Rainwater Management for Improved Water-use Efficiency, Productivity and Conservation at Farm Level

With experience gathered since the inception of the Southern and Eastern Africa Rainwater Network (SearNet) in rainwater harvesting, the Water Management Unit at ICRAF is emphasizing on greenwater fluxes. This is motivated by the keen interest in addressing pertinent research questions that would contribute to the development of principles, methods and practices for improved agroforestry production.

 The deliverables envisaged by the Unit in respect to the maximization of on-farm productivity of trees and agroforestry systems thus includes development of the following: strategies for improved water-use efficiency, productivity and conservation at farm level; appropriate approaches and formulation of tools for the realization of rainwater harvesting potential; water management options and guidelines for the production of high value trees; and generation, cross fertilization and sharing of knowledge  with key agroforestry stakeholders.

The platform for addressing these key deliverables in the Eastern Africa region includes the scaling up project sites, where on-farm research is conducted to bridge the R&D gap; consultative engagements with the policy makers in governments and external support agencies and desk studies/literature reviews.