KAWA MULTIMEDIA PUBLICATIONS
Large scale irrigation
When an area is too dry to meet the required plant needs, irrigation becomes necessary. All the soils are capable of producing crops given the required water. Many African countries with the interior becoming self reliant in terms of food resorted to irrigation. Irrigation has turned such areas into densely populated regions and has guaranteed high living standards. It has led to the development in otherwise marginal areas.
If a wide range of crops are to be grown in arid lands throughout the year, some techniques of water management have to be put in place. Perhaps the most important of such techniques is irrigation. Irrigation can be defined as the artificial supply of water to arid and semi-arid land where rain fed cultivation cannot be carried out throughout the year. In such areas the natural precipitation is not enough to meet the moisture requirements of crops and this makes artificial means of water supply indispensably necessary.
Irrigation is practiced, both in the developed and developing countries as well as in commercial and subsistence economies.
The amount of additional water needed on the farm differs from region to region depending on the type of crop being grown, type of soil, temperature and humidity. The physical conditions in the neighbouring lands is another determinant. By common consent, irrigation is one of the oldest techniques used by farmers- For instance, the Egyptians have been irrigating their farmlands since the times of the pharaohs.
What is important, however, is the way irrigation methods and skills keep on changing from place to place and from lime to time. Such methods range from simple canals and shaduf to modern computer-controlled devices used in highly capitalised intensive commercial agriculture.
Irrigation involves the transfer of regular amounts of water to areas which are deficient in rainfall. This water can be transferred from a river , a lake or underground water.
Irrigation is necessary in areas affected by seasonal lack of rainfall, unreliable rainfall and little or no rainfall . These are regions with inadequate rainfall. They also support a substantial number of people who had food as well as pasture for their animals.
Regular supply of water is needed to ease people’s lives as well as to promote development. A number of major irrigation schemes have been planned and completed with an aim of making full use of the water resource of the continent, examples of irrigation schemes in Africa include: Richard toll scheme in Senegal, Gezira irrigation scheme in Sudan, Awash valley project in Ethiopia, Accra irrigation scheme, Orange irrigation scheme.
Irrigation is also carried out in areas of dense population with an aim of increasing food production to meet the needs of the people. It is also carried out where intensive farming is necessary and where crops grown require excess water.
Six main factors must be considered before irrigation can take place. Source of the water; methods of irrigation to be employed; nature of land especially gentle slope; nature of the soil; large capital base; technical know how and extensive land for irrigation.
What is irrigation? Irrigation farming refers to a process whereby water is constantly or occasionally applied to the growing crops.
If a wide range of crops are to be grown in arid lands throughout the year, some techniques of water management have to be put in place. Perhaps the most important of such techniques is irrigation. Irrigation can be defined as the artificial supply of water to arid and semi-arid land where rain fed cultivation cannot be carried out throughout the year. In such areas the natural precipitation is not enough to meet the moisture requirements of crops and this makes artificial means of water supply indispensably necessary.
Irrigation is practiced, both in the developed and developing countries as well as in commercial and subsistence economies.
The amount of additional water needed on the farm differs from region to region depending on the type of crop being grown, type of soil, temperature and humidity. The physical conditions in the neighbouring lands is another determinant. By common consent, irrigation is one of the oldest techniques used by farmers- For instance, the Egyptians have been irrigating their farmlands since the times of the pharaohs.
What is important, however, is the way irrigation methods and skills keep on changing from place to place and from lime to time. Such methods range from simple canals and shaduf to modern computer-controlled devices used in highly capitalised intensive commercial agriculture.
Irrigation involves the transfer of regular amounts of water to areas which are deficient in rainfall. This water can be transferred from a river , a lake or underground water.
Irrigation is necessary in areas affected by seasonal lack of rainfall, unreliable rainfall and little or no rainfall . These are regions with inadequate rainfall. They also support a substantial number of people who had food as well as pasture for their animals.
Regular supply of water is needed to ease people’s lives as well as to promote development. A number of major irrigation schemes have been planned and completed with an aim of making full use of the water resource of the continent, examples of irrigation schemes in Africa include: Richard toll scheme in Senegal, Gezira irrigation scheme in Sudan, Awash valley project in Ethiopia, Accra irrigation scheme, Orange irrigation scheme.
Irrigation is also carried out in areas of dense population with an aim of increasing food production to meet the needs of the people. It is also carried out where intensive farming is necessary and where crops grown require excess water.
Six main factors must be considered before irrigation can take place. Source of the water; methods of irrigation to be employed; nature of land especially gentle slope; nature of the soil; large capital base; technical know how and extensive land for irrigation.
What is irrigation? Irrigation farming refers to a process whereby water is constantly or occasionally applied to the growing crops.