In 1993, the Community Drought Mitigation project embarked on providing technical support to farmers to improve their crop production while conserving soil and water.  A number of demonstrations were conducted. In one, water use efficiency was improved by planting crops in furrows with crop residue between them to improve soil aggregation and to reduce surface sealing (upon decomposition, nutrients are released to the soil and water retention by the soil is greatly improved).  Another experimented with intercropping  (intercropping is more advantageous when nutrient and moisture stresses are more prevalent). In other demonstrations, efforts were made to decrease runoff and soil erosion through gully reclamation (small wells were constructed for proper drainage of the field and to provide water for livestock and wildlife). Agroforestry demonstrations focused on the technique of intercropping annual species, where deep-rooted trees tap more moisture from a lower depth during the dry season, thus increasing the overall productivity per unit of land.