Harvesting and conserving rainwater on-farms plots

Improving rainwater management in the semi-arid areas requires improvement in soil moisture conservation measures and a reduction in rainwater wastage. One way of harvesting rainwater on agricultural land is through tied ridging. This strategy aims at conserving rainwater in-situ where it falls within the root-zone. Increased soil moisture storage reduces runoff, which leads in increased efficiency of rainwater utilization. A brief procedure on how to construct tied ridge is outlined below.

Step 1:Plough the land and make planting furrows along the contour preferably with oxen

Step 2:Apply well-decomposed manure and/or fertiliser in the furrows and slightly mix with soil

Step 3:Plant the seeds in the furrows and cover the seeds lightly leaving a furrow to harvest water

Deep ploughing with oxen or tractor

Step 4:Weed preferably with well-trained oxen to remove weeds and to make water harvesting furrows

Water harvesting furrows, 0pen ridges

Step 5:Make tied-ridges after the 1st weeding by tying (blocking) the furrows at 4-5 m intervals or 2-3 m in more sandy soils using a hoe