Investigating water management practices among farmers in Afgoi, Lower Shabelle, Somalia

Globally water is a key shared resource for health, human development and ecosystems, and it is vital for the eradication of poverty (FAO). The aim of this study was to investigating water management practices among farmers with specific consideration to Afgoi, Lower Shabelle Somalia. The study was guided three objectives i.e. to assess the current water management practices among farmers in Afgoi district, to analyze the challenges of water management among farmers, and to recommend strategies of water management practices among farmers. This study employed a questionnaire survey with sample size 384 from the population and the strategy was simple random sampling. The study found that 60.4% of the respondent’s revealed absence of structural measures to manage water and 81.1% perceived changes of rainfall and temperature, the changes have affected crops and livestock in a number of ways resulting in reduced productivity. Finding revealed that 43.0% respondents perceived water scarcity, also the study found that 50.8% of the respondent’s lack of knowledge and limited skills in harvesting water and 69.6% result show that supplement irrigation is highly agreed. There are different recommendations for ways of water management in response to water shortage. Awareness of various water management options should be conducted to enhance farmer resilience and sustainable development. Further research should focus on the effectiveness of adaptation methodologies employed by agriculturalists and rural farming in response to water shortage.