Hillside runoff / conduit
Small conduits guide and concentrate runoff water on slopes (>10%) and deliver it to flat fields at the foot of the slope (0% – 10%). Fields are levelled and surrounded by impounding walls / bunds with a spillway to drain excess water to downstream fields. Once all fields in a series are filled, the water rejoins the natural watercourse. The catchment to application area (C:A) is commonly 10:1 – 100:1, it can reach 175:1. Through this system, rainfall runoff from bare or sparsely vegetated hilly or mountainous areas can be collected. The system is found in many semi-arid hill or mountainous regions with annual rainfall of 100 – 600 mm. It can be applied for many crops and fruit trees especially those that tolerate water-logging. In Pakistan this system is called sylaba / sailaba, in Somalia caag and in Turkmenistan takyr cultivation. (Mekdaschi & Liniger 2013)