Trends of rainfall and its likely impact on crop production in four agro-ecological zones of Bihar

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 208
Author(s):  
Sunil Kumar
Author(s):  
Mohamed Nasser Baco

Previous studies suggested that maize is set to become a cash crop while ensuring food security better than any other crop. However, climate change has become one of the key production constraints that are now hampering and threatening the sustainability of maize production systems. We conducted a study to better understand changes here defined as adaptations made by smallholder farmers to ensure food security and improve income through maize production in a climate change context. Our results show that maize farmers in northern Benin mainly rely on traditional seeds. Drought as abiotic stress is perceived by farmers in many agro-ecological zones as a disruptive factor for crop production, including maize. When drought is associated with pest damages, both the quantity (i.e. yield) and the quality (i.e. attributes) of products/harvests are negatively affected. The adverse effects of drought continue to reduce production in different agro-ecological zones of the country, because of the lack of widespread adoption of tolerant varieties. The study suggests actions towards the production of drought-tolerant maize seeds, a promotion of seed companies, the organization of actors and value chains. Apart from climate change, the promotion of value chains is also emerging as one of the important aspects to take into account to sustain maize production in Benin.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashenafi Hailu Shekuru ◽  
Arega Bazezew Berlie ◽  
Yechale Kebede Bizuneh

Abstract This study aims to analyze variability and trends of temperature and rainfall over three agro-ecological zones (AEZs) in Central Ethiopia. Gridded rainfall and temperature data, recorded on daily basis for 35 years (1979 - 2013) at 30 meteorological stations, were used for analysis. While Mann–Kendall test was applied to analyze the trends in rainfall and temperature, Sen’s slope estimator was used to determine the magnitude of change. The study detected an upward trend of 0.07°C/annum (p < 0.001) in mean annual maximum temperature at Kolla AEZ. It also showed an upward trend of 0.06/year (p < 0.001) for both Dega and Woina Dega AEZs. Mean annual minimum temperature exhibited an upward trend of 0.03°C/year at Kolla (p < 0.001), Woina Dega (p < 0.05), and Dega (p < 0.01), signifying a 1.05°C increase between 1979 and 2013. Results from precipitation concentration index (PCI) revealed highest percentage (97.1%) of irregular distributions in annual rainfall pattern at Kolla AEZ, followed by Woina Dega (82.9%). Standardized rainfall anomalies (SRA) computed in the study also showed higher percentage (28.6%) of drought in Kolla AEZ, which experienced drought once in every 3 or 4 years. The study revealed negative annual rainfall anomalies for 18 years in Kolla and 16 years in both Dega and Woina Dega AEZs. The reduced precipitation and rise in temperature could trigger wide-ranging influences on agricultural practices and crop production of smallholder farmers. Policymakers and stakeholders should give priority in designing and introducing pro-poor plus geographically differentiated adaptive strategies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abebayehu G Geffersa ◽  
Frank W Agbola ◽  
Amir Mahmood

This article investigates whether study-specific attributes account for systematic variations in reported technical efficiency (TE) scores in crop production. We conducted a meta-regression analysis using mean TE (MTE) estimates from primary frontier studies of Ethiopian crop sub-sector over the period 1991–2015. The estimated MTE of 66% indicates a capacity to increase efficiency in crop production. Results from a fractional outcome regression model revealed that reported efficiency estimates vary substantially across studies and agro-ecologies. We found that reported efficiency estimates are influenced by the frontier methodology used, the functional form assumed, assumptions about technology representation, the estimated dimension of the model, output aggregation and the publication outlet. We show that reported efficiency estimates are sensitive to variations in agro-ecologies. We argue for the need to consider differences in agro-ecologies when estimating TE because failure to account for this may bias efficiency estimates.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 5132 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Surendran ◽  
C. M. Sushanth ◽  
E. J. Joseph ◽  
Nadhir Al-Ansari ◽  
Zaher Mundher Yaseen

The irrigation requirements for coconut in Kerala are general in nature. This study determined the irrigation requirements for coconut, using CROPWAT based on agro-ecological zones (AEZs) for proposing the recommendations. The irrigation recommendations are generated based on the climatic, soil, and crop characteristics. The results showed that the irrigation requirements varied with the locations. Overall, for the state of Kerala, the irrigation requirements varied from 350 to 900 L of water per coconut palm, with the irrigation intervals ranging from three to nine days based on the AEZs. Moreover, this study also confirmed the variation of the water requirements observed within the districts. The quantity of water required per palm varied between 115 to 200 liters per day (LPD) per palm, which is lower than the existing recommendations of 175 to 300 LPD per palm. The proposed irrigation requirements appraised with the presently followed recommendations of the Kerala state, and its advantages discussed for improving the crop and water productivity. In nutshell, if the current recommendation is adopted, 30% of the water used for irrigation can be saved, as well as leading to an improvement in crop production.


