8 CONDITIONS THAT MADE MWEA SUITABLE FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF IRRIGATION SCHEME




The following conditions that made Mwea suitable for the establishment of an irrigation scheme

  • Sparse population making it easy and cheap to resettle people. sparse and low population made it easy to compensate the people who were living in the area.
  • Land availability due to low population
  • Gently sloping topography enabling gravity flow of water
  • Presence of perennial rivers Thiba and Nyarnindi provided adequate water all year.
  • The Mwea plains have black cotton soil suitable for rice farming as it retains water.
  • The area receives inadequate (poorly distributed) rainfall, hence unsuitable for rainfed agriculture.




  • The land is gently sloping hence gravity flow of water in the channels.
  • The area has high temperatures hence low pest and disease incidence.
  • The undulating relief is suitable for mechanization.
  • Need to engage political detainees 1950’s.
  • To create land to settle those whose lands were taken by white settlers.
  • The plains were sparsely populated.
The following conditions that made Mwea suitable for the establishment of an irrigation scheme

8 NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF ROTTERDAM PORT IN NETHERLANDS




A port is an area at the coast handling imports, exports, passengers connecting the interior the coast and other countries.

Rotterdam’s port is found in the Netherlands. Holland at the North Sea and mouth of R. Rhine. It is called Euro port because it’s used in the month it is used by European countries in the Rhine lands like Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg.

It is called an eater port because of handling many ports and it serves the most productive industrialized and developed areas of Western Europe. It was constructed by Holland with assistance from other European unions Member countries.




The negative effect of Rotterdam port in the Netherlands

  • Pollution because of heavy traffic, population increase, industrial activities leading to the destruction of plants, animals, and the ozone layer.
  • Congestion because of many exports, imports, passengers causing inconveniences and delays.
  • Accidents because of obstacles, strong waves, mist, and fog like during winter season leading to the destruction of people and property.
  • Increased costs of maintenance and rehabilitation removing silts, sediments, deposits.
Negative effects of Rotterdam port in the Netherlands
Photo by Samuel Wölfl on Pexels.com




  • Urban problems like increased cost of living, congestion, development of slums.
  • Temperate climate with winter and snow affecting labour and transport.
  • Unemployment and underemployment especially unskilled labour, immigrants.
  • Environmental degradation because of constructing buildings, transport routes destroying plants and animals.
  • Poor social services because of the dense population leading to low standards of living.




  • Displacement of people and activities by occupying big areas.
  • Floods causing siltation, sedimentation and deposition, siltation, and sub-emergency.
  • Poor urban planning because of many people with limited resources and facilities.
  • Over exploitation of resources causing exhaustion e.g. minerals.

9 REASONS WHY IRRIGATION IS CARRIED OUT IN EAST AFRICA

an adequate water supply is important for plant growth.

when rainfall is not sufficient, the plants must receive additional water from irrigation.




REASONS WHY IRRIGATION IS CARRIED OUT IN EAST AFRICA

  • Existence of gently sloping land which favours irrigation by gravity flow of water e.g. at Mwea-Tebere.
  • The existence of modern technology ensures the use of irrigation e.g. overhead sprinkling at Kilombero.
  • The existence of extensive free land due to the sparse population in dry areas has also led to the use of irrigation.
  • Presence of rivers that provide permanent sources of water for irrigation e.g. river Malaba for Doho irrigation scheme.
  • Availability of adequate capital to buy the machines e.g. water pumps and to extend social infrastructures e.g. railway lines e.t.c.
  • In many parts of East Africa, rainfall is inadequate hence the need for adding water artificially e.g. in Kasese.
  • There is a need to increase food production through irrigation to sustain the ever-increasing population.




  • Some crops need too much water which can be easily provided through irrigation e.g. rice, sugarcane, yams e.t.c.
  • Irrigation is carried out to maintain moisture in the soil in order to help in the maintenance of soil fertility.
  • Some areas receive very hot temperatures, and they lose a lot of water through evaporation in the dry season hence the need for irrigation e.g. Kasese and Mobuku valleys.
REASONS WHY IRRIGATION IS CARRIED OUT IN EAST AFRICA
Photo by Maria Orlova on Pexels.com
  • The government policy of opening up remote areas and improvement of agricultural productivity has also led to irrigation.




points to consider for irrigation decision

  • land suitability for irigation for example slope
  • method of irrigation to be used
  • when to irrigate: decide based on soil, crop and climatic condition
  • how much to irrigate: decide based on crop water requirement
  • quality of irrigation water
  • effective rainfall: part of total rain is useful for crop production

7 PROBLEMS FACING SISAL FARMING




Sisal crops can be grown in most parts of  East Africa including those with low and unreliable rainfall and poor sandy soils.

