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Sensitivity of Maize Yield in Smallholder Systems to Climate Scenarios in Semi-Arid Regions of West Africa: Accounting for Variability in Farm Management PracticesClimate change is estimated to exacerbate existing challenges faced by smallholder farmers in Sub-Sahara Africa. However, limited studies quantify the extent of variation in climate change impact under these systems at the local scale. The Decision Support System for Agro-technological Transfer (DSSAT) was used to quantify variation in climate change impacts on maize yield under current agricultural practices in semi-arid regions of Senegal (Nioro du Rip) and Ghana (Navrongo and Tamale). Multi-benchmark climate models (Mid-Century, 2040–2069 for two Representative Concentration Pathways, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5), and multiple soil and management information from agronomic surveys were used as input for DSSAT. The average impact of climate scenarios on grain yield among farms ranged between −9% and −39% across sites. Substantial variation in climate response exists across farms in the same farming zone with relative standard deviations from 8% to 117% at Nioro du Rip, 13% to 64% in Navrongo and 9% to 37% in Tamale across climate models. Variations in fertilizer application, planting dates and soil types explained the variation in the impact among farms. This study provides insight into the complexities of the impact of climate scenarios on maize yield and the need for better representation of heterogeneous farming systems for optimized outcomes in adaptation and resilience planning in smallholder systems.



Document ID
20190032416
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Freduah, Bright S.
(University of Ghana Accra, Ghana)
MacCarthy, Dilys S.
(University of Ghana Accra, Ghana)
Adam, Myriam
(CIRAD Agricultural Research for Development Montpellier, France)
Ly, Mouhamed
(AGRHYMET Regional Centre Niamey, Niger)
Ruane, Alex C.
(NASA Goddard Inst. for Space Studies New York, NY, United States)
Timpong-Jones, Eric C.
(University of Ghana Accra, Ghana)
Traore, Pierre S.
(International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT) Bamako, Mali)
Boote, Kenneth J.
(Florida Univ. Gainesville, FL, United States)
Porter, Cheryl
(Florida Univ. Gainesville, FL, United States)
Adiku, Samuel G. K.
(University of Ghana Accra, Ghana)
Date Acquired
October 30, 2019
Publication Date
October 15, 2019
Publication Information
Publication: Agronomy
Publisher: MDPI
Volume: 9
Issue: 10
e-ISSN: 2073-4395
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN74379
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Use by or on behalf of the US Gov. Permitted.
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