Rain water harvesting practices and their effects on the productivity of farming systems in the semi-arid areas of Nigeria have been investigated using participatory rural appraisal （PRA） technique. There was no dir...Rain water harvesting practices and their effects on the productivity of farming systems in the semi-arid areas of Nigeria have been investigated using participatory rural appraisal （PRA） technique. There was no direct water harvesting interventions by government agencies in the area. Farmers take advantage of naturally existing depressions and abandoned burrow pits close to their farmlands to harvest rain water for surface irrigation using petrol engine pumps. The reservoirs surveyed were found to be grossly inadequate in the drought period. Water budget analysis revealed that evaporation and seepage losses from reservoirs were high in both agro-ecological zone considered. The application of rain water harvesting practices was found to have increased farmers income by 61% and 125% in the Sahel and Sudan Savannah agro-ecological zones, respectively. Governments at all levels in these areas need to support these farmers in order to boost their production to achieve food security in these drought prone areas. Farmers lack timely access to farm credit and agricultural inputs; the indigenous water harvesting practices identified need to be enhanced with the aid of agricultural engineering extension services.展开更多
文摘Rain water harvesting practices and their effects on the productivity of farming systems in the semi-arid areas of Nigeria have been investigated using participatory rural appraisal （PRA） technique. There was no direct water harvesting interventions by government agencies in the area. Farmers take advantage of naturally existing depressions and abandoned burrow pits close to their farmlands to harvest rain water for surface irrigation using petrol engine pumps. The reservoirs surveyed were found to be grossly inadequate in the drought period. Water budget analysis revealed that evaporation and seepage losses from reservoirs were high in both agro-ecological zone considered. The application of rain water harvesting practices was found to have increased farmers income by 61% and 125% in the Sahel and Sudan Savannah agro-ecological zones, respectively. Governments at all levels in these areas need to support these farmers in order to boost their production to achieve food security in these drought prone areas. Farmers lack timely access to farm credit and agricultural inputs; the indigenous water harvesting practices identified need to be enhanced with the aid of agricultural engineering extension services.
