Harvesting of rainwater and brooklets water to increase mountain agricultural productivity: A case study from a dry valley of southwestern China

Yang Wu, Ya Tang and Chengmin Huang

Natural Resources Forum, 2009, vol. 33, issue 1, 39-48

Abstract: In semi‐arid valleys of southwestern China, seasonal shortage of water is the major contributing factor to low and unstable crop yield. Harvesting of both rainwater and brooklets water in the semi‐arid valleys of Ningnan county of Sichuan Province has brought about considerable economic and environmental change. Brooklet water is collected throughout the year but mainly during the rainy season in a series of ponds while rainwater is harvested in underground tanks constructed on road side or land boundaries with only a small opening above ground to save limited cropland. Increased water availability has promoted cultivation of sugarcane, tobacco, and mulberry, and increased per unit area yield of food crops. Sericulture, sugarcane and tobacco have become three important sources of farmers’ income. The water harvesting has contributed considerably to increased rural income, poverty reduction, reduced soil erosion and improvement in overall environment. Government has played a key role in planning and implementation of water harvesting programmes. Financial support of government and clear ownership of water harvesting facilities are critical for the success of the programme. Application of similar water harvesting techniques in other areas with similar biophysical conditions would contribute to enhancing the rural economy and alleviating poverty.

Date: 2009
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1477-8947.2009.01207.x

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:natres:v:33:y:2009:i:1:p:39-48

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Natural Resources Forum from Blackwell Publishing
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().