Ouabouè Bakouan | June 19, 2025
News Brief
In Zoundoun-Tampouo, Burkina Faso, yam farmer Mwintio Somda uses a homemade rainwater basin to irrigate crops during dry spells. Built with support from a local project, the 200 m³ basin stores runoff from the first rains, helping him water crops for up to 21 days. After losing a maize harvest to drought, Mr. Somda now grows maize, rice, yams, and vegetables on nearly five hectares. He earns income from surplus produce and shares water with neighbours. He says, “Since this basin lifted me out of poverty, I take care of it like a child.”
This May, the dry season grips Zoundoun-Tampouo, a village located about 300 kilometers from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. But the first rains have begun to fall, heralding the start of the rainy season. In the yam fields, rows of mounds stretch to the horizon. Amid the fresh green leaves, yam farmer Mwintio Somda tends to his nearly one-hectare plot. He says, “With the water from the first rains that I collected, I’m watering my young plants until the rainy season sets in. This basin is a blessing!”
Mr. Somda built a rainwater collection basin with a capacity of about 200 m³ to provide supplemental irrigation. It enables him to water his crops for at least 21 days during dry spells.
He explains that the structure allows him to collect and store runoff water. The basin measures 8 by 13 meters and is 2 meters deep. To prevent seepage, he lined the bottom with a plastic tarp. It’s fitted with drainage channels that direct rainwater into the basin, and a layer of stones at the entrance helps filter out plant debris.
Before building the basin, Mr. Somda says he lost his three-hectare maize harvest to drought four years ago. With support from a partner organization, he later built stone bunds and a rainwater collection basin to better manage water and protect his crops.
Mr. Somda, like other farmers, received free materials through the partner organization’s project, including a plastic tarp, motor pump, 60-meter roll of wire mesh, tar, shovels, wheelbarrows, digging bars, and 60,000 CFA francs (about $103) to cover labor costs. He estimates that constructing a basin—including soil studies—costs between one and two million CFA francs ($1,730 to $3,460), depending on its size. His only personal contribution was organizing and providing community labor for the digging.
Mamadou Niang, an agricultural engineer with the Agricultural Development Program (PDA) of the German cooperation, based in Diébougou, explains that rainwater collection and irrigation basins are a key climate change adaptation strategy to help farmers cope with increasingly frequent droughts.
Mr. Niang acknowledges that the cost of constructing a basin is beyond the reach of most local farmers. That’s why he also recommends alternative water collection and retention methods, such as mulching, building stone bunds, and creating rows of mounds along field edges to help retain runoff water.
Bayizié Dabiré, another farmer in Zoundoun-Tampouo, has relied on a basin in his maize field for over five years and speaks highly of its benefits. Two years ago, when the area faced a 14-day dry spell, the basin enabled him to irrigate his crops until the rains resumed. He adds that his neighbors also benefited from the basin’s water, which is why they help with its maintenance every year. Mr. Dabiré says, “My basin saved me from hunger and shame.”
Since building his basin, Mr. Somda has expanded his production area and improved his yield. He now grows maize, rice, yams, and vegetables on nearly five hectares. He says, “My crops no longer suffer from erratic rainfall.” Thanks to gardening, his family’s food supply has improved, and he earns an average income of 150,000 CFA francs ($259) each season by selling surplus produce. He has bought a motorcycle and rebuilt his house. Mr. Somda also shares water with his neighbors, sometimes irrigating their fields during dry spells. He concludes, “Since this basin lifted me out of poverty, I take care of it like a child.”
