasing power, which causes the beer consumption of the Ethiopians also to increase1. Heineken entered the Ethiopian market in 2011 and currently owns three breweries in the country of which one opened recently in 2014 (van Beemen, 2016).
Despite the success story that is often sketched by the company itself and the Dutch government about a combination of trade and development aid2, there is a degree of scepticism about what the impact of these activities of Heineken in Ethiopia might cause for the environment and thereby the local population (van Beemen, 2016 ; Zembla, 2016). Regarding the above mentioned land and water grabs, Heineken’s case in Ethiopia may not exactly be defined as the direct appropriation of land, since the company is buying up barley from the local farmers and thus consist of a complex interaction. Nevertheless the company is demanding local farmers to use their land for the cultivation of its crop (i.e. barley for Heineken), where heretofore presumably other crops might be cultivated. Importantly, this ‘new’ crop might require different or even more water supplies,
1 See http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/ethiopia/overview (accessed on 8 March 2017). On this website of the
World Bank a short economic overview is given of the Ethiopian economy. The World Bank Group are five international organizations that give loans to developing countries and is an observer at the United Nations.
2 See
https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/ontwikkelingssamenwerking/inhoud/handel-en-%20ontwikkelingssamenwerking (accessed on 8 March 2017). On this website the Rijksoverheid elaborates on its policy
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thereby possibly threating the water security of the local population (Zembla, 2016 ; Heineken, n.d. ; Bossio et al., 2012). Moreover the breweries of Heineken in Ethiopia also require a great amount of water for the production process, hence also possibly competing with other users of the same water resource. It is therefore that these activities of Heineken in Ethiopia might be better paraphrased as virtual grabs; consisting no complete acquisition, but enough to induce land and water use changes in order to serve the interests of those ‘grabbing’ (McCarthy, Vel & Afiff, 2012).
Current research mainly tends to focus on direct acquisitions of land by FDI’s in relation to the water security of the local population (Bossio et al., 2012 ; Mehta, Veldwisch & Franco, 2012 ; Sebastian & Warner, 2014). However that research lacks to demonstrate how local inhabitants might be affected in a more indirect way through virtual grabs without direct acquisition. Importantly, since these virtual grabs might include a certain power play where influential transnational companies such as Heineken can make farmers (unwillingly) change to the cultivation of another crop by providing them with technology, knowledge and credit (Hanjra, Ferede & Gutta, 2009).
The aim of this research will subsequently be to fill this gap in current literature by assessing how the local population is affected by the presence of Heineken. Therewith focussing on the effect on the water security of the local population and their livelihoods that dependent upon this water security. Consequently this research might contribute to similar case studies by examining what the motives behind such transnational investments are and by examining the consequences they might have for marginalized groups in order to prevent social issues and conflicts.
Firstly, section 2 will provide the theoretical framework that forms the backbone of this thesis by addressing and interlinking the concerned theories and concepts. Thereafter section 3 will explain the main research question and the related sub questions of this thesis that logically follow the content of the introduction and the theoretical framework. Then section 4 will address the methodologies used in this research, and subsequently the results of this research will be presented in section 5 where the sub questions will be answered in the same sequence as they are listed in section 3. Finally section 6 will show the main conclusions of this research, followed up by a critical discussion on the research.
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2. Theoretical framework
This theoretical framework will elaborate on relevant theories regarding the topic of this thesis, therewith trying to clarify concepts in the context of this thesis. The focus of this thesis is mainly on water security as a concept and how it is interrelated with the activities of Heineken. The following framework will therefore first explain the theory of political ecology as an overarching framework, whereafter the theory of the Human-Water-Food relation will be explained. Subsequently the concepts of water security, “virtual” water grab & “virtual water” grab, contract farming and water stewardship will be clarified.
2.1 Theories Political ecology
Political ecology is a relatively new theory that originated in the 1980’s from the approaches of cultural ecology and political economy. Cultural ecology encompasses the connection between biology ecology (mainly ecosystems) and nature-society relations. Political economy on the other hand also focuses on the nature-society relations, but argues that these relationships could be better understood by approaching it from a capitalist perspective, thereby integrating the social relations of production. Hence political ecology derived, stating that environmental problems are the result of social and political processes and thus need to be analysed from both social, economic and political perspectives, but also from both the local to the global scale. By integrating this wide range of disciplines and perspectives, political ecologists embrace complexity, thereby not only considering simple vertical hierarchies but especially complex networks (Neumann, 2009 ; Rocheleau, 2008 ; Adams, 2009). Consequently political ecology might serve as convenient framework to position this research, since political ecology deals with environmental justice and thus could approach the water related impacts of Heineken on a more complex scope than just the environmental or for example economic relations (Bakker, 2003).
Human-Water-Food relation
Following the above mentioned perspective of approaching the activities of Heineken within a complex system where the social and the ecological are interrelated, the water-food-energy nexus approach might offer a theory to do so. The nowadays more often referred water-food-energy nexus entails that water, food and energy are interrelated concepts of which the impacts of these spheres are closely related (Gupta, Pahl-Wostl & Zondervan, 2013; Walker et al., 2013 ; Bazilian et al., 2011). Nonetheless for the scope of this research the main focus will merely be on the relation between water and food – suggesting Heineken’s beer being part of the food sector –, since the energy sphere is not highly relevant in this case study. Consequently, inspired by the W-F-E nexus, this research will address this relation as the Human-Water-Food relation, therewith thus interlinking water and food in relation to the impacts it might have on the livelihoods of people.
Additionally, this relation does not conceptualizes water as a separate sector or issue, but as a ‘cross-cutting issue’ and thus demands appropriate governance in all relevant sectors, including the food sector. As Gupta, Pahl-Wostl & Zondervan (2013) state: ‘This is on the basis of the argument that water governance cannot of itself regulate land, agriculture or other issues in society but that water issues need to be taken into account in each of these other governance processes’ (p. 577). According to this theory, the field of water security may thus be well addressed not only within the
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water sector, but in relation to other activities, such as activities in the food sector (e.g. by Heineken) and human activities (e.g. local farmers) (Beck & Walker, 2013)
The above explained theories together form the guiding framework in investigating the research problem in this thesis. Following these theories, the next paragraphs will operationalize the concepts related to these theories for further clarification of the theoretical framework that supports this research.
