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Assessment of water availability for agricultural activities in the savannah Plateau of Adamawa-Cameroon

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Abstract

The availability of water for agricultural use in the savannah plateau of Adamawa, Cameroon, is addressed in this paper. Specific field tests coupled with climatic data analysis have helped to characterize the hydrological and hydrogeological conditions of water resources in a small catchment. An agricultural suitability map, based on the water availability during the dry season, is produced. Measured saturated hydraulic conductivities indicated an acceptable disposition of the soils for agriculture. The transmissivity values indicated moderate groundwater potential with mean annual recharge of 96 mm. The agricultural suitability map shows that only 8.8% of the basin area is very favorable for agriculture and that 51% of the basin is not suitable for agriculture, due to water scarcity during the dry season. Due to the considerable depth to the water table, pumping for irrigation purposes is not affordable for the local low-income farmers. Therefore, there is a need to implement adapted solutions for irrigation to support farmers’ endeavors, such as the development of water retention basins or the construction of boreholes equipped with electric pumps supplied by solar energy for irrigation.

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Acknowledgements

Data from this study were collected in the framework of the project PROSEP, financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Germany, as BMZ No. 2016.2034.3. The water section of the project was conjointly implemented by the Institute of Geological and Mining Research (IRGM), Cameroon, and by the Federal Institute of Geoscience and Natural Resources (BGR), Germany. The authors are very grateful to Henry Zobo for his input and to the reviewers whose suggestions and comments greatly helped to improve the quality of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Geological and Mining Research-Hydrological Research Centre, PO Box 4110, Yaoundé, Cameroon

    Alain Fouépé Takounjou, Yaya Fodoué, Wilson Fantong & Carine Enow Tarkang

  2. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Yaounde I, PO Box 812, Yaoundé, Cameroon

    Wylliam Foano Dandjio & Mohamed Ngah

  3. Federal Institute of Geoscience and Natural Resources (BGR), Hannover, Germany

    Thérèse Jokam Nenkam, Claire Carlier, Sara Vassolo, Nelly Montcoudiol & Robert Kringel

  4. National Advanced School of Public Works, Box 510, Yaoundé, Cameroon

    Gergino Chounna

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  1. Alain Fouépé Takounjou
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study. Conception, design, and draft of the work: Alain Fouépé Takounjou Data collection and interpretation: Alain Fouépé, Wylliam Foano Dandjio, Yaya Fodoué, Wilson Fantong, Mohamed Ngah, Thérèse L L Jokam Nenkam, Claire Carlier Writing—review and editing: Sara Vassolo, Nelly Montcoudiol, Carine Enow Tarkang, Gergino Chounna, Robert Kringel.

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Correspondence to Alain Fouépé Takounjou.

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Takounjou, A.F., Dandjio, W.F., Fodoué, Y. et al. Assessment of water availability for agricultural activities in the savannah Plateau of Adamawa-Cameroon. Environ Monit Assess 194, 813 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-022-10476-z

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