Q&A of webinar - RWH and food security cases from Burkina Faso and Honduras
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RWH and food security cases from Burkina Faso and Honduras |
Please find below the answers from IDE Burkina Faso to the questions posed during the webinar of the 23rd of September (in English only):
- R | |
Dear R, As someone who doesn't, for technology reasons, participate in webinars, your reply to the questions was very helpful. RWH for kitchen gardens (you cite a 50 m2 garden) was a hot issue in inland S Africa, which also has an annual rainfall around 700mm. However the storage structures used there were too expensive to be adopted without lots of government subsidy and the drip strategy wasn't followed. 4mm a day for drip irrigation is an (economically) attractive figure and it may go even lower during germination or during periods of 'rescue' irrigation following interruptions early in the wet season. However using RWH to supplement a weak wet season is more difficult to manage than getting a second small crop (in the dry season) which I suppose is your main focus. Your 90 day 'crop cycle' sounds like a grain, but I guess a small (1/20 ha) plot is more likely to be used for vegetables. To cover or not to cover (the tank)? Covers are expensive and slightly tricky. In NE Brazil and also I think in Somalia, the use of fairly deep and linear tank pits significantly reduces evaporation without having a cover - especially in seasons where the sun isn't straight overhead and where some shading or wind-screening is feasible. With a membrane lining (e.g. tarpaulin), all the water's pressure can be transferred to the earth walls of the pit. However the lining might float up if the water table rises ahead of the tank filling. Pits, where feasible can also accept partially filtered ground runoff. They might however present a drowning hazard to small children and unless on a steep slope will need a rope-and-bucket or other means of extracting the water (your experience?) Treating the surface with thin oil (to suffocate mosquito larvae) is cheaper than having a light-sealed cover. Does oil also inhibit growth of algae or spirogyra (weed) or does it feed them? Cheers - T | ||
Please find below also the answers from IDE Honduras to the questions posed during the webinar of the 23rd of September (in English only):
- R |