Soil and land Suitability Assessments towards Sustainable Rice Production in the Northern Zone of Ghana

Abstract

Rice has become the second most important cereal crop and a primary staple food in Ghana. However, domestic rice production falls below its demand, resulting in over 50% rice import per annum. The Government of Ghana has responded by introducing policies to intensify domestic rice production, especially in Ghana's northern zone, where over 50% of local rice is produced. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify and classify soils within the catchment areas of Lonto, Sabonjida, Buntum, Djadema and Wiesi towns in Northern Ghana. The soils were then evaluated for their suitability for valley rice production, under irrigation. The study identified eight soil types (Lima, Lima-variant, Sirru, Lapliki, Kpelesawgu, Changnalili, Kasele and Wenchi series) in the selected study areas. Lima series was the most extensive soil type and was found at all the sites except Djadema site. The soils were generally rated moderately suitable for rice, with the most suitable soils being Sirru and Lapliki series. Groundwater lateritic soils of Changnalili and Kasele series were rated not to be suitable. The general fertility of the soils was low, which calls for sound soil nutrient and water management. The study is expected to serve as baseline information to help guide decisions of improving per capita rice yield and reducing household food insecurity and poverty levels in Northern Ghana.

Assessment of Physical Suitability of Soils for Vegetable Production in the Libga Irrigation Scheme, Northern Region, Ghana Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process and Weighted Overlay Analysis

“…The layer may overlie a brown, silty clay with strong brown to reddish-yellow mottles up to a depth of 45 cm to 60 cm. Subsurface colours may vary from light yellowish-brown to light grey (Gyekye et al, 2020).…”

“…This could be due to the fact that the major soil groups in this area are planosols and plinthosols. According to Gyekye et al (2020), these are moderately deep soils which are imperfectly drained, pale brown/yellowish-brown, porous and very fine sandy loam or silty-loam topsoil, usually less than 30 cm thick, overlying hard iron pan.…”

“…Okiror et al (2017) assessed the suitability of Kabangolo soils for fruit and vegetable production by comparing the levels of soil properties in the fields to crop requirements. Gyekye et al (2020) assessed the soil and land suitability for sustainable rice production in the northern zone of Ghana using the traditional land capability rating developed by the FAO. A major limitation of these methods however has been the lack of mechanism to check the consistency of the decisions made in the ranking and rating of alternatives (Singha and Swain, 2018).…”