Department of Vegetable Crops

Project period
2016 - 2020

Joint project EPoNa
Upgrade the existing wastewater pond systems to generate irrigation water for agriculture
in the Cuvelai-Etosha Basin in Namibia

Subproject of Hochschule Geisenheim University
Agricultural use of treated wastewater and sewage sludge and development of a robust irrigation system

The goal was to balance yield performance and resource efficiency under the given climatic and socio-economic conditions of the Cuvelai-Etosha Basin in Namibia. The focus was to develop a robust low-pressure irrigation system and agronomic and technical tools to minimize water losses due to evaporation, avoid soil salinization, and optimize yields. For this purpose, several trials with different irrigation and cultivation systems were carried out in order to analyze soil parameters on water and nutrient use efficiency, yield and quality of different forage crops, and the results were communicated to local stakeholders with a focus on their practical application.