Conclusions and Recommendations

The study aimed to identify and evaluate land and water management systems, in particular RHM systems, for upgrading rainfed agriculture and also assess their hydrological impacts on water resources management and socio-economic development of upper Ewaso Ng&s;iro river basin in Kenya. A comparative review and analysis of RHM systems in GHA was done through six case studies conducted in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. One of the case studies was conducted in semi-arid Laikipia district, which covers 50% of upper Ewaso Ng&s;iro river basin. RHM systems were categorized into three based on rainfall portioning (i.e. in-situ and runoff-based systems), water storage and application (i.e., direct application and storage systems) and size of catchments (i.e. micro-, small- and macro-catchment systems). However, detailed agro-hydrological analysis was carried out on small on-farm storage systems and in-situ systems (conservation tillage), which are common in Laikipia and have high potential for smallholder farmers. Agro-hydrological analysis was based on a conceptual framework that was developed to assess hydrological impacts of up-scaling RHM systems in a river basin.