Managing the agricultural calendar as coping mechanism to climate variability: A case study of maize farming in northern Benin, West Africa

Yegbemey, Rosaine N.; Kabir, Humayun; Awoye, Hervé; Yabi, Jacob Afouda; Paraïso, Armand

doi:10.1016/j.crm.2014.04.001

Cited by 36 publications

(21 citation statements)

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“…Discrepancies with local calendars could occur. Topography, soil characteristics, the availability of labor, field size, and access to technology (e.g., use of greenhouse for rice seedling in cooler regions) and information (e.g., weather forecasts) contribute to local calendars (Tian et al, ; van der Velde et al, ; Yegbemey et al, ). Second, day length is important for photoperiod‐sensitive varieties in determining their crop duration (Sawano et al, ) but was not considered here because global modeling remains a challenge (van Bussel et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling the Global Sowing and Harvesting Windows of Major Crops Around the Year 2000

Iizumi

Kim

Nishimori

2019

J Adv Model Earth Syst

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The lack of spatially detailed crop calendars is a significant source of uncertainty in modeling, monitoring, and forecasting crop production. In this paper, we present a rule-based model to estimate the sowing and harvesting windows of major crops over the global land area. The model considers field workability due to snow cover and heavy rainfall in addition to crop biological requirements for heat, chilling, and moisture. Using daily weather data for the period 1996-2005 as model input, we derive calendars for maize, rice, winter and spring wheat, and soybeans around the year 2000 with a spatial resolution of 0.5°in latitude and longitude. Separate calendars for rainfed and irrigated conditions and three representative varieties (short-, medium-and long-season varieties) are estimated. The daily probabilities of sowing and harvesting derived using the model well capture the major characteristics of reported calendars. Our modeling reveals that field workability is an important determinant of sowing and harvesting dates and that multicropping patterns influence the calendars of individual crops. The case studies show that the model is capable of capturing multicropping patterns such as triple rice cropping in Bangladesh, double rice cropping in the Philippines, winter wheat-maize rotations in France, and maize-winter wheat-soybean rotations in Brazil. The model outputs are particularly valuable for agricultural and hydrological applications in regions where existing crop calendars are sparse or unreliable. Plain Language SummaryThis manuscript describes a numerical model to estimate location-specific sowing and harvesting dates of crops over the globe. Ten-year-long daily weather data and a few coefficients that represent the physiological characteristics of a crop (for instance, the amount of water needs to complete the life cycle of an annual crop) are only inputs to the model. Comparisons with the reported crop calendars indicate that the model well reproduces calendars of maize, rice, winter and spring wheat, and soybean around the year 2000 in major crop-producing countries. We also find that snow cover and heavy rainfall, which influence field workability but have not considered in earlier modeling, are important to estimate sowing and harvesting dates and multicropping patterns (for instance, a combination of winter and summer crops) affect the calendar of individual crops. Our findings are useful when simulating the responses of crop calendars to climate change.In the SAGE data set, average planting and harvesting windows for 19 crops, including major crops (maize, rice, wheat, and soybean), around the 1990s and early 2000s are reported. Different growing seasons of a crop, such as spring and winter wheat and main-and second-season maize and rice, are available in SAGE, but this distinction is not available in MIRCA2000. Instead, average planting and harvesting months for 23 crops, including the major crops, in 1998-2002 are available for each of the irrigated and rainfed conditions in MIRCA2000. Howeve...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling the Global Sowing and Harvesting Windows of Major Crops Around the Year 2000

Iizumi

Kim

Nishimori

2019

J Adv Model Earth Syst

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“…Of family farming type, the agriculture is rainfed, dominated by small scale holdings with low farm productivity caused by decrease in soil fertility and perverse effects of a climate change that have become more and more perceptible in the last years (cf. Yabi, 2013;Yegbemey, 2014). This considerably affects the income of most farm households, thereby rendering them more vulnerable to poverty.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Although some few development projects have been initiated by the government in the framework of the achievement of millennium development goals, their effects in rural areas remain, however, very less perceptible and farm households continue to struggle for their survival by developing endogenous strategies. Among these strategies income diversification is one of the most widespread (Gnanglè, 2012;Yegbemey, 2014). Quite all farm households are concerned by the diversification of their income sources, either by exploiting off-farm income opportunities through reinvestments, carrying out off-farm activities to compensate insufficient farm income or substituting this farm income when access to land becomes very difficult (cf.…”

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confidence: 99%

Gender-Based Analysis of Income Diversification as a Strategy for Poverty Reduction in Central Benin (West Africa).

