14. Coping with Climate Change Through Water Harvesting Techniques for Sustainable Agriculture in Rwanda

It is believed that Climate change is no longer an issue but an undisputable reality for the distant future. Climate change is already taking place, and its impacts are being felt particularly in South Asian countries, mostly affecting the poorest people. Developing countries are particularly vulnerable because their economies are closely linked to agriculture, and a large proportion of their populations depend directly on agriculture and natural ecosystems for their livelihoods. Thus, climate change has the potential to act as a ‘risk multiplier’ in some of the poorest parts of the world, where agricultural and other natural resource-based systems are already failing to keep pace with the demands on them. The availability of and access to freshwater is an important determinant of patterns of economic growth and social development. This is particularly the case in Africa where most people live in rural areas and are still heavily dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods. It is, therefore, essential for sustaining all forms of life, food production, economic development, and for general well being. It is impossible to substitute for most of its uses, difficult to de-pollute, expensive to transport, and it is truly a unique gift to mankind from nature. The prevailing water crisis demands an adequate and appropriate water resources management. It is time to abandon the obsolete divide between irrigated and rainfed agriculture. In the new policy approach rainfall will be acknowledged as the key freshwater resource, and all water resources, green and blue, will be explored for livelihood options at the appropriate scale for local communities. Therefore, water conservation/harvesting would be the most appropriate option to utilize the rainwater for optimum productivity. The paper emphasizes present scenario of water resources, water crisis and the immediate need for the adoption of water harvesting through appropriate soil and water conservation techniques to face the challenges posed by climate change on agricultural production systems.