Drip Irrigation - Economises use of water

 

Drip irrigation is enjoying brisk uptake among smallholder farmers keen on economizing water use especially in arid and semi-arid regions, with the technology delivering triple yields compared to the other irrigation methods thanks to its even distribution of water to all crops. The method uses drip kits which come in different sizes depending on the crop's needs. A set of drip kit entails a water tank preferably plastic as it is easy to manouver with during plumbing, a ball valve, filter, supply pipe to the farm and connectors which have openings known as emitters for water outlet around the root of the plant.

The tank, which the primary source of water, is raised at least a meter high in order to give the water gravitational pressure and pump it down the supply pipes. When the valve is opened, the water flows through to the filter in order to only allow pure water to flow to the root of the plant. The supply pipes and connectors are all poly ethylene and are ultra-violet treated to protect them from the impacts of hot sun. A drip kit can last for over 7 years.

The technology was first developed in the USA and Israel for growing crops in dry climates where water is limited. Traditionally In Zimbabwe, the technology has been the preserve of large scale commercial farmers. Since then the adoption has been widespread especially by farmers in arid and semi-arid areas. According to a European Irrigation association report on the technology, drip irrigation use among smallholder farmers increases yields and economic gains by greater proportion compared to conventional methods. The report noted that on the same size of land where a farmer stands to get about 2000kgs of tomatoes when conventional methods of irrigation are usedhe can get over 7000kgs using drip kit technology

The economic use of water by the drip kits has been its selling point compared to other methods of irrigation like sprinkler. “One stand to save a lot of water for instance compared to sprinkler where water is sprinkled all over the land. With drip, the emitters ensure that water drips only at the root of the plant allowing one to use just 1.5litres of water with drip compared to the 10litres when using sprinkler on a plant,” explained Mwangi.

In addition, the method also reduces the cost of labour to a farmer. The use of drip kit lessens work when it comes to weeding especially during the sunny season as you only uproot weeds around the plant roots since that is the point where water drips.