Tanzania is the major producer and it’s grown mainly along the coast near Tanga, Lindi, and Dar-es-salaam.

In Kenya, it’s grown along the coast near Mombasa, Masai land, and near Nakuru. Used for making sacks and ropes




Problems faced in sisal production

  • It is affected by diseases such as Honeydew and leaf blight which lead to poor quality output.
  • Weather changes e.g. heavy rains lead to rotting of the stems hence losses for farmers.
  • The crop is thorny which makes it difficult to harvest.
  • Requires a lot of capital investment to buy farm equipment e.g. gumboots and gloves.
  • Competition from synthetic fibres e.g. nylon and polythenes which reduces the market for sisal products.




  • Soil exhaustion due to monoculture leading to low and poor quality yields.
  • Scarcity of labour especially during the harvesting period.

9 WAYS IN WHICH UNDERGROUND WATER CAN BE POLLUTED




Ways in which underground water can be polluted

  • Pesticides and herbicides applied to agriculture crop can find their way into underground water through leaching
  • Liquid and solid wastes from septic tanks can contaminate underground water
  • Radioactive waste has high potential of polluting underground water
  • Fertilizers especially nitrate  have harmful effects  to underground water




  • Rainwater can leach pollutants from city dams into underground water supplies

10 FACTORS THAT FAVOURED THE LOCATION OF THE KILOMBERO IRRIGATION SCHEME




The scheme started in 1960 and it became a government parastatal called Sugar Development co-operation in 1968.

Today, it employs over 46,000 workers and it contributes 40% of the total sugar production in Tanzania.

It has mainly encouraged the development of outgrowers’ schemes.

Factors that favored location of the scheme




  • Presence of rivers such as Kilombero and Ruaha that provides constant supply of water for irrigating sugarcane.
  • The gently sloping land which favors use of machines for large scale farming e.g. ploughs and tractors.
  • The flat nature of the area which favors irrigation by use of gravity flow of water.
  • Extensive land due to sparse population also provided enough land for the large scale irrigation scheme.
  • Availability of deep and well drained fertile alluvial soils deposited by R. Kilombero for the growing of sugarcane.




  • Hot temperatures of about 230C and above which favor the growth, ripening and harvesting of sugarcane.
  • The rainfall is unreliable hence leading to the use of irrigation to supplement the rainfall.
  • Presence of ready market for the sugar which is both local and international e.g. Zambia.
  • Supportive government policy to open up remote areas in southern Tanzania also led to the setting up of the scheme.
  • Opening up of the Tanzam-Tazara railway in 1975, also increased accessibility to the area hence providing cheap transport.
  • Availability of adequate capital from Kilombero Company for investment e.g.  Buying machines, land and paying workers.




  • Availability of abundant and cheap labour to work on the scheme e.g. from the surrounding communities.

12 BENEFITS OF ANKOLE MASAKA RANCHING SCHEME




It is located in Mbarara, Masaka, Rakai, Sembabule and Lyantonde districts.

The Bahima pastoralists are the beneficiaries of the scheme.

This area receives unreliable rainfall and the dry seasons are longer than the wet seasons.




Work on the scheme began in 1960 when rinderpest killed over 90% of the animals owned by the Bahima.

Wild animals were also killed because they acted as hosts of tsetse flies.

In 1963, spraying using insecticides began and bushes along the Mbarara – Masaka road were cleared.

A research station was set up at Ruhenge to cater for cross-breeding between Red Poll, Angus, Zebu, Ankole long-horned cattle and Boran.

A pasture station was set up at Muko to improve on the grass for feeding the animals




A market was set up at Sangu along the Ankole-Masaka highway to encourage the Bahima to sell their animal products.

Benefits of Ankole  Masaka Ranching Scheme

Benefits of Ankole Masaka Ranching Scheme

  • Weed killers have been applied to remove unwanted plants.
  • Leguminous grass has been planted which is nutritious for the animals to replace the unwanted spear grass from the ranches.




  • Meat and milk collecting centres have been set up to encourage Bahima to sell animal products.
  • Veterinary services have been brought nearer to the pastoralists.
  • Farmers have been encouraged to sell off some of their animals to control the spread of diseases.
  • Efficient transport systems have been developed to enable the farm products to reach the urban market.