Economics of rainwater harvesting for crop enterprises in semi-arid areas of East Africa

This paper presents an analysis of economics of rainwater harvesting by poor farmers in Tanzania. A questionnaire was used to survey 120 households to obtain information on the performance of their enterprises over 6 years (1998–2003). The information was mainly based on recollection as few farmers kept detailed records. Actual monitoring and measurements of yield and inputs was done in the farmers’ enterprises over 2 years during 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 production seasons. The analysis was done for four categories of rainwater harvesting systems differentiated by the size of catchments from which water is collected and the intensity of concentration and/or storage of the collected rainwater. These categories are: micro-catchments, macro-catchments, macro-catchments linked to road drainage and micro or macro-catchments with a storage pond. Results show that rainwater harvesting for production of paddy rice paid most with returns to labor of more than 12 US$ per person-day invested. These benefits are very high due to the fact that without rainwater harvesting it is not possible to produce paddy in the study area and rainfed sorghum crop realizes a return to labor of only US$ 3.7 per person-day during above-average seasons. For the rainwater harvesting systems, those designed to collect water from macro-catchments linked to road drainage, performed best during both categories of seasons. The results also show that contrary to expectations, improving rainwater harvesting systems by adding a storage pond may not lead to increased productivity. Another finding that goes against the widely held belief is that rainwater harvesting results in more benefits during the above-average seasons compared to below-average seasons. It is therefore, concluded that there is a potential for combining rainwater harvesting with improved drainage of roads. The construction of rural roads in semi-arid areas can beneficially be integrated with efforts to increase water availability for agricultural needs.     

The downstream externalities of harvesting rainwater in semi-arid watersheds: An Indian case study

Water-related investment projects affect downstream water availability, and therefore should account for these externalities. Few projects do, however, owing to lack of awareness, lack of data and difficulty in linking upstream investments to downstream effects. This article assesses the downstream impacts of rainwater harvesting in a semi-arid basin in Southern India, focusing on the trade-offs that arise when crop water use is re-allocated from a downstream surface water irrigation system to groundwater irrigated agriculture upstream. The results indicate that the downstream impacts are considerable and that net benefits are insufficient to pay back investment costs. Further research is required to reduce the uncertainties in the water balance of irrigation systems at basin level, to account for the inter-annual variability of crop water availability and to elaborate the wider welfare effects.     

Economic analysis of rainwater harvesting and irrigation methods, with an example from China

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the economic feasibility of agriculture with rainwater harvesting and supplemental irrigation in a semiarid region. The results show the importance of making full use of every open-air hardened surface to collect rainwater and to establish rainwater catchment areas by utilizing unoccupied land. The results also show that the usefulness of the harvested rainwater is enhanced when water saving and prevent seepage techniques are employed. The results indicate that in order to maximize investment it is essential to select crops with a water requirement process that coincides with local rainfall events. Potato was found to be the most suitable crop in the studied region. The economic indices for potato were superior to spring wheat, corn and wheat/corn intercropping. Therefore, potato production using rainwater harvesting and supplemental irrigation is the best alternative for cropping systems in the semiarid region of Gansu, China.     

Effects of rainfall harvesting and mulching technologies on water use efficiency and crop yield in the semi-arid Loess Plateau, China

In semi-arid areas, crop growth is greatly limited by water. Amount of available water in soil can be increased by surface mulching and other soil management practices. Field experiments were conducted in 2005 and 2006 at Gaolan, Gansu, China, to determine the influence of ridge and furrow rainfall harvesting system (RFRHS), surface mulching and supplementary irrigation (SI) in various combinations on rainwater harvesting, amount of moisture in soil, water use efficiency (WUE), biomass yield of sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolour L.) and seed yield of maize (Zea mays L.). In conventional fields without RFRHS, gravel-sand mulching produced higher biomass yield than plastic-mulching or straw-mulching. In plastic-mulched fields, an increasing amount of supplemental irrigation was needed to improve crop yield. There was no effect of RFRHS without plastic-covered ridge on rainwater harvesting when natural precipitation was less than 5 mm per event. This was due to little runoff of rainwater from frequent low precipitation showers, and most of the harvested rainwater gathered at the soil surface is lost to evaporation. In the RFRHS, crop yield and WUE were higher with plastic-covered ridges than bare ridges, and also higher with gravel-sand-mulched furrows than bare furrows in most cases, or straw-mulched furrows in some cases. This was most likely due to decreased evaporation with plastic or gravel-sand mulch. In the RFRHS with plastic-covered ridges and gravel-sand-mulched furrows, application of 30 mm supplemental irrigation produced the highest yield and WUE for sweet sorghum and maize in most cases. In conclusion, the findings suggested the integrated use of RFRHS, mulching and supplementary irrigation to improve rainwater availability for high sustainable crop yield. However, the high additional costs of supplemental irrigation and construction of RFRHS for rainwater harvesting need to be considered before using these practices on a commercial scale.     

