Yield gap decomposition: quantifying factors limiting soybean yield in Southern Africa

Soybean production in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is increasing as its demand for food, feed, cash, and soil fertility improvement soars. Yet, the difference between the smallholder farmers’ yield and either the attainable or the potential is large. Here, we assessed the contribution of various crop ma...

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Autores principales: Omondi, J.O., Chiduwa, M.S., Kyei-Boahen, S., Masikati, P., Nyagumbo, I.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2024
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/176333
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author Omondi, J.O.
Chiduwa, M.S.
Kyei-Boahen, S.
Masikati, P.
Nyagumbo, I.
author_browse Chiduwa, M.S.
Kyei-Boahen, S.
Masikati, P.
Nyagumbo, I.
Omondi, J.O.
author_facet Omondi, J.O.
Chiduwa, M.S.
Kyei-Boahen, S.
Masikati, P.
Nyagumbo, I.
author_sort Omondi, J.O.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Soybean production in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is increasing as its demand for food, feed, cash, and soil fertility improvement soars. Yet, the difference between the smallholder farmers’ yield and either the attainable or the potential is large. Here, we assessed the contribution of various crop management practices to yield gap, and the major factors limiting soybean yield increase per unit area. This study showed that besides soil nutrients and plant nutrition, soybean variety is the most limiting factor in Malawi and Zambia, whereas, in Mozambique, seed rate is significant. Overall, in the Southern Africa region (Malawi, Zambia, and Mozambique) the major soybean yield gap contributors are: variety (63.9%), seed rate (49.7%), and disease damage (36.3%), especially soybean rust. An indication that through yield gap decomposition, interventions could be prioritized to target the most yield-limiting factors with the minimum resources available to smallholder farmers and immensely narrow the yield gap.
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spelling CGSpace1763332025-11-11T10:38:49Z Yield gap decomposition: quantifying factors limiting soybean yield in Southern Africa Omondi, J.O. Chiduwa, M.S. Kyei-Boahen, S. Masikati, P. Nyagumbo, I. soybeans glycine max yields soil fertility degradation southern africa Soybean production in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is increasing as its demand for food, feed, cash, and soil fertility improvement soars. Yet, the difference between the smallholder farmers’ yield and either the attainable or the potential is large. Here, we assessed the contribution of various crop management practices to yield gap, and the major factors limiting soybean yield increase per unit area. This study showed that besides soil nutrients and plant nutrition, soybean variety is the most limiting factor in Malawi and Zambia, whereas, in Mozambique, seed rate is significant. Overall, in the Southern Africa region (Malawi, Zambia, and Mozambique) the major soybean yield gap contributors are: variety (63.9%), seed rate (49.7%), and disease damage (36.3%), especially soybean rust. An indication that through yield gap decomposition, interventions could be prioritized to target the most yield-limiting factors with the minimum resources available to smallholder farmers and immensely narrow the yield gap. 2024 2025-09-04T15:15:58Z 2025-09-04T15:15:58Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/176333 en Open Access application/pdf Omondi, J.O., Chiduwa, M.S., Kyei-Boahen, S., Masikati, P. & Nyagumbo, I. (2024). Yield gap decomposition: quantifying factors limiting soybean yield in Southern Africa. npj Sustainable Agriculture, 2(1): 32, 1-11.
spellingShingle soybeans
glycine max
yields
soil fertility
degradation
southern africa
Omondi, J.O.
Chiduwa, M.S.
Kyei-Boahen, S.
Masikati, P.
Nyagumbo, I.
Yield gap decomposition: quantifying factors limiting soybean yield in Southern Africa
title Yield gap decomposition: quantifying factors limiting soybean yield in Southern Africa
title_full Yield gap decomposition: quantifying factors limiting soybean yield in Southern Africa
title_fullStr Yield gap decomposition: quantifying factors limiting soybean yield in Southern Africa
title_full_unstemmed Yield gap decomposition: quantifying factors limiting soybean yield in Southern Africa
title_short Yield gap decomposition: quantifying factors limiting soybean yield in Southern Africa
title_sort yield gap decomposition quantifying factors limiting soybean yield in southern africa
topic soybeans
glycine max
yields
soil fertility
degradation
southern africa
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/176333
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