Sustainable Water Management in Smallholder Farming


Book Description

Water is critical to all human activities, but access to this crucial resource is increasingly limited by competition and the effects of climate change. In agriculture, water management is key to ensuring good and sustained crop yields, maintaining soil health, and safeguarding the long-term viability of the land. Water management is especially challenging on smallholder farms in resource-poor areas, which tend to be primarily rainfed and thus highly dependent on unreliable rainfall patterns. Sustainable practices can help farmers promote the development of soils, plants and field surfaces to allow maximum retention of water between rains, and encourage the efficient use of each drop of water applied as irrigation. Especially useful for farmers' groups, agricultural extension workers, NGOs, students and researchers working with farmers in dryland areas, this comprehensive yet concise book is a practical and accessible resource for anyone interested in sustainable water management.













Water for Any Farm


Book Description

Written as a companion to the bestseller, Restoration Agriculture, this book will help farmers capture water in areas they want to, and avoid having water flow immediately to the low point. The result? Less water expense, healthier crops and livestock, and less erosion ... just to name a few. What you will read in this book is a distillation of over 25 years of on-the-ground experience working with and modifying the Yeomans' Keyline Plan. From the back yard suburbs to 10,000-acre ranches and everywhere in between, from permafrost mountainsides just shy of the Arctic Circle, to equatorial boulder fields of East Africa, areas with 300 inches of rain per year to those with less than 3 inches, I have personally installed systems based on the Keyline design methodology and its modified forms.What you will read in this book is tried and true. It is intended to give a sufficient background to any landowner so that they can optimize their water resource for higher site productivity, have greater drought resistance and just as importantly, to know deep in their heart that they have made even one little piece of earth a little more life-filled, livable and green.




Water Management on Small Farms


Book Description

Crop water requirements; land grading for water control; irrigation methods; water quality and crop production; farm drainage; water measurement and distribution systems; watercourse management; water supply for irrigation.







Agricultural Water Management


Book Description

Agricultural Water Management Is Not A Goal In Itself But Part Of A Process Of Resource Management That Provides A Key Input To Agricultural Production And Farmer Incomes. It Includes Irrigation And Drainage, Water Management In Rainfed Agriculture, Recycled Water Reuse, Water And Land Conservation, And Watershed Management. It Covers All Irrigated Agriculture, Whether Fed By Surface Water Or Groundwater, Including Both Public Schemes And Millions Of Private Individually Irrigated Farms, In A Wide Range Of Agro-Climatic Conditions, And In A Broad Set Of Production Systems And Water Management Contexts. This Book Highlights The Importance Of Agricultural Water Management And Describes The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Conventional And Innovative Systems For The Treatment And Disposal Of Agricultural Water. It Would Be A Useful Reference Tool For Policy Makers, Project Managers, Development Organisations, Researchers And Other Interest Groups Working For Effective Agricultural Water Management. Contents Chapter 1: Potentials Of Water In Agriculture; Chapter 2: On Farm Water Management; Chapter 3: Water Table Management; Chapter 4: Drainage Water Assessment; Chapter 5: Agricultural Water Reuse; Chapter 6: Capacity Assessment In Agricultural Water Management; Chapter 7: Drainage Water Management; Chapter 8: Economic Evaluation Of Agricultural Water Resources.