基于水土资源状况的中国粮食安全思考

粮食安全是当前国内外关注的焦点,尤其是近年来国内外粮食供需矛盾日益尖锐。该文基于影响粮食生产的两大刚性约束——水资源和耕地资源,在系统阐述中国农业水土资源状况及其对粮食生产影响的基础上,提出保障中国粮食安全应遵循“寓粮于源、保粮于墒”的基本策略。并以海河流域为例,分析了不同灌溉条件下典型作物需水量、农田需水量的构成,从定量上说明“寓粮于源、保粮于墒”在维持中国粮食生产中的重要性。     

新疆降水资源变化特征分析

新疆降水资源空间差异较大且种植结构迥异,细致分析降水资源的变化规律和分布特征,可为新疆地区合理利用降水资源、调节种植结构、适应气候变化提供科学参考.本文利用新疆41个气象站点1961-2010年逐日降水资料,以1981年为时间节点,将过去50年分为1961-1980年和1981-2010年两个时段,系统分析了研究区小雨、中雨、大雨及暴雨各等级降水量和降水日数在全年降水量和降水日数中的比例,以及降水在一年四季中的分配特征.所得结论可为明确研究区降水资源变化及种植结构和作物布局调整提供参考.     

Impact of upstream changes in rain-fed agriculture on downstream flow in a semi-arid basin

The downstream impacts of increasing water consumption in the upstream rain-fed areas of the Karkheh Basin, Iran are simulated using the semi-distributed SWAT model. Three scenarios are tested at subbasin and basin levels: converting rain-fed areas to irrigation agriculture (S1), improving soil water availability through rainwater harvesting (S2), and a combination of both (S3). The results of these scenarios were compared against the baseline period 1988-2000. The S1 scenario shows a 10% reduction in mean annual flow at the basin level, varying from 8-15% across the subbasins. The reductions in mean monthly flows are in the range of 1-56% at the basin level, with June witnessing the highest flow reduction. Flow reductions are comparatively higher in the upstream parts of the basin, as a result of a relatively higher potential of developing rain-fed areas coupled with comparatively lower amount of available runoff. The impacts of S2 are generally small with reductions of 2-5% and 1-9% in mean annual and mean monthly flows, respectively. The results of S3 are in general similar to those of S1. Although the estimated annual flow reductions remain well within the available water resources development potential, measures needs to be taken to avoid excessive flow reductions in May, June and July. It is recommended that only a limited agricultural area should be converted from rain-fed to irrigated agriculture (about 0.1 million ha), and should practice supplementary irrigation. The supplies should also be augmented through developing additional water storage. Adopting such measures is extremely important for the upper subbasins Gamasiab and Qarasou where comparatively higher flow reductions were estimated.     

Econometric analysis of the determinants of adoption of rainwater harvesting and supplementary irrigation technology (RHSIT) in the semiarid Loess Plateau of China

Using a binary logistic regression model, this paper evaluates the determinants of farmers’ decisions to adopt rainwater harvesting and supplementary irrigation technology (RHSIT) and its elasticity of adoption in the rain-fed farming systems, based on a survey of 218 farmers in the semiarid areas of Loess Plateau in 2005. The results indicate that 12 variables are significant in explaining farmers’ adoption decisions. Farmers’ educational background, active labor force size, contact with extension, participation in the Grain-for-Green project, and positive attitudes towards RHSIT are some of the variables that have significantly positive effects on adoption of RHSIT, while farmer's age and distance from water storage tanks to farmers’ dwellings have significantly negative correlation with adoption. The probability of adoption also increases with increased targeting of institutional variables: credit obtained, assistance obtained, and technical training received. Farmers in villages that have more erosion problems are more likely to adopt RHSIT. Besides, the model indicates that a 1 unit increase in the diversity of irrigated crops grown by a household, especially high-value crops, results in a 6.98 times increase in the probability of RHSIT adoption. Variables such as family size, off-farm activity, level of family income, risk preference, and land tenure do not significantly influence adoption. This information will help prioritize the factors that affect adoption decisions and provide insight on pathways to increase the adoption of RHSIT.     

土地资源保护进行国际合作

文章通过对一般环境国际保护的探讨,提出土地资源在加强国际合作保护方面的特殊性,主要是处理好土地资源环境保护与国家主权之间的统一,但出于对人类整体利益的考虑,土地资源还是要加强国际合作保护.     

