scholarly journals Modeling the Impacts of Conservation Agriculture with a Drip Irrigation System on the Hydrology and Water Management in Sub-Saharan Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4763 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tewodros Assefa ◽  
Manoj Jha ◽  
Manuel Reyes ◽  
Abeyou Worqlul
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Drip Irrigation ◽  
Irrigation System ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Irrigation Scheduling ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Biophysical Model ◽  
Cropping Pattern ◽  
Drip Irrigation System ◽  
Sub Saharan

The agricultural system in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is dominated by traditional farming practices with poor soil and water management, which contributes to soil degradation and low crop productivity. This study integrated field experiments and a field-scale biophysical model (Agricultural Policy Environmental Extender, APEX) to investigate the impacts of conservation agriculture (CA) with a drip irrigation system on the hydrology and water management as compared to the conventional tillage (CT) practice. Field data were collected from four study sites; Dangishita and Robit (Ethiopia), Yemu (Ghana), and Mkindo (Tanzania) to validate APEX for hydrology and crop yield simulation. Each study site consisted of 100 m2 plots divided equally between CA and CT practices and both had a drip irrigation setup. Cropping pattern, management practices, and irrigation scheduling were monitored for each experimental plot. Significant water savings (α = 0.05) were observed under CA practice; evapotranspiration and runoff were reduced by up to 49% and 62%, respectively, whereas percolation increased up to three-fold. Consequently, irrigation water need was reduced in CA plots by about 14–35% for various crops. CA coupled with drip irrigation was found to be an efficient water saving technology and has substantial potential to sustain and intensify crop production in the region.

scholarly journals Experimental Evaluation of Conservation Agriculture with Drip Irrigation for Water Productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tewodros Assefa ◽  
Manoj Jha ◽  
Manuel Reyes ◽  
Seifu Tilahun ◽  
Abeyou Worqlul
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Drip Irrigation ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Irrigation System ◽  
Water Productivity ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Drip Irrigation System ◽  
Irrigation Water Use

A field-scale experimental study was conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa (Ethiopia and Ghana) to examine the effects of conservation agriculture (CA) with drip irrigation system on water productivity in vegetable home gardens. CA here refers to minimum soil disturbance (no-till), year-round organic mulch cover, and diverse cropping in the rotation. A total of 28 farmers (13 farmers in Ethiopia and 15 farmers in Ghana) participated in this experiment. The experimental setup was a paired ‘t’ design on a 100 m2 plot; where half of the plot was assigned to CA and the other half to conventional tillage (CT), both under drip irrigation system. Irrigation water use and crop yield were monitored for three seasons in Ethiopia and one season in Ghana for vegetable production including garlic, onion, cabbage, tomato, and sweet potato. Irrigation water use was substantially lower under CA, 18% to 45.6%, with a substantial increase in crop yields, 9% to about two-fold, when compared with CT practice for the various vegetables. Crop yields and irrigation water uses were combined into one metric, water productivity, for the statistical analysis on the effect of CA with drip irrigation system. One-tailed paired ‘t’ test statistical analysis was used to examine if the mean water productivity in CA is higher than that of CT. Water productivity was found to be significantly improved (α = 0.05) under the CA practice; 100%, 120%, 222%, 33%, and 49% for garlic, onion, tomato, cabbage, and sweet potato respectively. This could be due to the improvement of soil quality and structure due to CA practice, adding nutrients to the soil and sticking soil particles together (increase soil aggregates). Irrigation water productivity for tomato under CA (5.17 kg m−3 in CA as compared to 1.61 kg m−3 in CT) is found to be highest when compared to water productivity for the other vegetables. The mulch cover provided protection for the tomatoes from direct contact with the soil and minimized the chances of soil-borne diseases. Adapting to CA practices with drip irrigation in vegetable home gardens is, therefore, a feasible strategy to improve water use efficiency, and to intensify crop yield, which directly contributes towards the sustainability of livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the region.

scholarly journals Conservation Agriculture Saves Irrigation Water in the Dry Monsoon Phase in the Ethiopian Highlands

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sisay A. Belay ◽  
Petra Schmitter ◽  
Abeyou W. Worqlul ◽  
Tammo S. Steenhuis ◽  
Manuel R. Reyes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Irrigation Scheduling ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Ethiopian Highlands ◽  
Irrigation Water Use ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Yield Responses ◽  
Irrigation Practices

Water resources in sub-Saharan Africa are more overstressed than in many other regions of the world. Experiments on commercial farms have shown that conservation agriculture (CA) can save water and improve the soil. Nevertheless, its benefits on smallholder irrigated farms have not been adequately investigated, particularly in dry monsoon phase in the Ethiopian highlands. We investigated the effect of conservation agriculture (grass mulch cover and no-tillage) on water-saving on smallholder farms in the Ethiopian highlands. Irrigated onion and garlic were grown on local farms. Two main factors were considered: the first factor was conservation agriculture versus conventional tillage, and the second factor was irrigation scheduling using reference evapotranspiration (ETo) versus irrigation scheduling managed by farmers. Results showed that for both onion and garlic, the yield and irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) was over 40% greater for CA than conventional tillage (CT). The soil moisture after irrigation was higher in CA compared with CT treatment while CA used 49 mm less irrigation water. In addition, we found that ETo-based irrigation was superior to the farmers’ irrigation practices for both crops. IWUE was lower in farmers irrigation practices due to lower onion and garlic yield responses to overirrigation and greater water application variability.

Conservation agriculture with drip irrigation: Effects on soil quality and crop yield in sub-Saharan Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Assefa ◽  
M. Jha ◽  
M. Reyes ◽  
A.W. Worqlul ◽  
L. Doro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Quality ◽  
Crop Yield ◽  
Drip Irrigation ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Irrigation Effects
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