2.2 Concepts Water security
The first important concept, which is included in the research question of this research (see chapter 3), is water security. Water security is defined by the United Nations (2013, p. 1) as:
‘the capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and socio-economic development, for ensuring protection against water-borne pollution and water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability’
This however is a definition that includes many aspects of water security and therefore, concerning the scope of this research, water security is here defined, inspired by Dunn & Bakker (2009) and Cook & Bakker (2012) as: sustainable access to adequate quantities of water, of acceptable quality, to ensure human and ecosystem health. Whereby both human and ecosystem health is included, since both aspects are determining the quality of one’s livelihood.
“Virtual” water grab & “virtual water” grab
Secondly, the concept of virtual water grabbing will be explained here, since this concept describes the activities of Heineken. A water grab in general may be defined as a situation where powerful actors are taking control over or are reallocating water resources for their own benefits at the expense of local users or the ecosystem (Franco et al., 2014). Additionally water grabs are often interrelated with land grabs, as Bues & Theesfeld (2012) emphasize that a water grab can be a consequence of agricultural FDI’s (Foreign Direct Investments) (which may be approached as a land grab). It might be easy to imagine how these water grabs take place, since they include the direct appropriation of water resources. Nonetheless the case of Heineken on the contrary is concerned with indirect acquisitions of land through contract farming (see next paragraph), as stated in the introduction. Therefore indicating the impact that Heineken exerts on the water resources that are (indirectly) used by Heineken is not as straightforward as with direct water grabs. Consequently, water grabs with regard to the local farmers are in this research approached as “virtual” water grabs. These “virtual” water grabs include ‘no complete acquisition, but enough to induce water use changes in order to serve the interests of those ‘water grabbing’ (see introduction). Virtual is here cited within quotation marks, since the accentuation lays on designating these water grabs as virtual grabs, thus being indirect grabs.
Nonetheless the concept virtual water that is included in this idea suggests another meaning, which is important to differentiate. The concept virtual water namely refers to the volume of water that is used to produce a product – in this case beer –, including the water used in the whole production chain (Vos & Hinojosa, 2016 ; Allan, 1998). This definition of virtual water can be brought in relation to the second concept cited in the title of this paragraph, namely “virtual water” grab. Virtual water is here cited within quotation marks, because the emphasises lays on
5 the fact that there is more water needed for the production of the beer than merely the water that is used as an ingredient for the product. That is, also including the water used for, for example, cleaning and packaging (Enitan, Adeyemo, Kumari, Swalaha & Bux, 2015). Therefore a “virtual water” grab is, on the contrary, considered as a direct water grab, therewith involving all virtual water required to produce the beer.
The concept of “virtual” water grabbing may thus be well applied to the local farmers that are cultivating for Heineken, therewith examining how an indirect or ‘virtual’ water grab might influence the water security of these farmers. Whereas the concept of “virtual water” grabbing may be fairly used for the analysis of the water extraction by the brewery, to examine the impact of these more direct water grabs on the local population dependent on the same water sources. Contract farming
Following the above stated definition of a “virtual” water grab, it is essential to denote that concerning most cases of these virtual grabs, local actors play a key role in the process. That is, there is no direct acquisition and thus the land is benefited from with the help of these local actors (e.g. farmers), instead of having own employees on self-owned land (Borras & France, 2010 ; Deininger, 2011 ; McCarthy, Vel & Afiff, 2012). Moreover with regard to these local farmers, “virtual” water grabs can be seen in connection to contract farming (sometimes phrased as outgrower schemes). This system of contract farming entails a complex interaction between large corporations and smallholder farmers, where these farmers are contracted by the large corporations. These corporations buy the harvest of these independent, smallholder farmers as raw material for their production process (Glover & Kusterer, 2016 ; Abebe, Bijman, Kemp, Omta & Tsegaye, 2013). The contracts often encompasses conditions about prices and quality standards for the farmers on the one hand and the obligation of the corporations to provide technical support, knowledge and other services on the other hand (Glover & Kusterer, 2016). Following this explanation of contract farming, the FAO (n.d.: p. 1) defines it as “agricultural production carried out according to an agreement between a buyer and farmers, which establishes conditions for the production and marketing of a farm product or products”. It is of great importance to be aware of this phenomena, being it is also the case with Heineken regarding the local sourcing of barley where Heineken does not have direct property rights to the land where the barley is cultivated.
Water stewardship
Finally, a concept that also demands clarification for defining the problem in this research as a virtual water grab is water stewardship. Water stewardship can be conceptualized as an effort of businesses to incorporate the risks of water scarcity and pollution, and actively undertake action to ensure sustainable and fair distributed water as a public resource (World Wildlife Fund, 2013). Or according to the Alliance for Water Stewardship (2016, p. 3), water stewardship refers to ‘use of water that is socially equitable, environmentally sustainable and economically beneficial, achieved through a stakeholder-inclusive process that involves site and catchment-based actions’. This concept thus describes how businesses – such as Heineken – may involve water security for all stakeholders, in their policies and practices, since water may be approached as a common-pool resource for all stakeholders involved (Sojamo, 2015).
In sum, the two theories and five concepts explained above are interlinked concepts and theories, hence together form the guiding framework for the analysis of this research. It is the theory of political ecology that offers a framework to assess the case study on Heineken from a complex outlook, including multiple disciplines. Within this broad framework that highlights both the
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environmental and economic aspects of the problem, the Human-Water-Food relation offers a way to integrate these different disciplines by examining the interfaces between three interrelated and interdependent sectors (see also figure 5). The influence of Heineken on the water security of the local population will be examined within these frameworks, with special regard to the influence of contract framing and virtual water grabs, since these two concepts demand further clarification in practice and approaching the activities of Heineken as such will disclose important new insights for the livelihoods of the people in Ethiopia. Finally the motives behind the activities of Heineken in Ethiopia may be assessed with help of the concept of water stewardship, also in order to see what the intentions of the company are and how they might develop in the future.
