In the context of a growing population in West Africa and frequent yield losses due to erratic rainfall, it is necessary to improve stability and productivity of agricultural production systems, e.g., by introducing and assessing the potential of alternative irrigation strategies which may be applicable in this region. For this purpose, five irrigation management strategies, ranging from no irrigation (NI) to controlled deficit irrigation (CDI) and full irrigation (FI), were evaluated concerning their impact on the inter-seasonal variability of the expected yields and improvements of the yield potential. The study was conducted on a maize crop (Zea mays L.) at a representative site in northern Togo with a hot semi-arid climate and pronounced dry and wet rainfall seasons. The OCCASION (Optimal Climate Change Adaption Strategies in Irrigation) framework was adapted and applied. It consists of: (i) a weather generator for simulating long climate time series; (ii) the AquaCrop model, which was used to simulate the irrigation system during the growing season and the yield response of maize to the considered irrigation management strategies; and (iii) a problem-specific algorithm for optimal irrigation scheduling with limited water supply. We found high variability in rainfall during the wet season which leads to considerable variability in the expected yield for rainfed conditions (NI). This variability was significantly reduced when supplemental irrigation management strategies (CDI or FI) requiring a reasonably low water demand of about 150 mm were introduced. For the dry season, it was shown that both irrigation management strategies (CDI and FI) would increase yield potential for the local variety TZEE-W up to 4.84 Mg/ha and decrease the variability of the expected yield at the same time. However, even with CDI management, more than 400 mm of water is required if irrigation would be introduced during the dry season in northern Togo. Substantial rainwater harvesting and irrigation infrastructures would be needed to achieve that. precipitation patterns [5]. The variation of the food diets in many developing countries compound this problem and lead to the demand for more processed food and animal proteins by consumers [6].The World Bank [7] reports that the rate of increase in food demand is projected to be higher in developing than in developed countries. These are also the regions that are subject to a wide yield gap. The world demand (billion tons) of cereals was 1.20 in 1974, 1.84 in 1997 and is expected to be 2.50 in 2020 [8]. In addition, van Ittersum et al. [9] pointed out that Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is the region with lowest food security because by 2050 its demand for cereals will almost triple, whereas current levels of cereal consumption already rely on considerable importations.Lobell and Gourdji [10] pointed out that, in the past several decades, air temperatures have been increasing in most of the main cereal cropping areas around the world. They added that the changes in temperature and the intensity...
Togolese agriculture is predominantly rain-fed and hence fundamentally dependent on the vagaries of weather. Thus, it is negatively affected by climate change. The present study assesses farmers' perceptions and adaptation to climate change to enhance policy towards tackling the challenges climate change poses to the farmers in the study area. Descriptive statistics and multinomial logit (MNL) were used to analyze data obtained from a cross-sectional survey executed during the 2013/2014 agricultural production year in the maritime, plateau and savannah regions of Togo. The analysis of farmers' perception to climate change reveals high increase in temperature and decrease in rainfall. These results are in line with the trend analysis of climate data that records from 1961 to 2013 about the study area especially on the temperature. Furthermore, the results show that crop diversification, change in crops, find off-farm jobs, change of the amount of land, change of the planting date and plant short season variety are the adaptation methods employed by the farmers. Moreover, with respect to the multinomial logit analysis, the results highlight that education level, farming experience, access extension services, access to credit and access to climate information are the factors that enhance farmers' adaptive capacity to climate change and variability. Thus, there is room for better adaptation if government intensifies activities of extension workers and ensures that farmers have access to affordable credit schemes to increase their ability and flexibility to adopt adaptation measures. There is also a need to include climate change communication to facilitate exchange of climatic information that could enable smallholder farmers to adapt to changing planting dates. Finally, investment in education systems and creation of off-farm job opportunities in the rural areas can be underlined as a good policy option.A. Gadédjisso-Tossou 1442
This study investigates the trend in monthly and annual rainfall, minimum and maximum temperature (Tmin and Tmax) using the Mann–Kendall (MK) test and Sen’s slope (SS) method and evaluates the significance of their variability for maize, sorghum and millet yields in northern Togo employing multiple regression analysis. The historical data of Kara, Niamtougou, Mango and Dapaong weather stations from 1977 to 2012 were used. Four non-parametric methods—Alexandersson’s Standard Normal Homogeneity Test (SNHT), Buishand’s Range Test (BRT), Pettitt’s Test (PT) and Von Neumann’s Ratio Test (VNRT)—were applied to detect homogeneity in the data. For the data which were serially correlated, a modified version of the MK test (pre-whitening) was utilised. Results showed an increasing trend in the annual rainfall in all four locations. However, this trend was only significant at Dapaong (p < 0.1). There was an increasing trend in Tmax at Kara, Mango and Niamtougou, unlike Dapaong where Tmax revealed a significant decreasing trend (p < 0.01). Similarly, there was an increasing trend in Tmin at Kara, Mango and Dapaong, unlike Niamtougou where Tmin showed a non-significant decreasing trend (p > 0.05). Rainfall in Dapaong was found to have increased (7.79 mm/year) more than the other locations such as Kara (2.20 mm/year), Niamtougou (4.57 mm/year) and Mango (0.67 mm). Tmax increased by 0.13, 0.13 and 0.32 °C per decade at Kara, Niamtougou and Mango, respectively, and decreased by 0.20 per decade in Dapaong. Likewise, Tmin increased by 0.07, 0.20 and 0.02 °C per decade at Kara, Mango and Dapaong, respectively, and decreased by 0.01 °C per decade at Niamtougou. Results of multiple regression analysis revealed nonlinear yield responses to changes in rainfall and temperature. Rainfall and temperature variability affects rainfed cereal crops production, but the effects vary across crops. The temperature has a positive effect on maize yield in Kara, Niamtougou and Mango but a negative effect on sorghum in Niamtougou and millet in Dapaong, while rainfall has a negative effect on maize yield in Niamtougou and Dapaong and millet yield in Mango. In all locations, rainfall and temperature variability has a significant effect on the cereal crop yields. There is, therefore, a need to adopt some adaptation strategies for sustainable agricultural production in northern Togo.
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