Kirehe Community-based Watershed Management Project

This project promotes the shift from subsistence to intensified market-based agriculture in Kirehe District, a densely populated area threatened by severe soil erosion. The project will support the creation of sound local institutions for the sustainable management of local land and water resources in about 15 watersheds. Activities will emphasize:

• creating strong district, watershed and farmer-based institutions capable of sustaining efficient and non-destructive agricultural and livestock production
• empowering small-scale and landless farmers to plan and implement sustainable market-led investments jointly with the private sector
• developing 2,000 ha of irrigated land, protecting and intensifying about 20,000 ha of cultivated catchment area, and providing cattle and goats for animal solidarity chains
• rehabilitating feeder roads to improve links between farmers and markets

A principal goal of the project is to increase producers’ incomes and food security by increasing the production of crops and livestock for markets. The project also supports the sustainable operation of affordable irrigation facilities by poor and landless farmers in the district, reducing dependence on erratic rains and allowing farmers to shift to crops of higher value in response to market demand. Another goal is the stabilization of natural resources in the project area as the base for agricultural production.

KWAMP will promote the special agroforestry technique called embocagement to help farmers protect land against erosion, as applied here in the PAPSTA pilot area in Kirehe District.