Presented by Catherine Pfeifer ILRI/IWMI and Yenenesh Abebe IWMI at the Learning Event on ‘A Decision Support Tool for Mapping Suitability of REM-Strategies in the Nile Basin’, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 6-7 December 2012

1. Catherine Pfeifer ILRI/IWMI and Yenenesh Abebe
IWMI
Learning Event on ‘A Decision Support Tool for Mapping Suitability of
REM-Strategies in the Nile Basin’
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 6-7 December 2012

2. Plan
 Crash introduction into what is GIS
 Importance of GIS in agriculture
 The concept of suitability
 The Nile-Goblet open source tool
 Test yourself the Nile Goblet tool

3. What is GIS
 Geographic, so we know that GIS has something to do
with geography.
 Information, so we know that GIS has something to do
with information, namely geographic information.
 System, so we know that GIS is an integrated system of
geography and information tied together.

4. What is GIS?
 Computer system
 Hardware
 Computer, plotter, printer,
digitizer
• Software and
appropriate procedures
 Spatially referenced or
geographic data
 People to carry out various
management and analysis
tasks

5. What is GIS ?
 Geographic layer =
geographic data
 Vector data
 Point
 Lines
 polygons
 Raster data
 grid

6. GIS for agriculture
 Technology/practices/crops depend on the bio
physical environment
 Best practices are location specific
 GIS can inform what works where
 Suitability analysis

7. Suitability analysis
Select a location
 where given conditions for a best practice are met
Example : terraces
 Slope : 12-50%
 Rainfall 800-2000 mm annual rainfall
 Not on vertisol

8. Nile Goblet tool
 Open source GIS software for suitability analysis
 No need for prior GIS knowledge
 Dataset has been prepared for RMS in the Ethiopian
Blue Nile
 Flexible tool, can be adjusted for different location and
different practices technologies.
 http://nilebdc.wikispaces.com/Nile+Goblet+tool+and
+training