Factors Influencing Zai Pit Technology Adaptation: The Case of Smallholder Farmers in the Upper East Region of Ghana

Abstract

Low soil fertility is a major limitation to rain fed agriculture among smallholder farming in Africa [1]. Nutrient depletion and inadequate water in the soil of most African countries for some time now has transformed originally fertile lands that could yielded between 2t ha-1 and 4t ha-1 of cereal grain, into infertile lands where cereal crops yields less than 1t ha-1 [2]. Insufficient water couple with soil infertility is a major drawback to rain fed agriculture among smallholder farming in Africa [1]. To be able to restore soil to sufficient level of fertility, water harvesting techniques and improved soil fertility management technologies should be promoted among the smallholder framers. The soil fertility interventions include use of mineral fertilizer and organics such as animal manure and green manure among others [3]. The use of these technologies enable farmers to deepen their production and thereby increase economic benefits due to increased yields. Water as identified to be one of the important factors that facilitates plant growth needs to be sustained in the soil to improve plant growth. Soil moisture method farmers can adopt includes, macro and micro catchment technologies and rooftop harvesting technologies. Micro-catchment is a method of collecting runoff rains near the growing plant and replenish the soil moisture which are generally used to grow plants like maize, sorghum, groundnuts and millet. The micro-catchment methods includes zai pit, also known in Niger as Tassa and in Mali as Towalen, which has been identified as one of the successful interventions that improve rainfall capturing and lessen runoff and evaporation, and in a long run improves agricultural productivity [4].