Irrigation Methods Used Farmers In Kenya
Irrigation in Kenya is being used as one of the ways that can
be used to enhance farming and boost agricultural productivity
in the country. Several methods are used by Kenyan farmers to
practice irrigation and the following are some of the major
ways used to carry out irrigation.
Surface irrigation method
It includes water being pumped from a certain source of river
into the area to be irrigated. The three common surface
methods used in Kenya are flood irrigation where water will
enter the land uncontrollably and does not need any minimum
amount of land to be invented. The border irrigation includes
water entering the irrigation place as one controlled sheet of
water that leads to less amounts of water being lost. Furrow
irrigation includes water being directed to shallow channels
that can be constructed using the ordinary farm machinery.
Sub-surface
Water is eventually directed to the various subsoil in the
places that are supposed to be irrigated. Ground water table is
controlled by the amount of water being pumped into the
place. It is reported to be the least commonly used method of
irrigation found in many countries. Water seeps slowly into the
subsoil to give maximum time for it to moisten the roots of
crops.
Sprinkler irrigation
Water is applied to the areas for irrigation informs that mimics
the action of rain. This is achieved through distributing the
available water through pipelines under the pressure to the
various types sprinkler that spray the water from above and
into the crops and land. The devices can be fixed, portable and
can also be mobile depending on the preference of the farmer.
Drip irrigation method
Water is applied to each plant through one or more emitters.
Areas with high temperatures are more suitable for this type of
irrigation and that having limited resources of water.Accurate
application of water without loss is ensured by the system and
hence care needs to be done to ensure that the correct
procedures is often adapted.