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3. Research questions
Derived from the problem statement described in the introduction and the theories and concepts in the theoretical framework, the following research question will be investigated in this thesis:
How do Heineken’s activities in Ethiopia affect the water security and
livelihoods of the local population?
This research thus investigates both the effects of Heineken’s activities on the water security of the local population as well as the effects on the livelihoods of these people in general. Importantly, one must bear in mind that these two are interrelated and should not be approached distinctively, since water insecurity will most likely provoke a poor condition of livelihood and vice versa. This also evidenced from the definition of water security stated in the theoretical framework: ‘sustainable access to adequate quantities of water, of acceptable quality, to ensure human and ecosystem health’. Thus since water security is determined by ecosystem and human health, water security and the livelihood of the local population are therewith interdependent concepts. Subsequent to the main research question that is examined in this thesis, the following sub questions will guide this research. The first sub question is stated as:
What are the activities of Heineken in Ethiopia and how is Heineken involved with the local population through these activities?
With this question it will be assessed what Heineken’s activities in Ethiopia include, both those directly related to the brewery and those more indirectly related to the company concerning the local farmers. This will be done to being able to examine how influential Heineken’s impact is and what their motives are behind their activities in Ethiopia. In order to determine the latter, the concept of water stewardship is of great importance here, since their ‘effort to incorporate the risks of water scarcity and pollution’ (see theoretical framework – water stewardship) might define the activities of the company. Furthermore, according to the division of activities in those related to the local farmers and those related to the brewery, the following two sub question will subsequently address these two separately. The second sub question is thus stated as:
How does Heinekens need for barley affect the water security of the local farmers in Ethiopia?
Here the activities of Heineken, specifically related to the cultivation of the local farmers, that are described using the first sub question, will be brought into relation with the water security of the local population. While answering this sub question, special regard will be paid to the concepts of contract farming and “virtual” water grabbing, since these two are closely related to the interaction between Heineken and the local farmers as is explained in the theoretical framework. The third sub question is stated as:
How does the water usage of the breweries affect the water security of the local population in Ethiopia?
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Again this question will address how the activities of Heineken are interrelated with the water security of the local population, here in special regard to the activities concerning the water use of the brewery. The concept of “virtual water” grabbing is of greatest importance here, since this offers an approach to examine how Heineken uses its water sources and how it influences local inhabitants. The final sub question will additionally investigate the connection between the water security – possibly affected by the activities of Heineken – and the livelihoods of the local population. Since, as earlier mentioned, the water security and the livelihoods of the people are interdependent. Also because it may be possible that Heineken’s activities do not affect the water security but do have an influence on the livelihoods of the local population. This sub question is therefore stated as follows:
How are the activities of Heineken in relation to the water security subsequently influencing the livelihoods of the local population?
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4. Methodology
In this section the methods used for this research will be delineated, and in the end of this section they will be complemented by a reflection on the implementation of these methods in practice during the research. In order to fulfil the research and being able to answer the research question “How do Heineken’s activities in Ethiopia affect the water security and livelihoods of the local population?” qualitative research has been conducted, since qualitative research can generally be outlined as flexible, focusing on the context and inductive (Bryman, 2012). These features are of great significance for this research, because this case entails dynamic and interdependent actors and phenomena’s within a complex social context. Therefore qualitative research is required, since it is able to include these social aspects in its context through an interpretivist and constructionist approach (Bryman, 2012).
4.1 Methods
The first (empirical) method that was used in this research is qualitative interviewing. Interviews may be stated as a form of data collection that is suitable for investigating people’s views on a specific topic and what is known about the topic (Flick, 2014). Furthermore qualitative interviews offer a flexible way of conducting data, since the amount of interviews and questions will depend on the point of theoretical saturation, which means that interviews were conducted until enough data was obtained to give a clear overview of the situation (Bryman, 2012). More specifically, semi-structured interviews were conducted, which contain pre-determined open questions, but through its open-ended nature also offer room for additional or complementary issues raised by the interviewee (Bryman, 2012). Since the topic of this research is very specific and not much academic literature elaborates on it, the interviews were of great significance for the collection of information. Relevant primary data was gathered through these interviews, that were obtained using snowball sampling. Snowball sampling is a sampling technique whereby initially a small amount of individuals relevant to the research is contacted, whereafter they refer to other individuals that are also relevant for the research (Bryman, 2012).
The second method that was used in this research is the qualitative analysis of texts and documents. This method thus depends on the availability of secondary data. This secondary data might be obtained from, for example, academic literature, policy documents, newspapers and/or documentaries/video’s (Bryman, 2012). These texts and documents have been analysed by extracting data from it by using themes. Themes that have been searched for in the documents and literature are, among other things: Heineken’s activities concerning their water use, land and water grabs in relation to water security and academic research on smallholder farmers in Ethiopia. Furthermore, concerning the academic literature, Google Scholar and Web of Knowledge have been used as search tools, whereby keywords as for example: brewery water use, Heineken sustainability Ethiopia, brewery wastewater treatment, virtual water grab, agricultural land investment Africa, land grab water security, contract farming, irrigation peasants Ethiopia, water rights smallholders Ethiopia were used to obtain this secondary data. For all the other documents Google has been used to find these documents. Subsequently the obtained secondary data was analysed whereafter conclusions for this specific case study have been formed and therewith new primary data for this specific topic was created.
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4.2 Limitation of Methods
Despite the advantages of these methods, they also face some limitations. First of all the replicability of this qualitative research is quite low due to the fact that specific persons might or might not be available for interviews. However it should also be considered that replicability is not always the purpose of social research. In this specific case the aim is to zoom in on a detailed case study like that of Heineken in Ethiopia, in order to compare this to other interactions between multinationals in developing countries and its possible impact on the livelihoods of the local population.
