Deadline: 22 November 2020

Introduction

Practical Action is an innovative international development organisation putting ingenious ideas to work so people in poverty can change their world. Our vision is “a world that works better for everyone”. Practical Action in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement and Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute (IAPRI), is searching for individual Consultant/Consultants to assist in the consultancy: “Water Harvesting, Harnessing, Management and Storage Manuals for Zimbabwe”.

The Consultant is expected to work with the relevant stakeholders to develop appropriate, practical and well-articulated low-cost water harvesting, harnessing and management, and storage technologies for each of the diverse contexts for the 5 AEZs of Zimbabwe. This document is aimed at guiding the diverse agroecology practitioners, key stakeholders and farmers in practice and implementation and enhanced of diverse water harvesting and storage technologies aimed at increasing the climate crisis resilience, coping and absorptive capacities of farmers and agriculture practitioners in Zimbabwe. This document will be informing the most ideal technologies for each natural region of Zimbabwe based on existing environmental and geospatial differences within each AEZ.

Background Information

More than a third of the world’s people rely on agriculture for their survival than any other occupation. But three quarters of the world’s poorest people are farmers, confirming that agriculture simply isn’t working for the vast majority of them. Practical Action helps people build farming systems that connect nature (climate, land, water, plants and animals) with people (culture, economics and society).

We believe that Agroecology can enable smallholder farmers to achieve a decent standard of living, whilst protecting the environment and building natural resources. This offers a sustainable alternative to intensive agriculture, with the potential to transform the lives of millions of families. The proposed assignment is expected to provide practitioners with practical, appropriate and informed approaches to unpacking diverse technologies and approaches, and providing the most context-appropriate and low-cost water capture, storage and management technology per AEZ in Zimbabwe.

In the face of the frequent, erratic and unpredictable weather events and climate crisis, the capacity of practitioners to capture the erratic rainfall accompanying these phenomena, would be strategic in increasing the coping and absorptive capacities of vulnerable communities.

Specific objectives and scope of the study

We would expect that this assignment be split into four (4) distinct parts clearly and concisely by –

(1) briefly defining/articulating the different approaches to water harvesting/harnessing and storage, the principles underlying these approaches and from a systemic and technical view point

(2) Identifying and aligning which water harvesting, harnessing and storage technologies are most which contextual environment as defined under each of the national agroecology zones of Zimbabwe – AEZ I – V, justifying this alignment

(3) Identifying, defining and providing practical approaches and articulating, differentiating and providing specific practical examples of specific low-cost, community-based water harvesting and storage structures/technologies suited for each AEZ context for Zimbabwe based on soil, slope and other geospatial/terrains

(4) Highlighting the different water management techniques in arable land which reduce water loss and enhance water use efficiency. Consultant is reminded to be very cognisant of the differences existing across each of the AEZs of Zimbabwe, including landforms and rock outcrops, mountains etc., in development of this guiding document on water harvesting, storage and management technologies/structures. The consultant is also reminded to include practices which would enhance the moisture conservation in pfumvudza practices across the AEZs in Zimbabwe.