Abstract
While the world population is expected to reach 9 billion in 2050, in West Africa, it will more than double. This situation will lead to a high demand for cereals in the region. At the same time, farmers are experiencing yield losses due to erratic rainfall. To come up with a sound and effective solution, the available but limited water should be used to achieve high yields through irrigation. Therefore, full and deficit irrigation management strategies were evaluated. The expected profit that can be obtained by a smallholder farmer under a conventional irrigation system in the short-term of investment was also assessed considering rope and bucket, treadle pump, and motorized pump water-lifting methods. The study focused on maize in northern Togo. The framework used in this study consisted of (i) a weather generator for simulating long-term climate time series; (ii) the AquaCrop model, which was used to simulate crop yield response to water; and (iii) a problem-specific algorithm for optimal irrigation scheduling with limited water supply. Results showed high variability in rainfall during the wet season leading to significant variability in the expected yield under rainfed conditions. This variability was substantially reduced when supplemental irrigation was applied. This holds for the irrigation management strategies evaluated in the dry season. Farmers’expected net incomes were US$ 133.35 and 78.11 per hectare for treadle pump and rope and bucket methods, respectively, under 10% exceedance probability. The motorized pump method is not appropriate for smallholder farmers in the short run.
Highlights
The West African population will increase from 350 million in 2015 to 450 million in 2030, and nearly 800 million in 2050 [1]
These results are in agreement with the findings by Didjeira et al [29] who indicated the range of 3.5–5 Mg/ha as the expected yield for the TZEE-W variety used in this study
The standard deviation of the expected yields obtained under rainfed conditions is higher compared to the case of irrigated maize, regardless of the volume of water applied (Figure 1a,e,f). These findings show that the variability as well as the uncertainty in the yields are higher under the rainfed conditions (WS-no irrigation (NI)) than those in the dry season controlled deficit irrigation (CDI) and full irrigation (FI) [19]
Summary
The West African population will increase from 350 million in 2015 to 450 million in 2030, and nearly 800 million in 2050 [1]. Liniger et al [2] stated that food production in West Africa should increase by 70% by 2050 to meet the required food calories. Several parts of the region are already being harmed by the lack of available water for agricultural production, the energy sector, and other forms of anthropogenic water consumption [3]. The change in the food diets in many West. African countries has aggravated this problem and led to an increase in the consumers’ demand for processed food and animal proteins [4]. The West African region is subject to frequent crop failures due to an erratic climate [5].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