Author(s):  
Fatai Abiola Sowunmi

Climate change has brought about irregularity in pattern and intensity of climatic variables such as rainfall and temperature that are important in crop production; making planning in agriculture difficult. The importance of cassava in the diet of Nigerian and its industrial use necessitate the need to examine the effects of climatic variability on cassava production. Secondary data obtained from Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) were used for the study. Analysis of Variance and Error Correction model were utilized.  The study showed that the rainforest zone had the highest averages of annual rainfall (1709mm) and relative humidity (82.1%) while the Sahel savannah had the highest mean annual temperature (35.3oC). The variability in annual rainfall and relative humidity was low in the rainforest zone. The study showed that the rainforest zone had the least dispersion of average annual relative humidity (2.06%) while the guinea savannah had highest dispersion (4.68%). The average cassava output from the agro-ecological zones was 49,118,871MT per year. Rainforest and guinea savannah accounted for 56.3% and 41.9% of total cassava output respectively. There were significant variations in the climatic variables (rainfall and temperature) among the agro-ecological zones but not significant among the years (p>0.05).  The annual rainfall and solar radiation were the factors that influenced cassava output in all the agro-ecological zones. The need for affordable irrigation by cassava farmers and the adoption of Climate-Smart Agriculture are recommended to boost cassava production in Sudan savannah and Sahel savannah.


Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1271
Author(s):  
Serapius Mwalongo ◽  
Essegbemon Akpo ◽  
Gerald Alex Lukurugu ◽  
Geoffrey Muricho ◽  
Ronnie Vernooy ◽  
...  

Access and use of seed of improved varieties of groundnut among farmers can improve farmers’ livelihoods and contribute to the potential of crop production in Tanzania. This paper analyzes factors underpinning the adoption of improved groundnut varieties among farmers to pave the way for upscaling quality seed used for increased production and commodity business in farming communities. A four-stage stratified sampling was used to collect data from 300 groundnut farmers in seven agro-ecological zones through individual interviews. Secondary data were collected from the literature and the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute at Naliendele centre (TARI–Naliendele). Descriptive statistics and Probit regression model were used for data analysis. The empirical results showed that Johari 1985, Pendo 1998, Naliendele 2009, Mnanje 2009, Mangaka 2009 and Nachi 2015, are the main six improved groundnut varieties used by farmers, with Pendo 1998 having the highest adoption rate (17.1%). In the grain market, four varieties, namely Pendo 1998, Mnanje 2009, Nachi 2015 and Johari 1985, were observed to be highly preferred by grain off-takers. Furthermore, among the adopted improved varieties, Nachi 2015, is observed to be the most consistent high yielding variety, ranging from 1100 kg/ha to 1500 kg/ha in all agro-ecological zones. A farmer’s decision to adopt new varieties is affected by age and gender, farmer group membership, availability of improved seed and seed cost. Overall, male farmers are more likely to adopt improved varieties of groundnut than female farmers. The implications of these findings are also discussed, in particular in the area of policy support.


1970 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 351-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
MA Quddus

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the progress and regional variations of crop production in Bangladesh. The secondary data were used and collected for the years 1980-81 to 2002-03 from the ‘Statistical Yearbooks of Bangladesh', ‘Yearbook of Agricultural Statistics' and population census of different years. The study was conducted during the period from September 2006 to February 2008. An analysis was done for twelve mutually exclusive agro-ecological zones by assigning various indicators of crop sector development. The remarkable progress of rural literacy rate, ratio of agricultural workers to population, number of farmer's co-operative societies and per capita regional domestic agricultural products in two decades was observed in different regions. Wide disparities in the level of crop sector development had been observed across the regions. The overall results reveal that some of the regions are in better positions in respect of socioeconomic progress, land use pattern, input use, growth performance of HYV rice and food-grains production. The developed regions were 'Old Himalayan Piedmont Plain and Tista Floodplain', 'Karatoya Floodplain and Atrai Basin', 'Brahmaputra-Jamuna Floodplain' and 'Middle Meghna River Floodplain' on the basis of land utilization pattern, input use and food-grains production. Analysis of regional disparities reveals that 'Sylhet Basin and Surma-Kusiyara Floodplain', 'Greater Dhaka', 'Middle Meghna River Floodplain' and 'Lower Meghna River and Estuarine Floodplain' regions has developed remarkably in the last twenty years. Keywords: Crop production; Development indicator; Growth performance; Regional variation DOI: 10.3329/jbau.v7i2.4746 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 7(2): 351-360, 2009


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6910
Author(s):  
Adil Dilawar ◽  
Baozhang Chen ◽  
Arfan Arshad ◽  
Lifeng Guo ◽  
Muhammad Irfan Ehsan ◽  
...  

Here, we provided a comprehensive analysis of long-term drought and climate extreme patterns in the agro ecological zones (AEZs) of Pakistan during 1980–2019. Drought trends were investigated using the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) at various timescales (SPEI-1, SPEI-3, SPEI-6, and SPEI-12). The results showed that droughts (seasonal and annual) were more persistent and severe in the southern, southwestern, southeastern, and central parts of the region. Drought exacerbated with slopes of −0.02, −0.07, −0.08, −0.01, and −0.02 per year. Drought prevailed in all AEZs in the spring season. The majority of AEZs in Pakistan’s southern, middle, and southwestern regions had experienced substantial warming. The mean annual temperature minimum (Tmin) increased faster than the mean annual temperature maximum (Tmax) in all zones. Precipitation decreased in the southern, northern, central, and southwestern parts of the region. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed a robust increase in temperature extremes with a variance of 76% and a decrease in precipitation extremes with a variance of 91% in the region. Temperature and precipitation extremes indices had a strong Pearson correlation with drought events. Higher temperatures resulted in extreme drought (dry conditions), while higher precipitation levels resulted in wetting conditions (no drought) in different AEZs. In most AEZs, drought occurrences were more responsive to precipitation. The current findings are helpful for climate mitigation strategies and specific zonal efforts are needed to alleviate the environmental and societal impacts of drought.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document