ABSTRACT
Agricultural planning is needed in the less developed countries of the world, and agrometeorological modeling can contribute to the understanding of what is agriculturally possible. It may be that farmers will find the agricultural answers they seek without the help of those who model crop/energy/water/soil relationships. This chapter focuses on a few of the issues that need to be solved before there is a satisfactory integration of the many variables that impinge on the crops farmers grow. The issues considered are: energy and evaporation, energy/water budget variables, soil moisture measurement, soil moisture management, and management choices by farmers. The chapter presents a model that uses detailed crop phenology and yield data to calibrate energy/water balance relationships to productivity. These are presented with reference to one locale, the Katumani Drylands Agricultural Research Station, Machakos District, Kenya, and the area farmed by people of the Kamba culture living in the vicinity of Kimutwa, a settlement about 6 km from the research station.
