Abstract:
Experimental research into soil-water management, whether on a research station or on farmers'
fields, is necessarily restricted to specific sites over limited time intervals. Meaningful extrapolation
is a problem. With this in mind, the SUA-Newcastle RWH project pursued a twin-track approach
in which the experimental effort was linked to the development of a simulation model,
which was designed to assess the suitability of RWH technology interventions for any new site.
The simulation model is briefly described and typical examples of its use as a tool for agrotechnology
transfer are presented. The interface is user-friendly and the model itself is designed to
work with readily available site data. Long-term simulation at a new site can be easily achieved to
permit evaluation of average performance and/or variability and risk. The yield-gap under existing
practice can be evaluated alongside predicted performance under improved practice. Examples
of the application of the model are given for a maize cropping system and for a rain fed nice
cropping system in two different regions of Tanzania