Secondly the location from where the research is conducted also creates a limitation for this research. The location of this case study is Ethiopia, however the research was conducted from the Netherlands. The limitation to execute fieldwork in the specific area has a considerable influence on the results of this research. For example it will be difficult to analyse the views of local farmers that cultivate barley for Heineken and to question them about the situation before and after they cultivated for Heineken. For this kind of information this research is dependent on experts in the area or on similar cases in other areas that can be used for comparison. Nevertheless this limitation may also be seen as an opportunity, since this research may serve as an entry point for further research on this topic or field work in this specific area.
Moreover the snowball sampling technique was applied regarding the interviews as is stated in section 4.1. This technique faces some limitations, since conducting new contacts in the field of the research is heavily dependent on the network of the individuals that were contacted first (Bryman, 2012). However this disadvantages was tried to overcome by initially contacting individuals as diverse as possible in order to come into contact with different stakeholders with differing views upon the case study.
4.3 Research population
In the research question of this thesis – “How do Heineken’s activities in Ethiopia affect the water security and livelihoods of the local population?” – the water security of the local population forms the central subject of research. Therefore the local population in this research question may be considered as the research population that is investigated an thus demands further clarification. Since this research examines on the one hand the water usage of local farmers that cultivate for Heineken and on the other hand the water usage of the brewery itself, the two groups of local population that might be affected by these activities are subject of this research. Whereby the local population with regard to the brewery are those who are dependent upon the same water sources as where Heineken gets its water from and discharges its water in.
4.4 Reflection on methods
The above mentioned methods that were applied during this research appeared to have certain advantages and/or disadvantages in practice, as was already stated in 4.2. Therefore it may be important to have an overview of the persons that were interviewed to obtain the needed information for this research. Box 4.1 on the next page shows all the persons that were contacted during the research, to demonstrate how the snowball sampling technique was applied and where it resulted in.
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Box 4.1
Firstly Olivier van Beemen was contacted, since he is the author of the book ‘Heineken in Afrika’, which served as inspiration for this thesis. Nonetheless he told me that his research did not focus particularly on Ethiopia or the water use of the company and thus, in short, the contact ended there. Subsequently it seemed logical to contact the organisations that Heineken is cooperation with on the PPP’s (Public Private Partnership) to obtain information on the projects and more specific facts about their water use. Therefore Arjen de Vries from Acacia Water was contacted – also because of his connection with the Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP) - who referred to Reinier Visser. An interview was subsequently conducted with Reinier Visser who works for Acacia water on the PPP with Heineken (see appendix for interview). Reinier visser thereafter referred to Adriaan Mels and Edo Sipma from Vitens Evides International (VEI) and Albert Tuinhof from Acacia Water in order to obtain more specific data on the case study. Consequently a conversation over the phone took place with Adriaan Mels who provided further specifics on the PPP and told me he could provide me with a project report on the PPP from Acacia if Heineken would give the permission to release this document. Albert Tuinhof was also contacted after this referral, whereafter he referred to Ron Bohlmeijer (water expert within the supply chain development of Heineken). This contact unfortunately did not yield in a response.
Prior to the contact with Adriaan Mels from VEI, VEI was already contact several times. First on a general email address from the company and later after a referral from Arjen de Vries to Daniel Truneh, who is the local manager in Ethiopia of the PPP with Heineken. However both these contacts referred to Heineken for the information that was asked for. Which is rather odd, also confirmed by Reinier Visser (see appendix for interview), since VEI holds the specific info on this PPP and Heineken offers merely the financial support in these PPP’s.
Moreover Arjen de Vries also referred to Sietske Boschma from Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO), who works with Heineken on the PPP’s. However Sietske Boschma declared that see had no time available for an interview. Arjen de Vries also referred to Selamawit Yetemegn who is policy officer water at the Dutch embassy in Addis Ababa. She thereafter referred to Niek Bosmans who works closely with the private sector and is the agricultural counsellor at the Dutch embassy, but again, after several reminders, this contact stranded.
Since Acacia Water and VEI were contacted and work mainly on the rural and urban water PPP that Heineken is financing, it remained logical to contact an organisation that worked on the PPP on local sourcing with Heineken. Therefore EUCORD was contacted, however this could only be done through a general contact address and thus an answer remained absent. Nevertheless ICCO was also contacted through Jaap Jan Verboom (worked on local sourcing for Heineken), whereafter Barbara Bosma responded on this contact and through many others referred me to Fantahun Tarekegn (ICCO). Mr. Tarekegn than provided a report document on the collaboration with the local farmers that Heineken is cooperating with, answered some of my remaining questions and provided contact details from HUNDEE.
Additionally, Ton Haverkort from the aid organisation Cordaid was contacted in an early stage of the research. This contact resulted in an interview with Mr. Haverkort serving mainly as starting point for the research about the current situation regarding droughts and famines in Ethiopia (see appendix for interview). However the interview also yielded information on the local farmers that Heineken is cooperating with, which turned out to be essential information for the research. Furthermore, with help of Andres Verzijl, Hermen Smit (IHE Delft; expertise on water governance and water management in Ethiopia) was contacted. Mr. Smit than referred to Dispuut Water Management, TU-Delft, since they have visited the brewery in Addis Ababa last year and discussed the current situation regarding Heineken. This contact was continued with Martijn Mulder and Ivar Abas. With the latter a conversation took place that provided information useful for the research (see appendix). Ivar Abas subsequently also referred to Marc Winthagen (Heineken) in order to get in contact with Heineken.
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In summary, most contact did unfortunately not result in an interview, nevertheless two interviews were conducted with Ton Haverkort from Cordaid and Reinier Visser from Acacia Water. Besides several conversations were held with experts and actors concerned in this case study that also provided essential information. These conversations were held with Adriaan Mels from VEI, Arjen de Vries from Acacia Water and Ivar Abas from Dispuut Water Management Delft. Moreover the contact with Fantahun Tarekegn also resulted in useful information that was exchanged through mail. The interviews and contact with all six of these men are reported and can be found back in the appendix.
