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The Brazilian case as a beacon to increase crop production in sub-Saharan Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 November 2024

Leticia G. Gasparotto ,
Ivo Z. Gonçalves  and
Fábio R. Marin Open the ORCID record for Fábio R. Marin [Opens in a new window]
Leticia G. Gasparotto
Affiliation:
College of Agriculture “Luiz de Queiroz” (ESALQ), University of São Paulo (USP), Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
Ivo Z. Gonçalves
Affiliation:
College of Agriculture “Luiz de Queiroz” (ESALQ), University of São Paulo (USP), Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
Fábio R. Marin*
Affiliation:
College of Agriculture “Luiz de Queiroz” (ESALQ), University of São Paulo (USP), Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
*
Corresponding author: Fábio R. Marin; Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Maize is one of the major agricultural commodities in the world, and a source of food in Africa, representing more than 40 million ha currently harvested on the continent. Despite sub-Saharan Africa's dependence on grain, the maize actual yield (Ya) of the crop is low when compared to its potential yield. In Brazil, the yield-gap between Ya and water-limited yield (Yw) is approximately 50% of Yw. The objective of this study was to carry out a case study, using upland maize as a reference to identify a set of agricultural areas with similar soil and climate in Brazil and sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The climatic similarity between Brazil and SSA countries was verified, seeking homogeneous climatic zones that occur in both regions. The Ya was determined including the data of at least the last three years of cultivation and were taken from the database of the national institutes of agricultural statistics. The climatic data showed that the SSA had well-distributed rainfall throughout the crop season, being higher than in Brazil, as well as the average air temperature. The average Yw was 11.3 and 7.4 Mg/ha for Brazil and SSA, respectively. Maize Ya in SSA was 1.4 Mg/ha, while in Brazil Ya was 5.2 Mg/ha. Ya represented approximately 9% of Yw in the SSA. The low Ya shows the large yield-gap found in SSA. With this, it is evident that the technologies used and the crop management are largely responsible for the yield differences between Brazil and SSA.

Keywords

agricultural intensificationfood securityyield gap
Type
Climate Change and Agriculture Research Paper
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 162 , Issue 3 , June 2024 , pp. 191 - 200
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press

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