Review and quantitative assessment of ex situ household rainwater harvesting systems in Ethiopia

Ex situ household rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems have been introduced at a large scale in Ethiopia to increase the water availability for smallholders through supplementary irrigation. The first objective of this paper is to review the performance of these systems in Ethiopia based on various assessment studies. The second objective is to provide quantitative biophysical and socio-economic analyses of ex situ household RWH systems contributing to the better understanding of their performance and the identification of options to improve their performance. Uptake of RWH systems by smallholders in Ethiopia is limited and the available information suggests that this is associated among others with poor planning and implementation, poorly functioning input and output markets and the lack of farmers’ skills to use these systems effectively. Our quantitative meta-analyses illustrate that water availability of three studied RWH systems is low in relation to crop water needs, particularly for maize. The variation in area that can be irrigated across years exposes users of RWH systems to considerable risks as the availability of irrigation water depends on prevailing rainfall conditions. The area that can be irrigated varies greatly depending on amount and distribution of rainfall, type of RWH system and crop type. The economics of onion (cash crop) are promising only for plastic lined RWH systems, but those for maize are unfavourable independent of the studied RWH systems. Associated labour requirements especially for water lifting and application are high and possibly constraining the sustainable use of RWH systems. The potential of ex situ household RWH systems to increase agricultural production and income is site-specific depending on biophysical, institutional and socio-economic conditions, and depends on household-specific conditions.     

Risk analysis and economic viability of water harvesting for supplemental irrigation in semi-arid Burkina Faso and Kenya

Food insecurity affects a large portion of the population in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). To meet future food requirements current rainfed farming systems need to upgrade yield output. One way is to improve water and fertiliser management in crop production. But adaptation among farmers will depend on perceived risk reduction of harvest failure as well as economic benefit for the household. Here, we present risk analysis and economical benefit estimates of a water harvesting (WH) system for supplemental irrigation (SI). Focus of the analysis is on reducing investment risk to improve self-sufficiency in staple food production. The analysis is based on data from two on-farm experimental sites with SI for cereals in currently practised smallholder farming system in semi-arid Burkina Faso and Kenya, respectively. The WH system enables for both SI of staple crop (sorghum and maize) and a fully irrigated off-season cash crop (tomatoes). Different investment scenarios are presented in a matrix of four reservoir sealants combined with three labour opportunity costs. It is shown that the WH system is labour intensive but risk-reducing investment at the two locations. The current cultivation practices do not attain food self-sufficiency in farm households. WH with SI resulted in a net profit of 151–626 USD year⁻¹ ha⁻¹ for the Burkina case and 109–477 USD year⁻¹ ha⁻¹ for the Kenya case depending on labour opportunity cost, compared to −83 to 15 USD year⁻¹ ha⁻¹ for the Burkina case and 40–130 USD year⁻¹ ha⁻¹ for the Kenyan case for current farming practices. Opportunity cost represents 0–66% of the investment cost in an SI system depending on type of sealant. The most economical strategy under local labour conditions was obtained using thin plastic sheeting as reservoir sealant. This resulted in a net profit of 390 and 73 USD year⁻¹ ha⁻¹ for the Burkina Faso and Kenyan respective site after household consumption was deducted. The analysis suggests a strong mutual dependence between investment in WH for SI and input of fertiliser. The WH system is only economically viable if combined with improved soil fertility management, but the investment in fertiliser inputs may only be viable in the long term when combined with SI.     

Development of a land quality index for sorghum in Indian semi-arid tropics (SAT)

The present study demonstrates the development of crop specific land quality index (LQI) for sorghum [sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] under semiarid tropics of India. The method developed as LQI is a function of climatic quality index (CQI) and soil quality index (SQI). The CQI defined as growth index was derived from the compound product of water satisfaction index and radiation index. The SQI was developed as multiple attributes of soil properties related to sorghum suitable soil quality such as soil depth, available water capacity (AWC), drainage and slope. The LQI was correlated with the actual sorghum yield obtained from benchmarks soils and it was found that LQI bears good agreement with the yield. From the yield correlation, the LQI class has been fixed as LQI value <1.0 rated as high, 1–1.5 as moderate and >1.5 as low corresponding to the maximum attainable yield of >50%, 40–50% and less than <40%, respectively. The study also indicated that CQI value of <0.25 and SQI value of <5 correspond to good sorghum growing area. Finally, the isoline maps of CQI and SQI maps were superimposed through TYDAC-SPAN-GIS system to arrive at LQI class map. The map indicates that out of a total area under sorghum (11.7 m ha), 43% falls under high LQI class, and 38% under moderate, and 19% under low LQI class. The moderate and low LQI areas need proper rehabilitation measures for increasing sorghum yield. The LQI developed may help in planning and management of soils not only under Indian SAT but also in areas of similar soil and climatic conditions occurring elsewhere.     

