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READ MORE: How drip irrigation systems benefited farmers in the Solomon Islands

READ MORE: Increasing on-farm water productivity through affordable microirrigation vegetable-based technology in Cambodia[/wpcol_1third]

[wpcol_2third_end id=”” class=”” style=””]Simple low-cost drip irrigation is practical and affordable for smallholder farmers. It has been used successfully in India and is becoming more popular in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. It can reduce both water and labor use by as much as 20-50%. Yield of vegetables also can be increased by at least 10%. Our farm trials in Cambodia showed yield increases of 20-50% compared with traditional hand watering. Low pressure irrigation was a key component of the [wpfilebase tag=fileurl id=53 linktext=’African Market Garden’ /]concept jointly developed in West Africa with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).

 

Installing drip irrigation

More Crop Per Drop, a 10-chapter drip irrigation guide, provides basic step-by-step procedures for installing simple drip irrigation systems for different crops, climates, and soils.

More Crop Per Drop: Using Simple Drip Irrigation Systems for Small-scale Vegetable Production, by M. Palada, S. Bhattarai, D.L. Wu, M. Roberts, M. Bhattarai, R. Kimsan, and D. Midmore D. (2011).

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