This proposal outlines a program for evaluating options to boost the supply of water for crops and livestock during the Sierra Leonean dry season. Two established aquifer recharge approaches, infiltration wells or basins and sand dams, will be considered for a pilot agricultural region Sierra Leone. There are increasing challenges to crop production and livestock management in West Africa, resulting from erratic rainfall and extended dry periods. Precipitation from peak rain periods is not accessible during the dry season because it runs off or evaporates.
The project has two components: an academic research and a community development initiative. It exemplifies the importance of putting research into use at the local level.
The study will include a technical, natural sciences approach focused on suitability of soil and hydrology for aquifer recharge in candidate areas. It will be coupled with a social science investigation into the cultural perceptions that may affect adoption of these new technologies, which is critical to the successful execution of a project. Senior level students will make up the core of the research group, two female and two male, at least a technical scientist and a social scientist, for a total of four. This experience will endow the researchers with first-hand knowledge while the partnership with the university will increase overall institutional capacity.