Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
almost all farm plots are contiguous. Neighbouring irrigators therefore
complement each other in preventing livestock from destroying each other's
crops.
In order to access groundwater with less efforts almost all temporal shallow
well farms are located in areas with high groundwater tables, mostly close to
a stream. The soil condition in these areas is characterised by loamy clays
with rich alluvial deposits and rich in nutrients for vegetable cultivation. In
the rainy season such areas are usually flooded and are used for cultivating
rice. The irrigation sites are characterised by heaps of soil which are the
result of digging the wells, and which will be used to refill the wells at the
end of the season.
Management
The management of temporal shallow well irrigation schemes is similar to
that of the riverine alluvial dugouts. Some temporal shallow well farmers are
members of irrigation groups formed by the riverine alluvial dugouts farmers.
Some of these temporal shallow well farmers are able to ‚graduate‛ from
temporal shallow well technology to riverine alluvial dugout technology after
some years (from the farmers' perspective, the alluvial dugout technology is
more productive). However, the majority of the temporal shallow well
farmers are individuals who manage their farming activities on their own.
The participation of women in this technology is between 10% and 15%. The
men are mostly found supporting the women with the labour intensive
activities such as digging.
5.3.6
Riverine Alluvial Dugout Irrigation
Technology
Historical Background and Development
The prospects of dry season irrigation farming in the sub-basin coupled with
the lack of adequate surface water resource is the driving force behind the
development of alluvial dugouts. The main difference between Riverine
Alluvial Dugouts and the Dugouts mentioned previously is that, while
dugouts are located in the flood plains of the river or stream and fed by
surface water source, riverine alluvial dugouts are located in the river
channel and fed by underground water. Riverine Alluvial dugouts are
practised mainly in non-perennial streams in the sub-basin. Also whereas
dugouts are developed using earth moving equipment such as bulldozers,
riverine alluvial dugouts are developed manually.
Search WWH ::
Custom Search