Degla¹,

Tomavo²,

Badou.³

2016

IJAR

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The fight against poverty is a permanent real challenge that rural people in central-Benin must face by developing survival strategies among which income diversification is one of the most important. Accordingly this paper attempts to analyse this strategy on a gender basis. Based on a random sample of 120 farmers (60 men and 60 women) and using diverse methods and analysis tools including farmincome statement and regression analysis, our study showed that women were more dependent on income diversification from which they, however, drew lower income than their male counterparts due to unequal access to land, on one hand, and to high return off-farm activities, on the other hand. Whereas men could diversify into higherreturn activities, women were content with activities with lowerincome potential because of their little requirement of initial investment. Compared to women who were specialized in farm production or only in off-farm activities because they were landless, women with diversified income achieved, in average, greater total annual income. Similar results exist between men with diversified income and those specialized only in farm production, suggesting that income diversification positively impacts famers" income, and could therefore contribute to improving their welfare. Factors that significantly and positively influenced the level of off-farm income earned through diversifying income included, for women: the cultivated area, the age and the contact with the extension service; and for men only the cultivated area. Better access to credit and special training in resources management could help poor-farmers and women taking more advantage from income diversification.

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“…In Benin, number of previous studies examined the farmers' adaptation strategies to climate change (Ozer et al, 2013;Vissoh et al, 2013;Yegbemey et al, 2013Yegbemey et al, , 2014Padonou et al, 2015;Tovihoudji et al, 2015). Yegbemey et al (2013), for instance, used a simultaneous modelling approach based on a Multivariate Probit model to examine factors determining farmers' decisions to adapt to climate change.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some indicated that farmers are conscious of climate change and its harmful impacts, and subsequently adopt different coping strategies (Thomas et al, 2007;Ishaya & Abaje, 2008;Mertz et al, 2009;Nouatin et al, 2014;Yegbemey et al, 2014). Others investigated different socio-economic and environmental factors that may drive farmers' adaptive measures to climate change (Semenza et al, 2008;Sampei & Aoyagi-Usui, 2009;Akter & Bennett, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of Multiple Cropping-Systems as Adaptive Strategy to Climate Change in Central-Benin (West Africa)

Degla¹,

Adekambi²,

Adanhoussode³

2016

JAS

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Climate change is currently one of the most important global environmental issues that negatively affect agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa. This importance has resulted in a great interest to understand both the farmers' perception of and adaptation to observed climate change. A good number of previous studies did explicitly focus on several adaptation strategies. Nevertheless, a better understanding of the socio-economic drivers underlying specific adaptive measures to climate change is crucial to inform specific adaptation components that will fall into a wider adaptation plan. In this respect, the present study focuses on the use of multiple cropping systems consisting of growing two or more crops on the same field either at the same time or one after another as climate change adaptation strategy. Accordingly, this paper examines different strategies commonly used to intensify agricultural production in tropical agriculture. These include crop rotation and association in the center of Benin.Data were collected in central Benin through interviews with 80 farmers selected by using a multistage random sampling technique. Data analysis was carried-out by using descriptive statistics and a Probit regression. The results showed that the major drivers of multiple cropping systems as adaptive strategy to climate change include contacts with extension services, education level, and farm size. Major constraints to the use of multiple cropping systems are gender, adult literacy, perception of adaptation to climate change, experience with climate change impacts, and farmer location. Policy options should include, among others, production of information related to impacts of climate change and their dissemination through formal services such as extension services; identification of potential ways to greatly improve returns on extra agricultural activities, and investigating on the effects of past adoption strategies on the different cropping systems.

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Managing the agricultural calendar as coping mechanism to climate variability: A case study of maize farming in northern Benin, West Africa

Cited by 36 publications

References 18 publications

Modeling the Global Sowing and Harvesting Windows of Major Crops Around the Year 2000

Modeling the Global Sowing and Harvesting Windows of Major Crops Around the Year 2000

Gender-Based Analysis of Income Diversification as a Strategy for Poverty Reduction in Central Benin (West Africa).

Drivers of Multiple Cropping-Systems as Adaptive Strategy to Climate Change in Central-Benin (West Africa)

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