Rainwater harvesting and management in rainfed agricultural systems in sub-Saharan Africa – A review

Biazin, Birhanu; Sterk, G.; Temesgen, Melesse; Abdulkedir, Abdu; Stroosnijder, L.

doi:10.1016/j.pce.2011.08.015

Cited by 257 publications

(172 citation statements)

References 96 publications

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“…Regardless of agroecology, maize is the dominant crop produced and this is linked with its status as a staple [32]. Mixed and maize monoculture (Table 1) are the dominant cropping systems [33][34][35]. Within these cropping systems, food crops such as beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) and butternut (Cucurbita moschata) are also produced.…”

Section: Overview Of Farming and Cropping Systems In South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Status of Underutilised Crops in South Africa: Opportunities for Developing Research Capacity

2017

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Underutilised crops represent an important component of agro-biodiversity with potential to contribute to climate change adaptation, food security and sovereignty in poor rural areas. However, despite emerging research interest, they continue to occupy the peripheries of mainstream agriculture. There is a need to consolidate the gains made and propose a coherent strategy for translating underutilised crops into mainstream agriculture. The status of underutilised crops in South Africa (past, present and on-going research) was reviewed with a view to identifying existing gaps, opportunities and challenges for developing future research capacity. The review confirmed that several underutilised crops are drought tolerant, adapted to low levels of water use and thus suitable for cultivation in most marginal production areas typical of semi-arid and arid cropping systems. In addition, several are nutrient dense and could be used to improve dietary diversity among poor rural people. These characteristics make them ideal for inclusion in climate change adaptation and promotion of food sovereignty. There is need for a paradigm shift away from practices that have promoted a few major crops to an agro-ecology based land use classification system that recognises diversity and strengthens food networks. There is a need to identify those underutilised crops that show the greatest potential for success and can be fitted into semi-arid and arid cropping systems and prioritise them for future research, development and innovation.

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Section: Overview Of Farming and Cropping Systems In South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Status of Underutilised Crops in South Africa: Opportunities for Developing Research Capacity

2017

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“…Nonetheless, farmers with irrigation can notably influence plant growth and crop yield. Farmers lacking irrigation can manage soil moisture through their choices of crops and varieties, soil preparation, planting dates, plant densities, and cultural practices [32][33][34][35], but they generally cannot supplement soil moisture autonomously. For both groups of farmers, the amount of soil moisture available at any point in time, and the uptake of soil moisture by plants, are random draws from probability distributions.…”

Section: Estimates Of Water Productivity Are Random Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Estimates of Water Productivity Enhance Understanding of Farm-Level Water Management?

Wichelns

2014

Water

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Abstract:Estimates of water productivity are appearing with increasing frequency in the literature pertaining to agronomy, water management, and water policy. Some authors report such estimates as one of the outcome variables of experiment station studies, while others calculate water productivities when comparing regional crop production information. Many authors suggest or imply that higher values of water productivity are needed to ensure that future food production goals are achieved. Yet maximizing water productivity might not be consistent with farm-level goals or with societal objectives regarding water allocation and management. Farmers in both rainfed and irrigated settings must address a complex set of issues pertaining to risk, uncertainty, prices, and opportunity costs, when selecting activities and determining optimal strategies. It is not clear that farmers in either setting will or should choose to maximize water productivity. Upon examining water productivity, both conceptually and empirically, using published versions of crop production functions, I conclude that estimates of water productivity contain too little information to enhance understanding of farm-level water management.Keywords: economics; smallholders; irrigation; production functions; risk; uncertainty MotivationMany authors have called for improvements in water use efficiency or increases in water productivity in rainfed and irrigated settings, with the goal of increasing agricultural output to meet future food demands [1][2][3][4][5]. Some of the phrases that appear often in the agricultural and water management literature include the need to produce "more food with less water" and to generate "more crop per drop" [6][7][8][9]. The motivating rationale for such phrases is clear and legitimate. We must OPEN ACCESS

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“…Using rainwater harvesting for supplemental irrigation to mitigate the impact of dry spells, combined with soil fertility management, can more than double rainfed crop yields [38,40]. Though the practice is not broadly used, there is widespread potential for water harvesting for supplemental irrigation in many rainfed agricultural regions [39,98].…”

Section: Agricultural Water Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Water Management in Urban, Agricultural, and Natural Systems

Russo

Alfredo

Fisher

2014

Water

105

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Sustainable water management (SWM) requires allocating between competing water sector demands, and balancing the financial and social resources required to support necessary water systems. The objective of this review is to assess SWM in three sectors: urban, agricultural, and natural systems. This review explores the following questions: (1) How is SWM defined and evaluated? (2) What are the challenges associated with sustainable development in each sector? (3) What are the areas of greatest potential improvement in urban and agricultural water management systems? And (4) What role does country development status have in SWM practices? The methods for evaluating water management practices range from relatively simple indicator methods to integration of multiple models, depending on the complexity of the problem and resources of the investigators. The two key findings and recommendations for meeting SWM objectives are:(1) all forms of water must be considered usable, and reusable, water resources; and (2) increasing agricultural crop water production represents the largest opportunity for reducing total water consumption, and will be required to meet global food security needs. The level of regional development should not dictate sustainability objectives, however local OPEN ACCESSWater 2014, 6 3935 infrastructure conditions and financial capabilities should inform the details of water system design and evaluation.

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Rainwater harvesting and management in rainfed agricultural systems in sub-Saharan Africa – A review

Cited by 257 publications

References 96 publications

Status of Underutilised Crops in South Africa: Opportunities for Developing Research Capacity

Status of Underutilised Crops in South Africa: Opportunities for Developing Research Capacity

Do Estimates of Water Productivity Enhance Understanding of Farm-Level Water Management?

Sustainable Water Management in Urban, Agricultural, and Natural Systems

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