Finally, Heineken itself was also contacted. First through a general email addresses of the company Heineken Ethiopia, since more specific contact information was lacking, however after a referral from Ivar Abas to Marc Winthagen (production manager, brewery Addis Ababa) the contact with Heineken finally got going. Marc Winthagen referred to his colleague Serawit Bezabeh and in response to the statement of Adriaan Mels that he could provide a document with permission of Heineken, they were both asked if this was all right. Unfortunately they did not grant permission for the document of Adriaan Mels.
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5. Results
The following section will demonstrate the results of this research which was executed using interviews and secondary data as described in the methodology. It will therewith try to answer the sub questions as they are designated in section 3. In section 5.1 Heineken’s activities in Ethiopia will be delineated to have a clear overview of the practices that will be analysed in this research. Section 5.2 will introduce an Ethiopian local farmers community by means of other case studies, in order to have a clear picture of their situation and functioning (without the influence of a large corporation like Heineken3). The subsequent section (5.3) will address other case studies to assess how the water usage of the brewery might influence the local population. The final section will analyse the beforehand delineated activities of Heineken in comparison to the results from section 5.2 and 5.3 in order to determine what the impact of Heineken might be on the water security of the local population and their livelihoods. The results will then be followed up by a conclusion and a critical discussion of the research.
5.1 Heineken’s activities in Ethiopia
This section will thus clarify what the main activities of Heineken in Ethiopia are, in particular those interrelated to the water usage of the company.
As was already mentioned in the introduction, Heineken has entered the Ethiopian market in 2011 and currently owns three breweries in the country. These breweries are located in Bedele, Harar and Addis Ababa (capital city), see figure 1 (van Beemen, 2016). The breweries in Bedele (Bedele Brewery S.C) and Harar (Harar Brewery S.C) started their operations respectively in 1993 and 19844, meaning that Heineken bought up existing breweries. This in contrast to the brewery in Addis Ababa (Kilinto Brewery S.C) which opened in 20144 and was built and financed by the company and the Dutch government: a 110 million euro investment (Nieuwsuur, 2015).
Figure1. Breweries of Heineken in Ethiopia: Blue: Bedele – Green: Addis Ababa –
Red: Harar (source: Google Maps).
3 It is chosen to describe an Ethiopian smallholder farmers community, since the research did not suffice in obtaining
the right data about the specific local farmers that Heineken is cooperating with. Heineken was namely not willingly to share this data. Therefore the description of an average farmers community in Ethiopia will contribute to examining the possible impact the company might have on local farmers.
4See http://heinekenethiopia.com/our-breweries/ (accessed on April 20 2017). On this website Heineken provides
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Furthermore the company currently owns 7 brands in Ethiopia: Heineken, Harar, Bedele, Bedele Special, Hakim, Stout & Walia, which are currently produced for the national market (Nieuwsuur, 2015 ; van Beemen, 2016). The alcohol consumption per person per year is barely 5 liters in Ethiopia, however the future looks ‘promising’, since between 2004 and 2011 the total volume of consumed beer tripled. Another aspect that makes Ethiopia a very attractive country for the Dutch company is the fact that the country has by origin a culture that accepts and entails beer drinking, both for the Christians (63%) and the Muslims (34%) (van Beemen, 2016).
As the research question of this thesis includes the concept of ‘Heineken’s activities’ it should be clarified what these activities entail in the scope of this research. The activities of Heineken in Ethiopia can in short be subdivided in two activities. First this entails the beer brewing in three different breweries, which is accompanied by obtaining water and natural resources that are needed for the production of the beer. Concerning these natural resources, the second activity entails the local sourcing of barley from local farmers as raw material for the beer. More specifically, these two activities regarding the water usage of Heineken are in this research determined through three specific activities that were determined according to the statements of Reinier Visser, Ton Haverkort and Ivar Abas5. Firstly this includes the water extraction from groundwater for the production process in the brewery (i.e. “virtual water” grab). Secondly it includes the discharge of water that is used for the production process of the breweries into canals and rivers, and thirdly there is the water usage of the local farmers that produce barley for the production of the beer, which makes their water use indirectly the water usage of Heineken (i.e. “virtual” water grab) (see figure 2 for a visualisation of the activities).
Figure 2. Visualisation of the water-related activities of Heineken in Ethiopia.
15 5.1.1 Brewing a Better World
Associated with these activities, Heineken’s new sustainability strategy made its entrance in 2014, called ‘Brewing a Better World’. This strategy focusses on six areas: water resources, CO₂ emissions, sustainable sourcing, responsible consumption, health and safety, and communities6 (Heineken N.V., 2015) (see figure 3). The focus areas of water resources, sustainable sourcing and communities are of particular importance for this research, since these strategy areas determine Heineken’s interactions with local farmers and the water usage of both these farmers and the breweries.
Figure 3. Brewing a Better World strategy of Heineken (source: The Heineken Company -
http://www.theheinekencompany.com/sustainability/brewing-a-better-world).
Concerning sustainable sourcing, Heineken Ethiopia encourages and is increasing local sourcing of the barley that is used for the production of the beer, because as they state it themselves; the worldwide rising demand for agricultural products requires increasing productivity in global agriculture (thus supposing that Heineken indeed contributes to the increase of productivity through local sourcing). Besides they also state that local sourcing might contribute to poverty reduction and food security7. However since Heineken is a commercial organisation, one might wonder what the benefits are for them. They state that these advantages are: the elimination of import duties, the securitisation of sustainable raw materials and the reduction of the transport-related environmental footprint7. In order to fulfil this goal, Heineken entered into a Public Private Partnership (PPP) called CREATE (Community Revenue Enhancement through Agriculture Technology Extension)7. This project will be further explained below, since this PPP (and the partners included) might provide information about the situation of the local farmers and Heinekens activities.
6See http://www.heinekennederland.nl/duurzaamheid/brewing-a-better-world (accessed on April 20 2017). On this
website Heineken explains its sustainability strategy called Brewing a Better World.
