This mini-series in my blog is dedicated to looking at how the use of 'water-efficient' and 'water-suitable' or 'regionally-appropriate' crops used can increase food security across Africa.
To meet world demand for food production in the future, changes have to be made with regards to how we look at agriculture. There is a large demand to increase efficiency of yields without increasing land consumption. However, land and water availability are constrained, and not always available in the quantities required to increase efficiency. Therefore, if you cannot change the inputs of the agriculture, you might consider the most efficient or practical crops to grow.
To meet world demand for food production in the future, changes have to be made with regards to how we look at agriculture. There is a large demand to increase efficiency of yields without increasing land consumption. However, land and water availability are constrained, and not always available in the quantities required to increase efficiency. Therefore, if you cannot change the inputs of the agriculture, you might consider the most efficient or practical crops to grow.
The next few blogs will be dedicated to looking at how food security can be increased across Africa (and the world) through what crops and farming practices we choose to use and the differences which need to be fully understood and quantified.
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| Millet, a highly productive cereal crop, grows well in semi-arid regions (Source) |
Millet is a cereal crop found across much of the semi-arid regions of Africa, and predominately found in the Sahel region of Africa (Debenport et al., 2015). The Sahel is 3 million km2 region of desert (Sahara) and wooded savannah (Sudan). Rainfall on average is between 200-600mm ±15-30% per annum (FAO, 2011).The crop has been widely studied, with special focus on its productivity in the Sahel. Millet tends to be grown in sandy soils and intercropped with other crops (FAO, 2011). The FAO (2011) report found that for every mm of water per hectare used on millet, there is a yield of 3kg.
The FAO's (2011) report also provides suggestions for improvement of yields in this region. Due to the low water requirements of millet, it is a suitable plant for the region. Some of the improvements include intercropping with other crops. Debenport (et al., 2015) explains that intercropping millet with other crops significantly increases crop yield. Soegaard and Boegh (1995) echo this improvement, suggesting that most millet production across Africa is low efficiency, due to low crop density allowing for high evapotranspiration and water loss from soils - intercropping increases crop density. However the FAO (2011) do suggest other crops, such as sorghum, would be more suited to the region, as they have a higher biomass productivity rate compared to water consumption.
Changing crops from millet to sorghum, therefore, would increase food production and security without the need for increased water supplies. However, when considering suggestions such as these, you need to look at the socio-cultural implications of changing crops: is there availability of seed, skills to plant, farm and harvest, and knowledge of how to cook new crops?
I think accessibility will be the key issue you're right. How will smallholder farmers get access to these seeds and at what price? Do you think NGOs will have a strong part to play in this?
ReplyDeleteIn terms of millet, as it is so wide spread, I imagine seed procurement is relatively easy. Compared to sorghum, that is an issue that the FAO did not discuss, but is a good point. NGOs would have to play a significant role for any changes to be made.
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