国土资源信息化对土地可持续发展利用的作用

国土资源信息是国民经济信息中不可或缺的、重要的土地信息资源,在国家经济和社会发展中具有重要的公益性、战略性和基础性作用。文章就加强国土资源信息化建设的必要性进行了分析,并提出了具体的发展措施,以促进土地管理科学化进程,提高土地可持续发展利用。     

Managing natural resources of watersheds in the semi-arid tropics for improved soil and water quality: A review

Soil, water and production systems constitute the most important natural resources of a watershed in the rainfed agro-ecosystem; and for sustainability of the production systems they need to be in harmony with the environment. To learn from the past research, a review is made of literature on the impact of natural resource management practices on soil and water quality in the semi-arid tropical regions of India. The results from long-term on station field experiments show that an integrated use of soil and water conservation practices with balanced plant nutrition can not only sustain increased productivity but also maintain soil quality at the watershed or catchment level. Natural resource management practices that conserve soil and water also help to maintain surface and groundwater quality. The changes in soil and water quality, as impacted by natural resource management practices, need to be monitored and assessed on a continuing basis as the outcome of such research offers valuable opportunity for the implementation of corrective management practices, as and when needed.     

Potential risk of calcium carbonate precipitation in agricultural drain envelopes in arid and semi-arid areas

Soil particle deposition and/or chemical precipitation can reduce the permeability of drain envelopes and filters. The first step in recognizing clogging phenomena is the identification of the nature of the precipitating materials. Calcium carbonate is a substance of low solubility that precipitates rapidly, forming a hard pan layer in the soil and/or clogging drain envelopes. The main objective of the present study is to investigate the precipitation risk of calcium carbonate in agricultural drain envelopes in the Khuzestan province of Iran. In this study, three indicators namely Ryznar, Langelier and Stiff-Davis indices were employed to assess the precipitation risk of calcium carbonate in agricultural drainage water. Results showed that all agricultural drainage systems in the study area give evidence of a potential risk of calcium carbonate precipitation, but the severity of the problem is different. The results also showed that the Ryznar and Stiff-Davis indices provide a better estimation of the potential precipitation risk of calcium carbonate than the Langelier index. Analyses of soil samples and drain envelopes from a drainage system, installed in the Abadan palm grove, showed that the main chemical component was calcium carbonate.     

The efficient use of labour,land and energy in agriculture

Fossil energy-using agricultural systems may be defined as systems transferring tradeable energy resources in tradeable agricultural products by means of untradeable labour and untradeable land. The substitution of tradeable energy and untradeable labour is considered and it is shown that the energy efficiency of agricultural production systems increases with increasing control of production and increasing yields.The main conclusion is that agriculture may contribute to a more sensible use of energy by developing in a direction where as high yields as possible per hectare are obtained from as small an area as possible.     

北京市设施农业装备发展现状研究

设施装备的发展与应用对设施农业发展和现代农业建设具有重要意义.本文阐述了北京市设施农业装备的发展现状,分析了影响设施农业装备发展的原因,提出了促进设施农业装备发展的政策建议.     

新一轮国土资源大调查价格体系探讨

文章以新一轮国土资源大调查项目管理的需要为出发点,对建立新价格体系的作用和意义、新价格体系的基本框架进行了探讨,并提出了对建立新价格体系的基本思路、方法和步骤的认识。     

我国山药机械化收获技术研究进展

我国山药种植历史悠久,种植范围广泛,因受其自身生长特点、地理环境和种植模式的影响,山药收获机械化程度较低,大多采用人工收获。随着产业结构的发展,山药收获机械化的发展程度直接影响农户的经济效益。分析我国几种山药的种植特点,概述我国山药收获的主要方式,阐述行走系统、传动系统、开沟系统、土壤翻振机构、定位系统等山药主要收获装备和技术的研究现状和进展,简单论述国外山药收获机的研究,在此基础上指出我国山药收获机械化面临农机与种植环境融合不够、种植模式不统一、收获机具质量差、缺乏核心技术创新、收获功能不完善等问题,并对山药机械化收获装备面临的问题提出相关建议：因地制宜研制山药机械化收获设备、推进种植规程建设、学习借鉴发达的国家发展经验、提高核心部件的创新能力、研制联合收获机。