Community Water Harvesting Structures Benefit 3,200 Farming Households

Community water harvesting structures completed under a NASFAM infrastructure programme are now benefiting approximately 3,200 farming households across five district associations in the Southern Region. The structures — including small-scale earth dams, rock catchments, and sand dams — have created reliable dry-season water access in areas where agricultural production was previously limited to a single rain-fed season.

The availability of water during the dry season has opened new income opportunities for participating communities. Organised farmer groups have established irrigated vegetable gardens around the water points, producing tomatoes, leafy vegetables, and onions for local and district markets. In the first dry season of operation, participating households reported meaningful supplementary income from vegetable sales, reducing food insecurity during what had previously been the most economically difficult period of the year.

Beyond vegetable production, the structures are improving water availability for livestock, reducing distances women and children travel to collect water for household use, and in some areas supporting small-scale fish rearing in earthen ponds. The multiplier effects of improved water access across food, nutrition, income, and time-use dimensions have made this infrastructure among the most impactful investments in the programme portfolio.

NASFAM plans to share the water harvesting model documentation with other district associations and development partners as a replicable approach to small-scale agricultural water infrastructure that can be implemented, operated, and maintained entirely by community groups without dependence on external technical support.