Abstract:
Rain water harvesting has been practiced for many years and has positively impacted life,
agriculture and economy. Despite its known benefit, the adoption of rainwater harvesting is
slow in the Mohamud Haybe district, and water scarcity remains a major constraint to life
and economic development in the district. This study was conducted to assess rain water
harvesting technologies (RWHT) and determinants that affect the adoption of rain water
harvesting in Mohamoud Haybe district, Hargeisa, Somaliland. The study area was
purposefully selected for the study taking into account the presence of rainwater harvesting
technologies and accessibility, and stratified sampling with proportionate sampling was
employed in several households. To that effect, a household survey was conducted on a total
of 130 households, and a focus group discussion was carried out with selected household
individuals. The result from the descriptive analysis indicated that the age of household
heads, labor, and market accessibility have a significant and negative effect on the adoption
of RWHT whereas adoption of RWHT has a significant and positive role on the people of the
district. The education status and income category indicated that has significantly influenced
households’ level of RWHT adoption and implementation. Furthermore, the result of
descriptive studies shows that roof tanks and ponds were practiced by most of the
communities in this area. The choice of water harvesting technologies was influenced by
health, agricultural yields, food security, technical development, and the economic status of
the households. The results, therefore, underscore the potential gains from rainwater harvesting technologies in improving household income and food security, and the need to
promote the technologies as a package, because a household may implement different
technologies in the same field depending on diverse social, economic, institutional, and
environmental factors.
