Exploring adaptation strategies for smallholder farmers in dryland farming systems and impact on pearl millet production under climate change in West Africa

Akinseye, F M and Zagre, I and Faye, A and Joseph, J E and Worou, O N and Whitbread, A M (2024) Exploring adaptation strategies for smallholder farmers in dryland farming systems and impact on pearl millet production under climate change in West Africa. Frontiers in Agronomy, 6. 01-12. ISSN 2673-3218

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Abstract

Understanding and identifying appropriate adaptation optons for cropping systems and management practices at spatial and temporal scales is an important prerequisite for scaling. Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L) R. Br.) could be regarded as a risk-reducing measure crop under climate change when coupled with tactical agronomic management practices. In this study, we assess the impacts of adaptation strategies such as cultivar type, planting windows, and fertilizer strategies on pearl millet production under rainfed farming systems over Nigeria and Senegal using the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) model. The impact of climate change on millet yield was evaluated using a validated APSIM-millet module that utilized yield data collected through participatory research and extension approach (PREA) in contrasting environments. The climate model projections for the mid-century period (2040–2069) were compared against a baseline period of 1980–2009 for both locations. During the simulation, two millet varieties (improved local and dual-purpose) with two sowing regimes were considered comparing traditional farmers’ sowing window (dry sowing) and agronomic sowing window (planting based on the onset of the rainfall) at three different fertilizer levels [low (23 kg N ha−1), medium (40.5 kg N ha−1), and high (68.5 kg N ha−1) respectively]. The performance of the APSIM-millet module was found to be satisfactory as indicated by the low Root Means Square Error (RMSE) and Normalized Root Mean Square Error (NRMSE) values. The range for grain yield was between 17.7% and 25.8%, while for AGB it was between 18.6% and 21.4%. The results showed that farmers’ sowing window simulated slightly higher grain yield than the agronomic sowing window for improved local millet cultivar indicating yield increased by 8–12%. However, the projected changes in the mid-century (2040–2069) resulted in a decline in yield against baseline climate for both varieties and sowing windows, indicating the negative impact of climate change (CC) on yield productivity. The comparison between dual-purpose millet and improved local millet indicates that disseminating the improved millet variety and implementing early sowing could be an effective adaptation strategy in reducing risks and losses caused by climate change. Similarly, low magnitude impacts simulated on grain yield (< −8% in Nigeria compared to > −8% in Senegal) even though both locations are in the same agroecological zone.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	Global Research Program - Resilient Farm and Food Systems
CRP:	UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords:	adaptation strategies, climate change, management practices, pearl millet, potential impacts on yields
Subjects:	Mandate crops > Millets > Pearl Millet Others > Climate Change
Depositing User:	Mr Nagaraju T
Date Deposited:	09 Jul 2024 09:13
Last Modified:	09 Jul 2024 09:13
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/12754
Official URL:	https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/agronomy/arti...
Projects:	UNSPECIFIED
Funders:	UNSPECIFIED
Acknowledgement:	The authors thank the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the Centre for Regional Studies (CERAAS) for their institutional support for this study. This research was contributed by the Global Research Program “Resilient Farm and Food Systems” under Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Research Cluster.
Links:	Google Scholar

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