7 See http://heinekenethiopia.com/sustainability/local-sourcing/ (accessed on April 20 2017). On this website
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Furthermore the water resources focus area of Brewing a Better World entails the aim to reduce water consumption in the breweries in Ethiopia8, since beer consists for 95% of water and fresh water resources are worldwide under pressure provoking water scarcity all over the world, including Ethiopia9 (Adeba, Kansal, & Sen, 2015). The specific goals set by Heineken are to ‘reduce specific water consumption by 25%’, ‘protect our water resources in scarce and water-distressed areas’, and ‘aim for significant water balancing in these areas’. These goals are framed by Heineken as ‘water stewardship initiatives’ (Heineken N.V., 2015; p. 12). Following the description of ‘water stewardship’ in the theoretical framework – water stewardship can be conceptualized as an effort of businesses to incorporate the risks of water scarcity and pollution, and actively undertake action to ensure sustainable and fair distributed water as a public resource – it thus may be assumed that Heineken tries to enhance water security for all the interested stakeholders, addressing water as a common-pool resource. In Ethiopia, Heineken entered into a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) within this specific focus area of water resources with the government of Harar Regional State, Vitens Evides International (VEI), Acacia Water and other partners to safeguard long-term water availability for Harar Region (Heineken N.V., 2015; p. 15 ; Vitens Evides International, n.d.)10. This project will also be further elaborated below, because of its role in Heineken’s activities and the impact on the water usage of Heineken in Ethiopia.
The sustainable sourcing activities and the water resources focus area of Heineken are intertwined within the growing with communities focus area, because the local population addressed in the previous two focus areas coincides in this part of Brewing a Better World. Growing with communities namely ‘underlines [Heineken’s] ambition to have a positive impact in the communities where [they] live, work and sell [their] products’ (Heineken N.V., 2015, p. 8). The company specifically tries to achieve this ambition by providing jobs, creating business and by paying taxes that are invested in local and national development, as they denote themselves (ibid.).
Strikingly the above described information originates mainly from Heineken itself since other (more objective) sources on Heineken’s activities are lacking. It is therefore important to examine what the visions and positions are of the organisations that Heineken is cooperating with in order to fulfil the above mentioned sustainability goals. But also the position of actors that are not cooperating with Heineken but do operate in Ethiopia are of great essence in order to develop an objective sketch of the situation. This has been done in this research by means of interviews with these actors and will be profoundly addressed in section 5.4. However let us now turn to the two PPP’s mentioned above to examine their role in the water-related activities of Heineken in Ethiopia.
5.1.2 CREATE
The CREATE project of Heineken in Ethiopia contains a Public-Private Partnership (PPP), launched in 2013, between Heineken, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the NGO European
8 See http://heinekenethiopia.com/sustainability/water-resources/ (accessed on May 1 2017). This website shows
the aims of Heineken concerning water resources.
9 See the interview report of Ton Haverkort in the appendix.
10See also
17 Cooperative for Rural Development (EUCORD)11 (Grow Africa, n.d.). The aim of the project is to support local smallholder famers by improving the quality and the quantity of the produced barley. This is done by strengthening the agricultural skills of the farmers, providing good access to the market and thereby thus providing these farmers with higher incomes and improved livelihoods (Grow Africa, n.d.). According to Heineken the project thereby helps in the aim of Heineken to increase the percentage of locally sourced raw materials in Africa up to 60% before 2020 (Heineken N.V., 2015 ; HEINEKEN, n.d.).
Beside Heineken, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and EUCORD, another organisation is involved in this project, namely ICCO (Interkerkelijke Coördinatie Commissie Ontwikkelings-samenwerking). In order to coach the local farmers in efficiently cultivating malt barley, Heineken entered into a cooperation with aid organisation ICCO. ICCO was already operating in the area where Heineken now cooperates with local farmers and one of the reasons for ICCO to cooperate with Heineken is that Heineken offers a steady market for the barley to sell (Nieuwsuur, 2015)12. Heretofore the farmers already produced malt barley for their own use and a small local market. According to Jaap Jan Verboom (ICCO) these farmers now have access to a larger market due to aggregating the smallholder farmers in 16 cooperations that together can supply their barley to the brewery. Moreover ICCO claims that they help to improve the quality and the quantity of the barley by providing trainings and qualitatively good seeds (HUNDEE, 2015)12.
The cultivation process of barley by these farmers is of great importance according to the activities of Heineken and therewith its impact on the water security, since the cultivation process demands a certain water use. This water use might affect the water security of the farmers and should be taken along as the indirect water use of Heineken.
5.1.3 Sustainable Water Services in Harar Regional State (SWHS)
As mentioned before, Heineken also entered into a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with the government of Harar Regional State, Vitens Evides International (VEI), Acacia Water and other stakeholders in order to secure water availability for Harar Region. The focus within this project thus lays specifically on the Region of Harar State, since one of the breweries is located in Harar (see figure 1). The specific aim of this project is to ensure long term water availability for urban, rural and industrial users in Harar, whereby one of the targets set for the project is to create water access for 50.000 people in both rural and urban areas (Heineken N.V., 2015)13. Much more information on this PPP in policy documents and on the internet is lacking and was therefore conducted through an interview with an official from Acacia Water (Reinier Visser – see appendix) who worked on this PPP.
Reinier Visser and therewith Acacia Water served as a water specialist in the PPP with Heineken, whereby consultancy services are the main purpose of Acacia in this collaboration. Within the PPP, Acacia focussed both on the urban and the rural part of the project. However their expertise in rural areas is of greatest importance, since VEI has limited expertise in this field according to Reinier Visser and as accordingly was confirmed by Adriaan Mels from VEI14. For
11 See http://www.plusbusiness.nl/partnerships-Heineken.php (accessed on May 1 2017). On this website Plus
Business explains the local sourcing activities of Heineken and its advantages and disadvantages. Plus Business is ablog that writes about entrepreneurs that are concerned with sustainability. See also footnote 7.
12 See also http://www.ondernemeninontwikkelingslanden.nl/nieuws/heineken-en-icco-ethiopi%C3%AB (accessed
on May 2 2017). A blog where the collaboration between Heineken, ICCO and HUNDEE is described.
