DESCRIPTION OF IRRIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE WHITE VOLTA SUB-BASIN - Sustainable Irrigation Development in the White Volta Sub-Basin - page 131

Infrastructure and Irrigation Technology (Water abstraction,
transportation and application)
Riverine alluvial dugout irrigation schemes have non-permanent irregularly
shaped depressions of various sizes and depths (3-5m) located in the river
channel (see Figure 5.7a & b). These alluvial dugouts are spaced at least 5m
apart and dotted along the river channel. All these dugouts are temporal
structures which last only in the dry season. They are filled up with silt
during the rainy season such that by the onset of the next dry season all
dugouts are covered. Farmers re-invest in the digging of these dugouts every
irrigation season. The digging of alluvial dugouts is a continuous process
throughout the irrigation season. Farmers employ labour for the digging
which is usually done weekly. A farmer can have as many as five alluvial
dugouts depending on the size and location of his/her farm.
Figure 5.8: a) Water abstraction method b) Water application method for
Riverine alluvial dugouts technology.
Water abstraction is by means of motorised pumps (petrol pumps) and water
hose. The cost of a new pump is about $400. Not all the farmers can afford
such investments and therefore decide to hire it for the season at a cost
ranging from $55 to $100. Also due to the cost of a water hose ($2/m)
farmers either borrow hoses or practise what they term water transfer by
pumping from one dugout to the next until they reach their farm plot. This
practice increases pumping cost.
Farmers direct water within their plots to the crops by means of furrows (see
Figure 5.8b ). The mode of water application is similar to that of the large
reservoir technology where trenches are used to control the irrigation of
crops. The farmer waters the crops by using a shovel to direct the water into
the trenches.