Assessing water availability under pastoral livestock systems in drought-prone Isiolo District, Kenya

Water availability / Water demand / Surface water / Groundwater / Wells / Salinity / Livestock / Grazing / Land use / Water supply / Drainage / GIS / Databases / Cost recovery

Emerging practices and water management under rainfed agriculture in eastern Africa

In Beukes, D.; de Villiers, M.; Mkhize, S.; Sally, H.; van Rensburg, L. (Eds.). Proceedings of the Symposium and Workshop on Water Conservation Technologies for Sustainable Dryland Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa (WCT), held at Bloem Spa Lodge and Conference Centre, Bloemfontein, South Africa, 8-11 April 2003. ARC-Institute for Soil, Climate and Wate

Bright spots on technology-driven change in smallholder irrigation: case studies from Kenya

In Penning de Vries, Frits (Ed.). Bright spots demonstrate community successes in African agriculture. Colombo, Sri Lanka: IWM

Lessons learned from community success: a cause for optimism!

In Penning de Vries, Frits (Ed.). Bright spots demonstrate community successes in African agriculture. Colombo, Sri Lanka: IWM

Changing rainfall patterns and farmers ’ adaptation through soil water management practices in semi- arid eastern Kenya

There is limited documentation of soil and water management technologies that enhance adaptation to climate change in drylands of Kenya. Rainfall patterns were analyzed in the semi-arid Machakos and Makueni counties of eastern Kenya using historical data. A total of forty-three smallholder farmers implementing soil water management practices were sampled, and an estimate of the seasonal water budget for current crop and livestock production systems computed. Analysis of rainfall amounts and distribution shows increasing variability, with the average annual total amounts decreasing over the past 50 years. Furthermore, the number of rainy days within the March-April-May season that can support crop growth is gradually decreasing. These decreases are however not significant at P <0.05. There were more seasons with low rainfall amounts compared to those with high rainfall amounts. All these subject the smallholder crop and livestock production system to limited soil moisture. Farmers address the risk by harnessing and utilizing green (rainfall stored in soil) and blue (rainfall collected into storage tanks) water technologies. The study found that farmers in these semi-arid counties practice fifteen diverse soil and water management interventions on their farms. The most popular practices are cut-off drains, retention ditches, terracing, run-off harvesting, and agroforestry. The estimated seasonal water budget indicates the need for integrated soil and water management interventions to address the crop and livestock production constraints

Assessment of erosion hazard with the USLE and GIS:A case study of the Upper Ewaso Ng'iro North basin of Kenya

The Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) was used to predict soil erosion hazard in the Upper Ewaso Ng'iro North basin of Kenya using data from erosion plots and reconnaissance surveys. The R-factor (rainfall erosivity) was determined by extrapolation from the rainfall amount-erosivity relationship, using data from autographic records. The K-factor (soil erodibility) was determined using data obtained by laboratory analysis of soil samples collected from 83 test sites in the basin. The LS-factors (slope length and steepness) were determined from a digital elevation model (DEM) of the basin, while the C-factor (crop and management) was determined from vegetation cover data, obtained from SPOT imagery and field surveys. The P-factor (conservation practice) was estimated from maps of soil conservation, obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture. A raster-based Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to interactively calculate soil loss and map erosion hazard. The results obtained were comparable to measured soil loss values from erosion plots. About 36 percent of the Upper Ewaso Ng'iro basin was predicted to have high risk of erosion, most of this land being in the overgrazed rangelands. Land use and management were the major factors associated with soil erosion, and - to a lesser extent - the topography. Due to the reconnaissance scale of this study there were limitations in determining reliable LS, C and P factors for the USLE. In addition, there is a need for research to determine appropriate P-factors for local soil conservation practices, such as trash lines, fanya-juu terraces and stone lines