To cope with the current dry spell, the Rwanda Water Resources Board has recommended the installation of boreholes across the country so as to avail water for small-scale irrigation and livestock.

The recommendation to use groundwater is made at a time of rainfall scarcity in parts of the Eastern and Southern provinces and climate change effects.

The number of rainy days in Rwanda declined by between 35 and 45 days per year due to climate change, according to scientists.

Due to global warming, trend analysis for the period 1971-2016 showed that a temperature increase of 1.4°C has been recorded since 1970. Rwanda’s average temperature is higher than the global average (1.09°C).

According to the Rwanda Meteorology Agency (RMA), from September to December 2022, there are higher chances of a decrease in rains compared to the same period in 2021 and previously.

Farmers in parts of Eastern and Southern provinces which are more vulnerable to prolonged periods of abnormally low rainfall, leading to a shortage of water, are already facing the drought effects.

Effort is being made to cut dependence on rain-fed agriculture, especially by devising other effective ways of food production that cannot be affected by unpredictable weather patterns.

By installing more boreholes to tap groundwater, it is hoped, rural communities&039; resilience to drought will improve.

Bernard Musana, the Head of the Knowledge and Forecasting Hub Department at Rwanda Water Resources Board told Doing Business that more than 200 sites with enough groundwater that can help to establish boreholes were identified in the Eastern and Southern provinces which are hit by dry spells.

"We carried out studies in the Eastern province and identified sources of groundwater in almost every sector that can help establish boreholes,” he said.

He said that only a few parts of Gatsibo and Kirehe districts were found not to have enough sources of groundwater that can enable boreholes creation.

"We found sites where eight boreholes can be constructed to supply 1,000 cubic meters per day. This is a potential source of water that can be used for small-scale irrigation on 100 hectares and domestic use. This is enough water, especially in rural areas,” he said.

Boreholes are timely solutions, Musana said, as rainwater harvesting is impossible during dry spells.

Rwanda targets to irrigate 102,284 hectares by 2024.

Currently, only 4 percent of arable land is irrigated.

But Musana also warned against damaging and polluting groundwater.

"Identifying these sites with groundwater is necessary so as to take measures as regards avoiding their pollution. For instance, you can’t establish a landfill on a site with groundwater. That could be like dumping waste into a lake,” he explained.

Among all the assessed existing boreholes, the survey found that 27.2 percent (75 boreholes) are destroyed and can’t be repaired.

At least 30.1 percent (83 boreholes) among them are not working but they can be repaired and are accessible by communities.

Only 42.7 percent (118 boreholes) of assessed boreholes are still operational.

In general, it was found that the non-operational boreholes didn’t have maintenance committees while very old ones that are still operational have maintenance committees.

"We have 32 stations that are helping to locate sites with enough groundwater,” he said.

Research has shown that people who have access to groundwater from boreholes are much less affected by drought.

Need for affordable technologies to extract groundwater

Low-cost drilling technologies are not yet available in Rwanda so as to make borehole construction affordable.

"We are in discussions with partners such as universities to introduce low cost technologies in Rwanda’s universities to increase drilling skills about drilling,” Musana said, noting that such skills are needed considering that a better borehole should have 100 metres of depth.

According to Musana, the mapping exercise to identify sources of groundwater will be done in other provinces as well. The Chinese government sponsored a 200-borehole project countrywide meant to increase access to clean water for people in rural areas by drilling boreholes.

Boreholes were constructed in seven districts in the Eastern province, and two districts in the Southern province. The project aims to set up 200 boreholes, at the cost of Rwf8 billion.

East Africa is facing its worst drought in years, with climate change largely to blame.

According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), an international financial institution and a specialised UN agency working to address poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries, the current drought is a result of the recurring La Niña weather phenomenon, which is exacerbated by climate change, while the impacts of drought are aggravated by deforestation, land degradation and growing water demand—all influenced by climate change.