Quantifying rice yield gaps and their causes in Eastern and Southern Africa

The demand for rice in Eastern and Southern Africa is rapidly increasing because of changes in consumer preferences and urbanization. However, local rice production lags behind consumption, mainly due to low yield levels. In order to set priorities for research and development aimed at improving ric...

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Main Authors: Senthilkumar, Kalimuthu, Rodenburg, J., Dieng, I., Vandamme, Elke, Sillo, F.S., Johnson, J.M., Rajaona, A., Ramarolahy, J.A., Gasore, R., Abera, B.B., Kajiru, G.J., Mghase, J., Lamo, J., Rabeson, R., Saito, Kazuki
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Wiley 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/109108
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author Senthilkumar, Kalimuthu
Rodenburg, J.
Dieng, I.
Vandamme, Elke
Sillo, F.S.
Johnson, J.M.
Rajaona, A.
Ramarolahy, J.A.
Gasore, R.
Abera, B.B.
Kajiru, G.J.
Mghase, J.
Lamo, J.
Rabeson, R.
Saito, Kazuki
author_browse Abera, B.B.
Dieng, I.
Gasore, R.
Johnson, J.M.
Kajiru, G.J.
Lamo, J.
Mghase, J.
Rabeson, R.
Rajaona, A.
Ramarolahy, J.A.
Rodenburg, J.
Saito, Kazuki
Senthilkumar, Kalimuthu
Sillo, F.S.
Vandamme, Elke
author_facet Senthilkumar, Kalimuthu
Rodenburg, J.
Dieng, I.
Vandamme, Elke
Sillo, F.S.
Johnson, J.M.
Rajaona, A.
Ramarolahy, J.A.
Gasore, R.
Abera, B.B.
Kajiru, G.J.
Mghase, J.
Lamo, J.
Rabeson, R.
Saito, Kazuki
author_sort Senthilkumar, Kalimuthu
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The demand for rice in Eastern and Southern Africa is rapidly increasing because of changes in consumer preferences and urbanization. However, local rice production lags behind consumption, mainly due to low yield levels. In order to set priorities for research and development aimed at improving rice productivity, there is a need to characterize the rice production environments, to quantify rice yield gaps—that is, the difference between average on‐farm yield and the best farmers’ yield—and to identify causes of yield gaps. Such information will help identifying and targeting technologies to alleviate the main constraints, and consequently to reduce existing yield gaps. Yield gap surveys were conducted on 357 rice farms at eight sites (19–50 farmers per site) across five rice‐producing countries in Eastern and Southern Africa—that is Ethiopia, Madagascar, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda—for one or two years (2012–13) to collect both quantitative and qualitative data at field and farm level. Average farm yields measured at the eight sites ranged from 1.8 to 4.3 t/ha and the average yield gap ranged from 0.8 to 3.4 t/ha. Across rice‐growing environments, major causes for yield variability were straw management, weeding frequency, growth duration of the variety, weed cover, fertilizer (mineral and organic) application frequency, levelling and iron toxicity. Land levelling increased the yield by 0.74 t/ha, bird control increased the yield by 1.44 t/ha, and sub‐optimal management of weeds reduced the yield by 3.6 to 4.4 t/ha. There is great potential to reduce the current rice yield gap in ESA, by focusing on improvements of those crop management practices that address the main site‐specific causes for sub‐optimal yields.
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spelling CGSpace1091082024-08-27T10:35:03Z Quantifying rice yield gaps and their causes in Eastern and Southern Africa Senthilkumar, Kalimuthu Rodenburg, J. Dieng, I. Vandamme, Elke Sillo, F.S. Johnson, J.M. Rajaona, A. Ramarolahy, J.A. Gasore, R. Abera, B.B. Kajiru, G.J. Mghase, J. Lamo, J. Rabeson, R. Saito, Kazuki rice yield gap irrigated land smallholders rain birds The demand for rice in Eastern and Southern Africa is rapidly increasing because of changes in consumer preferences and urbanization. However, local rice production lags behind consumption, mainly due to low yield levels. In order to set priorities for research and development aimed at improving rice productivity, there is a need to characterize the rice production environments, to quantify rice yield gaps—that is, the difference between average on‐farm yield and the best farmers’ yield—and to identify causes of yield gaps. Such information will help identifying and targeting technologies to alleviate the main constraints, and consequently to reduce existing yield gaps. Yield gap surveys were conducted on 357 rice farms at eight sites (19–50 farmers per site) across five rice‐producing countries in Eastern and Southern Africa—that is Ethiopia, Madagascar, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda—for one or two years (2012–13) to collect both quantitative and qualitative data at field and farm level. Average farm yields measured at the eight sites ranged from 1.8 to 4.3 t/ha and the average yield gap ranged from 0.8 to 3.4 t/ha. Across rice‐growing environments, major causes for yield variability were straw management, weeding frequency, growth duration of the variety, weed cover, fertilizer (mineral and organic) application frequency, levelling and iron toxicity. Land levelling increased the yield by 0.74 t/ha, bird control increased the yield by 1.44 t/ha, and sub‐optimal management of weeds reduced the yield by 3.6 to 4.4 t/ha. There is great potential to reduce the current rice yield gap in ESA, by focusing on improvements of those crop management practices that address the main site‐specific causes for sub‐optimal yields. 2020-08 2020-08-29T12:47:23Z 2020-08-29T12:47:23Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/109108 en Limited Access Wiley Senthilkumar, K, Rodenburg, J, Dieng, I, et al. Quantifying rice yield gaps and their causes in Eastern and Southern Africa. J Agro Crop Sci. 2020; 206: 478– 490.
spellingShingle rice
yield gap
irrigated land
smallholders
rain
birds
Senthilkumar, Kalimuthu
Rodenburg, J.
Dieng, I.
Vandamme, Elke
Sillo, F.S.
Johnson, J.M.
Rajaona, A.
Ramarolahy, J.A.
Gasore, R.
Abera, B.B.
Kajiru, G.J.
Mghase, J.
Lamo, J.
Rabeson, R.
Saito, Kazuki
Quantifying rice yield gaps and their causes in Eastern and Southern Africa
title Quantifying rice yield gaps and their causes in Eastern and Southern Africa
title_full Quantifying rice yield gaps and their causes in Eastern and Southern Africa
title_fullStr Quantifying rice yield gaps and their causes in Eastern and Southern Africa
title_full_unstemmed Quantifying rice yield gaps and their causes in Eastern and Southern Africa
title_short Quantifying rice yield gaps and their causes in Eastern and Southern Africa
title_sort quantifying rice yield gaps and their causes in eastern and southern africa
topic rice
yield gap
irrigated land
smallholders
rain
birds
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/109108
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