Posted on March, 6, 2019 at 08:59 am
By MUSEMBI NZENGU
A new technology adopted by a Kitui-based university is turning dry areas green.
The South Eastern Kenya University (Seku) in Kwavonza harvests dew to support farming. Residents believe the technology will unlock their agricultural potential.
Seku uses Groasis Waterboxes for planting. The technology condenses atmospheric moisture into water.
Its School of Environment, Water and Natural Resources is conducting trials in Kitui, Makueni, Kajiado and Turkana counties. It seeks to boost crop production and food security in arid and semi-arid areas.
A once dry area is now blooming. Visitors are awed by flourishing pawpaw plants at Kathongo village in Mbooni West, Makueni. It’s a success story, despite the area’s harsh weather.
“The pawpaw plants have reached a stage they cannot dry up. Sooner or later, my family will not need to go to the market to buy pawpaws, as we will have them in plenty. We’ll sell the surplus for income,” farmer Kaloki Mutwota said yesterday.
turnaround
In the past, his plants would wither because of unreliable rainfall. The Groasis Waterbox has ensured a turnaround.
“None of the pawpaws planted using the Groasis Waterbox dried or wilted. They all survived. It is like a miracle,” Mutwota said.
The region suffers perennial water shortage. It has erratic and inadequate rainfall.
For years, farmers have been demoralised. They toil, only to get minimal returns or nothing at all. Their crops wither when rains fail.
Under the tutelage of Dr Moses Mwangi, Peter Ekatorot, a student of Hydrology and Water Resources Management, last year set up trial sites in Makueni and Turkana counties to determine the technology’s viability.
The troubling situation could soon end if more farmers adopted the new farming method. Seku has been training residents on how to improvise and use locally available materials to make the Groasis Waterbox.
The box has a bucket with a lid and a vertical tunnel in the middle for two plants. The bucket stores water.
A wick at the bottom allows water from the box to trickle into the ground to water roots.
The lid has gutter-like rows that collect dew, which, after condensation, is directed to the box for storage.
“There is always water in the sky. It falls in form of dew at night. It can be harvested either to grow crops or for household use. Even in the driest of times, there is always water in the atmosphere that can be harvested to grow crops,” Mwangi said in a recent interview.
Mwangi heads the School of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. He said the technology works in many soil types and even in rocky areas.
Ekatorot said a waterbox collects 50ml of water in eight hours. This meets the optimum requirement for a plant in a day.
“A wick at the bottom of the reservoir transmits the water from the box to the plant in drops, as it would happen with drip irrigation.”
Source: The Star