Improving the water use efficiency of legume cropping systems in Eastern and Southern Africa

Decreasing freshwater availability is a limiting factor for food production because of the effects of climate change. The growing global population and intensifying competition for water resources to support agriculture, industry, domestic use, and biodiversity exacerbate this challenge. A growing number of farmers are using water harvesting technologies in response to climate change effects to meet their crop water demands. Globally, few studies have been conducted to determine what water-harvesting technologies farmers use, existing opportunities, and challenges for scaling. In this study, a systematic review was conducted to analyse the water harvesting technologies available to farmers worldwide, including the opportunities, barriers, and knowledge gaps that exist to scale these technologies. Following the exclusion of other studies based on the study criteria, 69 studies were identified for review from the three databases. This study shows that, in Sub-Saharan Africa, relatively few studies have been conducted to document water-harvesting technologies. A disproportionate number of studies are being conducted in sub-Saharan Africa compared to other regions. The study found that several factors, including economics, the environment, and energy costs, limit the development of water harvesting technologies worldwide. Opportunities to scale water-harvesting technologies have the potential to increase crop yields.

Publisher

University of Galway

Rights

CC BY-NC-ND

cbn

Collections

University of Galway Theses (Research Masters Theses)