Rainwater harvesting for improved food security

Abstract

Most of the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) , especially those in the Greater Horn of Africa (GHA,) are experiencing profound socio-economic and political problems, the most dramatic being food crises and disruptive conflicts. Past interventions, especially large-scale irrigation projects have not been very successful. Such expensive large-scale projects have also left a trail of negative environmental impacts that have discouraged further development. However, smallscale, land-user-oriented innovations and interventions seem to offer the much needed sustainable solutions to chronic food insecurity. One of the promising land-users' initiatives is rainwater harvesting (RWH), storage, utilization and management for agricultural use, i.e. crop and livestock production. The overall objective of the project was to identify and evaluate the performance of RWH systems in the GHA with the aim of promoting best practices in water management in order to enhance food security in this famine prone region. The achievement of the objectives was enhanced by establishing and strengthening a regional rainwater network-Greater Horn of Africa Rainwater Partnership (GHARP)-that coordinated the identification and evaluation of promising RWH technologies, and will promote best practices in the region. The need for such an activity-oriented network has been identified in a number of forums as a missing link in promoting RWH technologies for agricultural production in the region. Various RWH technologies and systems were identified and promising ones evaluated under different conditions. It is envisaged that adoption of proven practices will have substantial impact on agricultural production in the ,region. From a socio-cultural perspective, land-users are known to adopt what has been developed from their counterparts rather than untested technologies. The identification and evaluation of land-users' proven rainwater harvesting technologies forms the basis of promotion and adoption of sustainable solutions to food insecurity in the GHA. The project recognized this and endeavoured to identify such technologies through participatory evaluation and to promote best practices through GHARP. It is evident from disjointed information from the GHA region that promising technologies exist that reguire minimum adaptation for replication in other areas with similar climatic, and comparable socio-economic and cultural conditions. One constraint to promotion and adoption of such technologies is inadeguate collaboration and networking mechanisms in the region. GHARP intends to address this deficiency by strengthening information exchange among stakeholders. The justification for the project was based on several factors. First, is the need for improved food security, particularly in the ASAL areas of GHA. Secondly, RWH has been proven to be a viable technology for improving food production under conditions comparable to those existent in much of GHA. Thirdly, although RWH technologies are available "off the shelf" there is inadeguate information concerning the factors under which land-users adopt and/ or adapt these technologies. The project conducted participatory evaluation of existing RWH systems to identify those factors and conditions under which land-users successfully adopt particular RWH technologies and systems. The research component of the project involved evaluation of 6 case studies selected from 4 countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) in the region. The case studies were based on participatory evaluation in which the land-users participated directly in evaluating the RWH systems, identifying any shortcomings, proposing possible solutions, analyzing various alternatives of addressing the shortcomings, identifying viable and feasible solutions, and adapting and adopting promising RWH technologies and systems. Thus, the project evaluated some of the constraints and opportunities that the land-users experience in their endeavours to address persistent food insecurity. It is evident that many solutions related to adoption of rainwater technologies can be developed by the land-users themselves. The case studies have the potential to make meaningful contributions towards enhancing agricultural productivity and food security, which has imperatives for social cohesion and reducing social conflicts. The results of the case studies could also enhance sustainable development of rainwater harvesting projects in the GHA region. Although• different R \'CH technologies have worked under similar or diverse climatic and geographical conditions, it should not be assumed that a particular technology would...