New methods in implementing an irrigation scheme bring notable impact
Wednesday, 2019/03/06 | 08:31:23
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ICRISAT News – Feb 2019 Efficient water use, higher crop yields and improved farmer incomes
Impacts of huge investments in irrigation schemes in Africa are often not realized. However, a series of ingenious irrigation schemes in Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe have shown multiple impacts including lesser water use, reduced conflict, higher crop yields and improved on- and off-farm household incomes. This was the outcome of over five years of work with two innovative tools for soil moisture and solute monitoring (Chameleon and FullStop Wetting Front Detector respectively). These were used along with a social process through Agricultural Innovation Platforms (AIPs).
Research on this component of the project showed the following impacts:
Figure: A farmer connects a Chameleon reader to soil moisture sensors buried in his plot. Photo: Andre van Rooyen, ICRISAT
“Many farmers remain trapped in poverty due to low crop productivity, weak institutional arrangements and water governance, weak market integration and, in some cases, even abandonment of irrigated lands,” said Dr Anthony Whitbread, Research Program Director, Innovation Systems for the Drylands. “This is why these impacts we have are significant.” Why the tools were introducedThe twin questions of “when and how much to irrigate” are critical to the success of irrigated agriculture. “The Chameleon and FullStop Wetting Front Detector (WFD) are two of a suite of tools introduced to build literacy around soil water and solute monitoring among researchers, extension workers and farmers,” says ICRISAT scientist Dr Martin Moyo. What the FullStop WFD doesIt is a funnel-shaped device buried in the soil with an indicator above the soil surface. It is used for –
What the Chameleon soil water sensor doesIt was developed as a complimentary tool to the WFD to measure soil moisture. It consists of three or four sensors that are permanently installed at different depths in the soil. A portable handheld reader is connected to each group of sensors and displays the soil moisture as colored lights.
See more https://www.icrisat.org/new-methods-in-implementing-an-irrigation-scheme-bring-notable-impact/ |
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