Background The arid and semi-arid lands experience inherently unpredictable rainfall and frequent droughts, which are exacerbated by climate change. This consequently leads to deterioration of land resources, and eventually forage and water shortages that negatively impact livestock productivity. In Kenya, development and government agencies have been supporting on-farm adaptation strategies such as water harvesting conservation structures to cope with climate hazards that affect agricultural production and food security in agro-pastoral and pastoral systems. The various water harvesting structures that have been promoted include Zai pits for growing crops and trees, water pans and shallow wells for livestock and domestic use, as well as for irrigation. However, the impact of such interventions with regard to improvement of range productivity and therefore welfare of agro-pastoral and pastoral communities has not been felt owing to low adoption rate by households. Results This study determined social, economic and institutional factors influencing the adoption of water harvesting technologies by households in pastoral areas of Tana river County of Kenya. The data was collected through household survey, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. The results show that access to extension services and training, level of monthly income, main source of livelihood, land tenure, membership in social groups and availability of active farm labor significantly influenced the adoption of water harvesting structures. Conclusion Pastoralists therefore need to be mobilized and trained on how to construct and use water harvesting structures and sensitized on the potential socioeconomic benefits of adopting them.

中文翻译：

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肯尼亚东南部半干旱牧场的农牧民采用集水技术

背景 干旱和半干旱地区经历固有的不可预测的降雨和频繁的干旱，气候变化加剧了这种情况。因此，这会导致土地资源的恶化，并最终导致对牲畜生产力产生负面影响的草料和水资源短缺。在肯尼亚，发展和政府机构一直在支持农场适应战略，例如集水保护结构，以应对影响农牧业和牧业系统中农业生产和粮食安全的气候灾害。已推广的各种集水结构包括用于种植农作物和树木的 Zai 坑、供牲畜和家庭使用以及用于灌溉的水盘和浅井。然而，由于家庭采用率低，尚未感受到此类干预措施对提高牧场生产力以及农牧民社区福利的影响。结果 本研究确定了影响肯尼亚塔纳河县牧区家庭采用集水技术的社会、经济和制度因素。数据是通过住户调查、焦点小组讨论和关键知情人访谈收集的。结果表明，获得推广服务和培训、月收入水平、主要生计来源、土地保有权、社会团体成员资格和活跃农业劳动力的可用性显着影响了集水结构的采用。