Farmers’ perception and management of water scarcity in irrigated rice-based systems in dry climatic zones of West Africa
Water scarcity threatens irrigated agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Knowledge of farmers’ perceptions and drivers for decision-making in view of coping with water scarcity is so far lacking but needed to improve local technologies and frame policies fostering their adoption. Here, for the fi...
| Autores principales: | , , , |
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| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
2023
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| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175540 |
| _version_ | 1855518126842576896 |
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| author | Johnson, Jean-Martial Becker, Mathias Dossou-Yovo, Elliott Ronald Saito, Kazuki |
| author_browse | Becker, Mathias Dossou-Yovo, Elliott Ronald Johnson, Jean-Martial Saito, Kazuki |
| author_facet | Johnson, Jean-Martial Becker, Mathias Dossou-Yovo, Elliott Ronald Saito, Kazuki |
| author_sort | Johnson, Jean-Martial |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Water scarcity threatens irrigated agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Knowledge of farmers’ perceptions and drivers for decision-making in view of coping with water scarcity is so far lacking but needed to improve local technologies and frame policies fostering their adoption. Here, for the first time, we investigated farmers’ perception of water scarcity, key adaptation strategies, and the determinants of their adoption in irrigated rice schemes in dry climatic zones of West Africa. We surveyed 572 farming households and conducted expert interviews with key informants in four contrasting irrigated rice schemes in Burkina Faso between April 2018 and August 2019. Information was gathered on biophysical field characteristics, grain yields, agronomic and water management practices, farmers’ perception of water scarcity, their adaptive responses, and social-economic attributes of adopting households. Nearly 80% of the respondents reported having experienced water scarcity during the past 5 years. To cope with the adverse effect of water scarcity, farmers implemented seventeen different adaptation strategies that could be categorized into seven groups. Most popular among those were “water and soil conservation practices” (consisting mainly of field bunding and leveling), “no rice cultivation,” and “crop rotation.” Farmers in drier areas (Sudano-Sahelian zone) were less likely to adopt and implement several adaptation strategies to water scarcity compared to farmers in wetter areas (Sudanian zone). Belonging to farming associations increased the probability of implementing several strategies to alleviate water scarcity, while female-headed households tended to have a lower propensity to adopt and implement concomitantly several adaptation strategies in comparison with their male counterpart. The dissemination of scheme- and household-specific technology options could contribute to mitigating water scarcity in irrigated rice-based systems in the dry climatic zones of West Africa, thus contributing to rural livelihood and food security. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace175540 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publishDateRange | 2023 |
| publishDateSort | 2023 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1755402025-12-08T09:54:28Z Farmers’ perception and management of water scarcity in irrigated rice-based systems in dry climatic zones of West Africa Johnson, Jean-Martial Becker, Mathias Dossou-Yovo, Elliott Ronald Saito, Kazuki climate change mitigation drought oryza sativa Water scarcity threatens irrigated agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Knowledge of farmers’ perceptions and drivers for decision-making in view of coping with water scarcity is so far lacking but needed to improve local technologies and frame policies fostering their adoption. Here, for the first time, we investigated farmers’ perception of water scarcity, key adaptation strategies, and the determinants of their adoption in irrigated rice schemes in dry climatic zones of West Africa. We surveyed 572 farming households and conducted expert interviews with key informants in four contrasting irrigated rice schemes in Burkina Faso between April 2018 and August 2019. Information was gathered on biophysical field characteristics, grain yields, agronomic and water management practices, farmers’ perception of water scarcity, their adaptive responses, and social-economic attributes of adopting households. Nearly 80% of the respondents reported having experienced water scarcity during the past 5 years. To cope with the adverse effect of water scarcity, farmers implemented seventeen different adaptation strategies that could be categorized into seven groups. Most popular among those were “water and soil conservation practices” (consisting mainly of field bunding and leveling), “no rice cultivation,” and “crop rotation.” Farmers in drier areas (Sudano-Sahelian zone) were less likely to adopt and implement several adaptation strategies to water scarcity compared to farmers in wetter areas (Sudanian zone). Belonging to farming associations increased the probability of implementing several strategies to alleviate water scarcity, while female-headed households tended to have a lower propensity to adopt and implement concomitantly several adaptation strategies in comparison with their male counterpart. The dissemination of scheme- and household-specific technology options could contribute to mitigating water scarcity in irrigated rice-based systems in the dry climatic zones of West Africa, thus contributing to rural livelihood and food security. 2023-04 2025-07-08T05:57:40Z 2025-07-08T05:57:40Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175540 en Open Access Johnson, J.M., Becker, M., Dossou-Yovo, E.R. and Saito, K. 2025. Farmers’ perception and management of water scarcity in irrigated rice-based systems in dry climatic zones of West Africa. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 43(2):32. |
| spellingShingle | climate change mitigation drought oryza sativa Johnson, Jean-Martial Becker, Mathias Dossou-Yovo, Elliott Ronald Saito, Kazuki Farmers’ perception and management of water scarcity in irrigated rice-based systems in dry climatic zones of West Africa |
| title | Farmers’ perception and management of water scarcity in irrigated rice-based systems in dry climatic zones of West Africa |
| title_full | Farmers’ perception and management of water scarcity in irrigated rice-based systems in dry climatic zones of West Africa |
| title_fullStr | Farmers’ perception and management of water scarcity in irrigated rice-based systems in dry climatic zones of West Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Farmers’ perception and management of water scarcity in irrigated rice-based systems in dry climatic zones of West Africa |
| title_short | Farmers’ perception and management of water scarcity in irrigated rice-based systems in dry climatic zones of West Africa |
| title_sort | farmers perception and management of water scarcity in irrigated rice based systems in dry climatic zones of west africa |
| topic | climate change mitigation drought oryza sativa |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175540 |
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