This archive report was first published on 26 July 2019.
Art of Water Harvesting to Farm All-Year-Round ¶
As the rains become scarce, turning once arable lands into semi-arid areas, it is time for farmers to intensify water harvesting activities to farm without hitches. With several technologies available to help harvest water from rains and rivers, and use it to farm during rainy days, farmers can ensure a steady supply of water for their crops.
One such technology is the subsurface dam, which is built of soil in dry riverbeds. This type of dam is the most reliable and low-cost water reservoir that can be built with little expert knowledge. Water trapped in the resulting dams lasts long because it cannot evaporate.
Another technology is harvesting rainwater from rooftops, which is an easy way to tap water for farming. The aim is to get the water before it flows to riverbeds. One sets up a gutter system and tanks to store the harvested water.
Harvesting water from roads is also a viable option. Roads are a major source of surface runoff when it rains, and this water sometimes ends up destroying roads. By creating shallow channels to offload the runoff into terraces installed in farmlands, farmers can channel the water to reservoirs and farmlands.
Other technologies include sand dams, which are concrete structures installed across a riverbed to check the downward flow of sand, and farm ponds, which are shallow bowl-shaped water reservoirs sunk at homesteads and farms to collect surface runoff.
Additionally, rock catchment water sources can be used to tap water that is used at homes and at a secondary school. These are installed on the rock surface to funnel the water to a tank installed on the lower side.
Lastly, shallow wells can be sunk in places with a shallow groundwater table. These wells are sunk until the water table is reached and extracted using a pulley system.
