Ethiopia currently depends on rain-fed agriculture with limited use of irrigation. Highly variable rainfall, frequent floods and drought, and lack of means to store water in times of plenty place Ethiopia at risk of drought and chronic food shortages. Development of water harvesting, storage and irrigation is intended to meet multiple needs and livestock keeping is one of them. Yet, when mismanaged, livestock contribute to the degradation of land and water resources including irrigation infrastructure. Four categories of irrigation are common in Ethiopia including traditional schemes, modern-communal schemes, public schemes, and agro-industrial state owned and private commercial schemes. The Awash and Tekeze river basins are two important basins for irrigation in Ethiopia. Awash River Basin is the most developed with large- and small-scale irrigation located along its banks. Moreover, most of the irrigation schemes, large or small/community did not address the role of livestock in poverty alleviation at planning or design stage.
Consequently most of the developed irrigation projects have lost the added value which can benefit from livestock production. It is also important to address the environmental, social and economical implication of the community based irrigation in Ethiopia. As water is gender sensitive, addressing gender and irrigation water development is important for the livelihood of poor farmers. In Tekeze River Basin, recently built small micro earth dams and ponds provide supplementary irrigation and supply water for both livestock and people. In both Tekeze and Awash areas, hundreds of micro dams have been constructed to provide domestic water; water for livestock and water for food crop and animal feed production. Expanding irrigation threatens wetlands, and conflicts over access to water constrain smallholder farmers. Inappropriate grazing and livestock watering contribute to their degradation-an ironic situation since many were constructed to enhance livestock production, an important potential source of livelihood for Ethiopia's rural poor. Lastly it is vital to examine the performance and water productivity implication of various community-based irrigation in Ethiopia.