Adoption of rainwater harvesting systems for agricultural irrigation to improve water management

In many production areas, water is the main limiting factor for agricultural development. The consequences of global climate change, population growth, changes in land use and overexploitation due to economic growth have caused water resources to be subject to severe degradation. As the main consumer of water resources, water use in this sector is of great importance. However, the wide variety of stakeholders and the need for food supply make the management of agricultural systems very complex. In this context, it is necessary to incorporate water management practices and technologies that contribute to the sustainability of agricultural activity. To ensure the success of these practices, their choice and adoption must take into account the interests of different stakeholders. Therefore, the first objective of this work is to identify the sustainable water management practices that are best suited to the context of the study area, as well as the main barriers and facilitators to their incorporation. For this purpose, several qualitative research tools are used in consecutive phases (literature review, in-depth interviews, Delphi method and workshop). The results show that the most suitable practice for mainstreaming is rainwater harvesting (RWH). Facilitators for the adoption of this practice include the existence of farmer networks and access to the necessary technology, while installation costs and certain characteristics of the study area and farms act as main barriers. The second objective of this work was to identify the factors affecting farmers' decision to adopt RWH systems to use harvested water for agricultural irrigation. For this purpose, farmers in the study area were surveyed and a binary logistic regression model was carried out. The variables found to be significant in explaining farmers' behaviour were age, educational level, farm size, pond capacity and volume, income and level of environmental awareness.