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Background. Despite the increased efforts in promoting rainwater harvesting (RWH) technologies, the benefits accrued from the adoption remain low. Understanding the causes of low adoption and the socioeconomic differences between adopters and non-adopters is important to inform interventions aimed at increasing the adoption. Objective. This study, therefore, sought to address this by assessing the differences in socio-economic and institutional attributes among adopters and non-adopters of RWH technologies, the knowledge, and perceptions of agropastoral regarding RWH, while also documenting the existing management and organizational structures for different RWH technologies in Odwayne District, Somaliland. Information from this study is essential in providing information about the existing RWH technologies for the effective planning of future interventions. Methodology. Participatory rural appraisal techniques were used in collecting qualitative data regarding the attitude and practices of rainwater harvesting techniques in the area. A multistage sampling technique was used to collect primary data from 194 respondents using a semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics like frequency and percentages were used to resent the data from the study. Results. Results showed a significant difference in terms of education and access to training among adopters compared to non-adopters of RWH technologies. The majority of the adopters of RWH technologies (88.8%) belonged to water associations. This shows that social capital among the adopters was very high. Membership to the water association/group is deemed necessary as members benefit from information sharing, access to water resources, and usage through collective action. The study also finds that crop-livestock integration was commonly practiced by more than three-quarters (75.6%) of both adopters and non-adopters in the area, thus multiple water use sources should be considered in future investments. Elders played a critical role in water resource regulation through the resolution of conflicts and disputes that arose from the access and utilization of the resources. Implications. The results of this study confirms most of the adopters of the RWH technologies had positive perceptions (ranging from good to excellent) regarding the RWH technologies. This shows that the technologies served their purpose and were effective in ensuring the availability of water for the communities during seasons where water was scarce. The extension also played a critical role in providing information to the communities regarding important aspects such as climate change, water treatment, watercatchment as well as RWH. Conclusion. Based on these results, the government should develop permanent water sources that are adequate for multiple use through collaboration with development organizations and NGOs. Technical knowledge among community members can also be improved through training and extension services as noted to be critical source of information among the adopters. Policies and interventions by the government should target the promotion of water harvesting techniques through the provision of capital as well as equipment that can be used to facilitate water harvesting by the communities.

Background. Pedology is the study of soil genesis in its natural state. One way to assess the strength and productivity of a scientific field is to measure the number of publications over time. The number of soil papers published worldwide has almost doubled in the last ten years. However, that has not been the case in Eastern Africa, where this review is conducted. The scarcity of research in pedology motivates this study. Objectives. To review and analyze trends of publications in pedology/soil survey for the last ten years in (2010 - 2019) in Eastern Africa. Methodology. A search of scientific literature using Google and Google Scholar was conducted from 2010 - 2019. The search terms used were - soil survey, soil characterization, pedological characterization, and each of the Eastern African countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Sudan). We then scrutinized the abstracts to find quantitative data on geographical locations. Additional articles were reviewed by checking through the reference lists of relevant studies in the peer-reviewed articles. Results. 56 scientific articles, 3 MSc/PhD theses reports, and 4 project reports/ proceedings were included for the full review. Out of this, 39 journal papers were identified and reviewed based on the years they were published, and the countries where they were published. Most articles were published in 2018. The data was then split into two segments, from the years 2010 - 2014 and 2015 - 2019. Between the years 2015 to 2019, a total of 36 articles were published compared to the years 2010 to 2014 where a total of 15 articles were published. This shows a slight increase in publications for the years under study. From the 56 articles, Ethiopia records the highest number of published articles from various journals having a total of 25 papers constituting 45% closely followed by Tanzania, having 27% equivalent to 15 papers. Kenya comes third in the overall ranking at 13% with 7 papers. The last three countries are Sudan, Rwanda, and Uganda with 10%, 3%, and 2% respectively. Implications. The results suggest that pedology seems to be a disappearing skill in the Eastern Africa region. Though there has been a spike in publications from 2015-2018, the current situation must be improved as there are limited publications from 2010 - 2019. Conclusion. The study shows that there have been a low number of publications in Eastern African countries. Ethiopia which has the highest number of publications shows the most promise in soil pedology publications. There is a need for an increase in pedology research which is important for agricultural production and land use planning.

Conservation of soil moisture through tillage practices is an important management objective for crop production in semi-arid areas. A study to evaluate the effects of tillage practices on maize and bean yields was conducted in Mwala Sub County, Eastern Kenya, in the long (LR) and short rains (SR) of 2012/13. The tillage treatments were: Disc Ploughing (DP), Disc Ploughing and Harrowing (DPH), Ox-ploughing (OX), Subsoiling – Ripping (SSR), Hand hoeing with Tied Ridges (HTR) and Hand hoeing (H) only. There were three cropping systems of Sole Maize (SM), Sole Bean (SB) and Maize - Bean intercrop (M + B), which were investigated in a Split-Plot Design field experiment with four replications. Data on maize and bean yield and yield components were monitored throughout the four cropping seasons. Maize plant height, leaf area and leaf area index, maize and beans grain and biomass yields were significantly affected by tillage (P < 0.05). No significant effect of cropping systems on the maize height was observed. Higher maize grain yields (P < 0.05) were obtained in the sole maize plots in LR 2012 (5.01 Mg ha-1), SR 2012 (4.19 Mg ha-1) and in the SR 2013 season (2.82 Mg ha-1). A three - season bean grain yield average by tillage shows that DPH > SSR > DP > OX > HTR > H, with values ranging from 0.75 Mg ha-1 to 1.46 Mg ha-1 (P < 0.05). Intercropping reduced the seasonal means of bean grain yields (P < 0.05) with a 54 % decrease by intercropping (0.73 Mg ha-1) compared to the sole bean (1.6 Mg ha-1). Thus, the DP and DPH improved crop yield and yield components and can be recommended as tillage practices in the semi-arid region.