A global and regional perspective of rainwater harvesting in sub-Saharan Africa's rainfed farming systems

The article examines the drivers of rainwater harvesting technology (RWHT) uptake in semi-arid and sub-humid sub-Saharan Africa, arguing that household-scale analysis must be combined with an understanding of global and regional processes. Through a systematic literature review, the authors identify four key processes of influence: shifting ideologies in food production, agricultural science and technology investment levels, the role of emergent actors in development assistance, and farmer mobility patterns.

• In semi-arid and sub-humid sub-Saharan Africa, food security is consistently undermined by low water productivity, frequent droughts, and highly variable rainfall, which rainwater harvesting technologies can mitigate by increasing yield levels and water productivity.
• The adoption of rainwater harvesting technologies for climate adaptation and resilience requires integrating household-scale analysis with an understanding of four specific global and regional processes: farmer mobility patterns, emergent actors in development assistance, the scope of agricultural science and technology investments, and shifting ideologies regarding food production systems.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2014). A global and regional perspective of rainwater harvesting in sub-Saharan Africa's rainfed farming systems. https://www.sei.org/publications/a-global-and-regional-perspective-of-rainwater-harvesting-in-sub-saharan-africas-rainfed-farming-systems/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. A global and regional perspective of rainwater harvesting in sub-Saharan Africa's rainfed farming systems. 2014. https://www.sei.org/publications/a-global-and-regional-perspective-of-rainwater-harvesting-in-sub-saharan-africas-rainfed-farming-systems/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=A global and regional perspective of rainwater harvesting in sub-Saharan Africa's rainfed farming systems |date=20 October 2014 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/a-global-and-regional-perspective-of-rainwater-harvesting-in-sub-saharan-africas-rainfed-farming-systems/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2014global, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{A global and regional perspective of rainwater harvesting in sub-Saharan Africa's rainfed farming systems}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2014}, month = oct, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/a-global-and-regional-perspective-of-rainwater-harvesting-in-sub-saharan-africas-rainfed-farming-systems/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }