TITLE:
Impact Assessment of Hillside Rainwater Harvesting Ponds on Agriculture Income: Case Study of Ntarama Sector in Rwanda
AUTHORS:
Omar Munyaneza, Félicien Majoro, Emmanuel Hagenimana, Wilbert Usabyisa
KEYWORDS:
Farm Income, Impact Assessment, Rainwater Harvesting Ponds and Technology, Rwanda
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Water Resource and Protection,
Vol.8 No.9,
August
11,
2016
ABSTRACT: Nowadays, rainwater
harvesting (RWH) technology is increasingly adopted as a strategic pathway for
reducing poverty in rural drought prone areas for enhancing agricultural
productivity and boosting farm income. The aim of this study is to assess the
level of adoption and the impacts of RWH ponds on farm income in Ntarama sector
of Bugesera District in Eastern Province of Rwanda. Fifteen farm ponds were
visited and the level at which households adopted RWH ponds, their impact on
farm income and performance in storing water were assessed. Interviews and
questionnaires methods were used to farm ponds beneficiaries and the storage
capacity of farm ponds was calculated to ensure that they meet irrigation water
demand. Then, Microsoft excel was used as a data analysis tool. The results
show that 42.5% of households have adopted RWH ponds and the adoption level of
RWH ponds fails due to the lack of training about the role and use of RWH ponds
before their implementation. Beside this the low level of public involvement
during the site selection for ponds associated with social conflicts among
water users was observed. However, it is further revealed that the use of RWH ponds
positively impacts on agricultural income on 1/4 hectare per year by about
2,325,000 RWF (3100USD). The studied portion of area can bear 222 ponds of 120
m3 each if all the rain is harvested throughout the year instead of
being three ponds. Furthermore, we found that the quantity of rainwater
harvested of 328.5 m3 as a total of the 3 ponds was still too less
to meet irrigation water demand. As negative impacts, the RWH technology can
cause dangerous effects such as social conflicts, breeding site for mosquitoes,
water related diseases, accidents and others with a level of severity of 32%,
24%, 20%, 16% and 8%, respectively. This happens when the RWH ponds are not
properly managed.