13See also footnote 10 and the interview with Reinier Visser in the appendix. 14See their interview reports in the appendix.
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clarification first the urban part of the project will be addressed, whereafter the rural part will be explained.
The focus on the urban area of Harar State in the project involves the water system of the city. Reinier Visser explained that prior to the PPP the African Development Bank constructed a complex and expensive water system in order to foresee the city of water. This system pumps up water from the lower situated valley in Dire Dawa and brings it up to the mountains, to Harar, for water supply. However the local water company of Harar (= Harar Water Supply Authority – HWSA; also a stakeholder in this PPP) was not trained and educated enough to maintain such a water system. Obviously a problem resulted here that needed to be dealt with, which was one of the main reasons the PPP was established and whereafter VEI, Heineken, Acacia, HWSA and other partners got started on the project in order to restore the management of this local water system in the interest of the urban water supply. This is done with funding from the Dutch Government and Heineken. One might wonder why Heineken is involved in this project, since it is not directly clear how the company might benefit from an investment in this project. Nevertheless according to Reinier Visser, Heineken does have a large share in this partnership, since the brewery is a relatively large water user in the private sector of the city. It is therefore that Heineken on the one hand can contribute in this PPP by sharing their experience and knowledge and on the other hand the company benefits from the PPP since it creates a win-win. Reinier Visser did not further elaborated on how the PPP might create a win-win for the company, nonetheless this will be analysed and explained in the analysis in the final section of this chapter. Moreover the share of Heineken in this collaboration is also expected to be motivated by an act of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)15 within Heineken’s water stewardship programmes, in the interest of a good reputation. This will also be discussed more thoroughly in the following sections.
The rural area of Harar State is not connected to this water system of the city, but depends on secluded water wells. Again the aim of this part of the project is to provide more people with safe and sustainable water and the specific target for this project is to accomplish this for 25.000 people in the rural area of Harar State. In order to achieve this goal, Acacia started the project with a baseline study, which included visiting the villages and analysing the water wells that were already there. This base line study was done in order to get a clear overview of the situation and of what the bottlenecks are of these water wells for their sustainability. Thereafter Acacia performed a water resource assessment to see how these water sources could be sustainable developed. From this assessment a plan was conducted in accordance with VEI and the local water company (HWSA) to focus on water buffering. This will be done through the construction of 3 sand dams in the river that will withhold the water and whereby pumps will be installed in the near future for the local population to use this water as drinking water facility16.
5.1.4 Water discharge
In sum, the previous paragraphs about the two PPP’s described Heineken activities related to the activities of the local farmers and their water use on the one hand (CREATE) and the water use of the breweries on the other hand (SWHS). In order to create a clear picture of Heineken’s impact
15 Corporate Social Responsibility may be defined as: ‘a balanced approach for organizations to address economic, social
and environmental issues in a way that aims to benefit people, communities and society’, which includes issues such as, for example, human rights, organizational governance, environmental aspects, community involvement, and social development (Leonard & McAdam, 2003).
16The above stated information was obtained from the interview with Reinier Visser as it can be found back in the
19 on the water security of the local population it is also of great importance to take along the water discharge of the breweries in the analysis in section 5.4, since it might cause change of water composition or even pollution in the rivers where the water is released. This will be demonstrated and further explained in section 5.3.
Concluding, the above delineated PPP’s seem very promising, however most of the information on these projects originates from Heineken or the NGO’s and organisations that Heineken is cooperating with. Besides, no specific data concerning the volume of water usage of Heineken’s breweries was obtained during the research as is discussed in box 4.1. Clearly, without these numbers it will for example not be possible to conclude what the impact of the SWHS PPP is relatively to the total water use of Heineken in the aim of water balancing (see water balancing, section 5.4.2). Consequently, to have a clear picture of the true impacts of these activities in Ethiopia on the local scale, it would be best to conduct field work there. Nonetheless since the research of this thesis is insufficient to do so, it may be best to analyse other case studies to elaborate on what an Ethiopian community of smallholder farmers looks like and how it operates. This will be done in the following section to being able to assess which factors determine their water security.
5.2 Community of Ethiopian smallholder farmers
Undoubtedly, agriculture has always been and still is an important sector for a large share of the livelihoods in Ethiopia, as it provides 52% of national income and 80% of employment. Thereby, 90% of agricultural output is produced by smallholder farmers and 95% of the cultivated land is cultivated by this type of farmers (Rosegrant et al., 2006). However merely 40% of arable land in Ethiopia is currently being cultivated, whereby traditional technology and production practices are the common norm. This causes actual yields to be low in comparison to potential yields, which could be improved using modern technologies (Hanjra, Ferede & Gutta, 2009). Moreover, the largest share of the above mentioned smallholder farmers are situated in the more densely populated high-lands of Ethiopia, which are characterized by land degradation and low soil fertility (Lavers, 2012 ; Pender & Gebremedhin, 2004). So despite its low productivity rate and development backlog, agriculture in Ethiopia, depending mainly on smallholder farmers, is of great essence for the wellbeing of the country.
In order to assess the characteristics of these smallholder farmers, this section will provide a delineation of a local community of smallholder farmers in Ethiopia. Firstly the main characteristics of these communities will be described in order to have a clear image of what these communities are dependent on and consist of. Subsequently this Ethiopian smallholder farmer community will be related to the concepts of land tenure and water rights, since these are highly contested in the Ethiopian context and determine the water security of these smallholder farmers. Finally water regulations set by the Ethiopian government will be discussed to supplement the picture sketched on the situation of an average local smallholder community in Ethiopia that produces barley.
Before this section will demonstrate what characterizes Ethiopian smallholder farmer communities, it may be important to explain how large an average community of smallholder farmers is. Geographically, Ethiopia consist of eleven regions subdivided into zones, whereby the
20
zones are divided into woredas. These woredas are then subdivided into kebeles (or Peasant Association, PA), which is an administrative unit that consists of several villages (Hanjra, Ferede & Gutta, 2009 ; Scholten, 2007). The community assumed in this section is therefore approached as such a kebele, since local farmers in the nearby area unite on this level.
