Rainwater harvesting by run-off inducement for irri¬gation of maize production in a semi-arid climate, Baringo District, Kenya
2000
Kinyali, S.M(University of Nairobi, Department of Soil Science, Nairobi, Kenya)
Programmes aimed at improving food pro¬duction for greater self sufficiency at the household level must be based on clear identification of the existing qualities of soil and water resources. Once these have been identified it is possible to design con¬servation measures to ensure sustainability of the food production capacities of the soils. Baringo district has varied soil types, rang¬ing from high potential soils to low poten¬tial soils (60-70% land area) which require a bit of reinforcement, irrigation and improvement before any crops can be grown. Lack of rainfall in a good part of the District confines rain-fed agriculture to only a few parts. For most parts of the dis¬trict only irrigation can facilitate produc¬tion of any food and cash crops. Therefore, if yields stay low, lack of suffi¬cient nutritious food leads to malnutrition, and poor health. This component influ¬ences child survival and development, both from the point of view of malnutrition and socio-economic status in the study areas. The studies conducted at Ngaratuko/ Kipchemoi - Sibilo/Loruk Sub Location, Baringo District, indicate that the Rainwater - Harvesting/Runoff agricultur¬al techniques improved or increased soil water regime by 66% (i.e. increase of equiv¬alent water depths by 219 mm/100 em of soil profile as compared to rain-fed agriculture. The yield of maize hybrid 511 was found on the average to be 4.69 tons /ha in Rainwater- Harvesting/ Runoff agricultural experiments compared to no production in rain-fed agriculture. This failure in rain-fed agriculture was attributed to very low soil moisture in the soil profile throughout the growing season. It was observed that if these new tech¬niques are improved there could be an increase of amount of water which could be used for domestic purposes, small scale irrigation projects for food production and the excess can be used for Livestock pro¬duction.
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