Effects of Rainfall and Temperature Oscillations on Maize Yields in Buea Sub-Division, Cameroon

N Balgah Sounders,Tata Emmanuel Sunjo,Mojoko Fiona Mbella

doi:10.5539/jas.v9n2p63

Abstract

There has been increasing concerns about the continuous variability in the climatic parameters of rainfall and temperature due to their manifold impacts. Some of these effects are observed through changes in crop yields such as maize in most parts of Sub-Saharan Africa which lacks the capital and technological viabilities to deal with the situation. This paper therefore examines the effects of the growing climatic oscillations on maize production. The study used primary and secondary data in order to provide insights on the quantitative effects of rainfall and temperature on maize yields in Buea Sub-Division. The climatic and crop trend analyses were done using simple regressions, means, and standard deviations. These were done using 2010 Excel Software. The impacts of varying rainfall and temperature on maize yields were determined using the logistic regression analysis in Stata 10 statistical software. Based on the analysis, results show that there has been growing rainfall and temperature fluctuations over Buea. This has been x-rayed through the increasing temperatures, slight declines in rainfall amounts, and the unpredictability of the sensation and the departure of the rains. Other effects have been observed through short dry spells especially in the months of April as well as increasing flooding of some farmlands in the months of August and September. Results further show that the unpredictability of the commencement of the rains has shifted the sowing season of maize by an average of four weeks and because of this situation, maize yields have increased during the minor season more than yields in the main season. Other climatic impacts were observed through increasing maize attacks from pests and diseases. As the way forward, there is the need for the development of maize germplasms that are heat-tolerant and need for the concentration of maize in the second season when soil moisture to ensure maize seed germination, growth and maturity is assured.

Highlights

Over one and the half centuries, the world has continued to witness growing concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG) largely from human activities such as industrialisation, deforestation and unsustainable agricultural activities
The local conditions which significantly shape the climatic conditions over Buea include the relief factor arising from the sharp rising of the Mount Cameroon from the Atlantic Ocean, the high intensity of the Warm Guinea Currents and dense primary and secondary vegetation cover
These local factors are determined by the proximity of the study area opposite the expansive Atlantic Ocean in the south. These factors combine to make the area a high energy environment characterised by high temperatures of over 24 oC and high mean rainfall amounts of over 2500mm (Fraser et al, 1998; Nkemasong, 2014). These results on temperature behaviour in Buea in particular and the Mount Cameroon Region in general show a general trend of warming (Figure 3) since the dawn of the 20th Century

Summary

Introduction

Over one and the half centuries, the world has continued to witness growing concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG) largely from human activities such as industrialisation, deforestation and unsustainable agricultural activities. The results have been increasing climate change and variability and the associated impacts on human livelihoods. These climate change and variability scenarios observed through increasing temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and increase in the frequency of climatic hazards (droughts and floods) have had untold impacts especially on the economies of developing countries that lack the required capital and technical packages to deal with the problem. One of the hardest hit sectors of the economies of the developing communities is agriculture. This is more so because agriculture especially in much of Sub-Saharan Africa is dominantly rain fed (Rao, Verchot, & Laarman, 2007). The changes in precipitation patterns alone will significantly increase the likelihood of crop failures such as maize and production declines (Nelson et al, 2009)

Methods

Results

Conclusion