Sustainable Intensification of Smallholder Maize Production in Northern Ghana: The Case of Basal Fertilizer Timing.

Assessment of sustainable intensification of agricultural technologies is evolving with limited information in literature. A 2-year (2019-2020) on-farm study was conducted to assess the sustainability of basal NPK fertilizer application timing in smallholder maize cropping system in northern Ghana....

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Main Authors: Rahman, Nurudeen Abdul, Kizito, Fred, Kotu, Bekele, Hoeschle-Zeledon, Irmgard, Bekunda, Mateete A.
Format: Poster
Language:Inglés
Published: CGIAR System Organization 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168450
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author Rahman, Nurudeen Abdul
Kizito, Fred
Kotu, Bekele
Hoeschle-Zeledon, Irmgard
Bekunda, Mateete A.
author_browse Bekunda, Mateete A.
Hoeschle-Zeledon, Irmgard
Kizito, Fred
Kotu, Bekele
Rahman, Nurudeen Abdul
author_facet Rahman, Nurudeen Abdul
Kizito, Fred
Kotu, Bekele
Hoeschle-Zeledon, Irmgard
Bekunda, Mateete A.
author_sort Rahman, Nurudeen Abdul
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Assessment of sustainable intensification of agricultural technologies is evolving with limited information in literature. A 2-year (2019-2020) on-farm study was conducted to assess the sustainability of basal NPK fertilizer application timing in smallholder maize cropping system in northern Ghana. The experimental design was RCBD with sixty-seven farmers as replicates. The treatments were application of two types of NPK fertilizer (Blend and Compound) at: i. planting, ii. 2 weeks after planting (2WAP; conventional practice) and iii. At planting+2WAP. We used Sustainable Intensification Assessment Framework (SIAF) to assess the sustainability of the above treatments. The SIAF assess the sustainability of agricultural technologies based on five domains (productivity, economic, environment, human and social). We conducted the assessment in three steps: 1) Measuring selected indicators from the five SIAF domains useful to answering research question, 2) Conversion of measured values of selected indicators into scores using a scale of 0-1 and 3) Aggregation of scores to calculate sustainability index (SI) using geometric rules considering each SIAF domain as an edge of a pentagon. Specific indicators by domain measured in this study were: grain yield, nitrogen (N) use efficiency and nutrient efficiency ratio (productivity), labor requirement, profitability and return on investment (economic), partial N budget, and ammonia flux emission (environment), calorie production (human) and technology rating by gender (social). Applying both type of NPK fertilizers to maize at planting recorded higher productivity (62-67%), economic (149-154%), environment (15%), human (73-98%) and social (nine-fold) domains relative to the other treatments. The SI for applying both fertilizer types at planting of maize increased by two-four-fold compared with the other treatments. We recommend applying basal NPK fertilizer to maize at planting will enhance sustainability of smallholder maize production in northern Ghana and similar agro-ecologies through its effect on productivity, income, environmental pollution, food security and gender equity.
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spelling CGSpace1684502025-01-01T02:12:18Z Sustainable Intensification of Smallholder Maize Production in Northern Ghana: The Case of Basal Fertilizer Timing. Rahman, Nurudeen Abdul Kizito, Fred Kotu, Bekele Hoeschle-Zeledon, Irmgard Bekunda, Mateete A. intensification sustainability Zea mays fertilizers Assessment of sustainable intensification of agricultural technologies is evolving with limited information in literature. A 2-year (2019-2020) on-farm study was conducted to assess the sustainability of basal NPK fertilizer application timing in smallholder maize cropping system in northern Ghana. The experimental design was RCBD with sixty-seven farmers as replicates. The treatments were application of two types of NPK fertilizer (Blend and Compound) at: i. planting, ii. 2 weeks after planting (2WAP; conventional practice) and iii. At planting+2WAP. We used Sustainable Intensification Assessment Framework (SIAF) to assess the sustainability of the above treatments. The SIAF assess the sustainability of agricultural technologies based on five domains (productivity, economic, environment, human and social). We conducted the assessment in three steps: 1) Measuring selected indicators from the five SIAF domains useful to answering research question, 2) Conversion of measured values of selected indicators into scores using a scale of 0-1 and 3) Aggregation of scores to calculate sustainability index (SI) using geometric rules considering each SIAF domain as an edge of a pentagon. Specific indicators by domain measured in this study were: grain yield, nitrogen (N) use efficiency and nutrient efficiency ratio (productivity), labor requirement, profitability and return on investment (economic), partial N budget, and ammonia flux emission (environment), calorie production (human) and technology rating by gender (social). Applying both type of NPK fertilizers to maize at planting recorded higher productivity (62-67%), economic (149-154%), environment (15%), human (73-98%) and social (nine-fold) domains relative to the other treatments. The SI for applying both fertilizer types at planting of maize increased by two-four-fold compared with the other treatments. We recommend applying basal NPK fertilizer to maize at planting will enhance sustainability of smallholder maize production in northern Ghana and similar agro-ecologies through its effect on productivity, income, environmental pollution, food security and gender equity. 2024-11 2024-12-31T20:02:30Z 2024-12-31T20:02:30Z Poster https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168450 en https://scisoc.confex.com/scisoc/2024am/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/160824 Open Access application/pdf CGIAR System Organization Abdul Rahman N., Kizito F., Kotu B., Bekunda M. (2024). Sustainable Intensification of Smallholder Maize Production in Northern Ghana: The Case of Basal Fertilizer Timing. In ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts. Poster prepared for the ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting, November 10-13, 2024, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
spellingShingle intensification
sustainability
Zea mays
fertilizers
Rahman, Nurudeen Abdul
Kizito, Fred
Kotu, Bekele
Hoeschle-Zeledon, Irmgard
Bekunda, Mateete A.
Sustainable Intensification of Smallholder Maize Production in Northern Ghana: The Case of Basal Fertilizer Timing.
title Sustainable Intensification of Smallholder Maize Production in Northern Ghana: The Case of Basal Fertilizer Timing.
title_full Sustainable Intensification of Smallholder Maize Production in Northern Ghana: The Case of Basal Fertilizer Timing.
title_fullStr Sustainable Intensification of Smallholder Maize Production in Northern Ghana: The Case of Basal Fertilizer Timing.
title_full_unstemmed Sustainable Intensification of Smallholder Maize Production in Northern Ghana: The Case of Basal Fertilizer Timing.
title_short Sustainable Intensification of Smallholder Maize Production in Northern Ghana: The Case of Basal Fertilizer Timing.
title_sort sustainable intensification of smallholder maize production in northern ghana the case of basal fertilizer timing
topic intensification
sustainability
Zea mays
fertilizers
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168450
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