5.2.1 Characteristics
An Ethiopian smallholder farmers community may be characterized by two types of agriculture practices, namely irrigated agriculture and rain-fed agriculture. Concerning irrigated agriculture, from the 3.7 till 5.3 million hectare of irrigable land available in Ethiopia, merely 5% is currently being irrigated. Whereby existing irrigation systems are informal, depending on small rivers or stream diversions (Demeke, Frede, Assefa, Alemu & Assefa, 2004 ; Gebregziabher, Namara & Holden, 2012 ; Awulachew, Erkossa & Namara, 2010). Present smallholder agriculture thus seem to be highly depend on rain-fed agriculture schemes, subordinated to highly variable rainfall, which is a fellow prosecutor of the low productivity that features domestic agriculture in Ethiopia (Gebregziabher, Namara & Holden, 2012 ; Hanjra, Ferede & Gutta, 2009 ; Lavers, 2012). It is therefore often claimed in academic literature that investment in irrigation schemes might be of great value for improving the (water) productivity of smallholder farmers in Ethiopia (Gebregziabher, Namara & Holden, 2012 ; Rockström, Barron & Fox, 2003 ; Diao & Pratt, 2007). However supplemental irrigation (SI) should also be considered concerning the actual practices of smallholder farmers in Ethiopia. SI may be defined as the adding of small amounts of water to originally rain-fed crops to suffice for normal plant growth when precipitation falls short17. The official data might state that merely 5% of irrigable land in Ethiopia is currently being irrigated, nonetheless these are probably not taking into account the supplemental irrigation that is unregistered applied by rain-fed farmers. Important to consider while analysing the water usage of the farmers that are cultivating barley for Heineken.
First characteristics that are accountable for both smallholder farmers that practice rain-fed agriculture and irrigated agriculture will be described here. From the case study of Hanjra, Ferede & Gutta (2009) and Bues (2011) it can be determined that the average land size of these farmers is approximately one hectare, whereas Gebregziabher, Namara & Holden (2012) also make the distinction between irrigated and rain-fed land. They state this average to be 0.4 hectares of land for irrigated land and 1.5 hectares for rain-fed land. Furthermore the case study of Hanjra, Ferede & Gutta (2009) on farmer households in southern Ethiopia shows the educational level of these farmers to be low, since 50% of household heads are unable to read or write and merely 43% have had primary education. Moreover chemical fertilizer and improved seeds are not widely used by the smallholder farmers in this case study and oxen still are the most commonly used animals for the production process, instead of tractors or other machines. Additionally, this case study and other research shows that these smallholder farmers are most often not able to obtain credit to invest in modern technology and agricultural practices, mainly because these farmers lack formal land titles to their land (Hanjra, Ferede & Gutta, 2009 ; Gebregziabher, Namara & Holden , 2012 ; Spielman, Davis, Negash & Ayele, 2011). In conclusion, these smallholders farmers may thus be described as underdeveloped and not able to independently attract developments.
17See https://www.ifad.org/topic/resource/tags/rainfed_agriculture/2087601 (accessed on June 8 2017). IFAD is the
21 According to the case study of Scholten (2007) in Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia on the water use systems of smallholder farmers in the region, subsequently rain-fed and irrigated agriculture will be differentiate in order to see how the production process takes place. This in order to eventually link it to the water security of the local smallholder farmers.
5.2.2 Rain-fed
Since rain-fed agriculture still seems to be the most important livelihood in Ethiopia, it is important to assess the dependency of this form of agriculture. In particular, this agricultural practice is highly dependent on natural influences, such as diseases and variable precipitation for the productivity of the crop (Scholten, 2007). Moreover, in the case study of Scholten (2007) these rain-fed farmers are not using improved seeds or machinery on their small plots, which further diminishes the productivity of the crop. However it should be accounted for that this may differ by case, assuming that the cultivation of a smallholder farmer might be rain-fed, but still may include improved seeds.
According to Scholten (2007) the most commonly rain-fed crops are grains, such as maize, wheat and barley. These crops are mainly cultivated in the highland areas, which are characterized by lower temperatures and much precipitation. As already mentioned, the rainy season in these areas thus for a large part determines the cropping pattern. Whereby the rainy season lasts from June till September in Ethiopia.
To summarize, for this rain-fed agriculture it should be realized that it carries a high risk, since they are dependent on irregular rainfall and other natural influences. Additively, these farmers might thus not use much of local water sources such as streams or rivers, nevertheless their water usage determines the amount of water left for downstream smallholder farmers, therewith thus influencing the water security of other, downstream farmers (Scholten, 2007 ; Bues, 2011 ; Bossio et al., 2012).
5.2.3 Irrigated
Concerning irrigated smallholder agriculture, Scholten (2007) states that of the few irrigated agricultural systems, most consist the cultivation of fruits and vegetables. Furthermore the cropping pattern and irrigation scheme is dependent of the location and altitude of the smallholder farmers, since this determines the micro-climatological characteristics (e.g. precipitation, temperature). For the case study of this research on Heineken in Ethiopia, it should thus be examined where the local farmers are located and on which altitude, to determine their dependency on micro-climatological characteristics for their water availability.
Moreover the irrigation of the smallholder farmers in the case study of Scholten (2007) entails irrigation merely for the seedlings after they are planted in rain-fed plots, so the irrigation schemes does not cover the full cultivation process. Where he emphasizes that in higher situated areas less irrigation is needed during this process, due to higher precipitation rates. This is also denoted in the research of Hanjra, Ferede & Gutta (2009) where this case study – focusing on a dryer area in southern Ethiopia – shows that the smallholder farmers, on the contrary, almost completely depend on irrigation for their cultivation.
As a result of the previous paragraphs, it can subsequently be analysed for the local smallholder farmers that Heineken is cooperating with which form of agriculture they practise (i.e. rain-fed or irrigated) and what this means for their water dependency and water security. Beside the practices and characteristics of smallholder communities in Ethiopia, the following paragraph will
