Abstract
Sustainability of rainfed farming systems under climate variability and change conditions is a key concern for policy and adaptation planning processes to improve food and nutrition security. The challenge is to improve farming and tillage practices to enhance soil moisture availability and harvest excess runoff, thereby making the farming systems more reliable and resilient to the unpredictable risks of climate change and variability. In this short chapter, an assessment of climate change impact on the agricultural water availability for rainfed systems in southern Africa is discussed through a pilot project conducted recently as part of climate change adaptation integrated modelling of crop-climate-soil systems. We consider the Pandamatenga plains in north-eastern Botswana, which was undertaken with the main indicators of crop yield impact with respect to soil water availability and excess runoff harvesting potential, for the current climatology (1971–2000) and projected over the coming decades up to the 2050s. The indicators of rainfed practices of growing maize, sorghum and sunflower are discussed, which are likely influenced not only by climate, but also the response requiring local and regional adaptation investments for improved food security and increased productivity. This chapter recommends technical and policy interventions for incorporating climate change adaptation practices, with the view to outscale to national and possibly regional agricultural development planning processes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Ainsworth EA (2008) Rice production in a changing climate: a meta-analysis of responses to elevated carbon dioxide and elevated ozone concentration. Glob Change Biol 14:1642–1650
Ainsworth EA, Long SP (2005) What have we learned from 15 years of free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE)? a meta-analytic review of the responses of photosynthesis, canopy properties and plant production to rising CO2. New Phytol 165:351–371
Alemaw BF (2020) Framework of best practice for climate change adaptation in Africa: the water–development nexus. In: Matondo, Alemaw, Sandwidi (eds) Climate variability and change in Africa, sustainable development goals series. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31543-6_7 (accepted)
Alemaw BF, Chaoka TR (2006a) The 1950–1998 warm ENSO events and regional implications to river flow variability in Southern Africa. Water SA 32(4):459–463
Alemaw BF, Chaoka TR (2006b) Decision support tools, scaling up and down in agricultural water and risk management at a catchment level—incorporating climate change and ENSO-induced climate variability. In: Proceedings of 1st international forum on water and food of CGIAR/IWMI, Vientiane, Lao PDR, 12–17 Nov 2006
Alemaw BF, Chaoka TR, Totolo O (2006) Investigation of sustainability of rain-fed agriculture through soil moisture modeling in the Pandamatenga Plains of Botswana. Phys Chem Earth 31:960–966
Alemaw BF, Simalenga T (2015) climate change impacts and adaptation in rainfed farming systems: a modeling framework for scaling-out climate smart agriculture in sub-saharan Africa. Am J Climate Change 4:313–329. https://doi.org/10.4236/ajcc.2015.44025
Biazin B, Sterk G, Temesgen M, Abdulkedir A, Stroosnijder L (2012) Rainwater harvesting and management in rainfed agricultural systems in sub-Saharan Africa—a review. Phys Chem Earth 47–48(2012):139–151
CCARDESA (2014) Enhancing evidence-based climate change adaptation research and policy for agriculture in Southern Africa, CCARPASA Project, Final Report. CCARDESA Secretariat, Gaborone, pp 70
CCARDESA (2016) 1st Africa congress on conservation agriculture. 18th to 21st March 2014 in Lusaka, Zambia, Theme “Conservation Agriculture: Building entrepreneurship and resilient farming systems”. www.ccardesa.org. Accessed Jan 2016
FAO (2010a) Climate-smart agriculture—policies, practices and financing for food security, adaptation and mitigation. UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Rome, p. 41
FAO (2010b) Challenges and opportunities for carbon sequestration in grassland systems. A technical report on grassland management and climate change mitigation. Integrated crop management, vol 9-2010. Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome
Hillel D, Rosenzweig C (2010) Handbook of climate change and agroecosystems: impacts, adaptation, and mitigation. Imperial College Press, London, 440 pp
Hulme M, Wigley TML, Barrow EM, Raper SCB, Centella A, Smith SJ, Chipanshi AC (2000) Using a climate scenario generator for vulnerability and adaptation assessments: MAGICC and SCENGEN version 2.4 workbook. Climatic Research Unit, Norwich, UK, 52 pp
Iglesias A, Quiroga S, Diz A (2011) Looking into the future of agriculture in a changing climate. Eur Rev Agric Econ 38:427–447
Meehl GA, Stocker TF, Collins WD, Friedlingstein P, Gaye AT, Gregory JM, Kitoh A, Knutti R, Murphy JM, Noda A, Raper SCB, Watterson IG, Weaver AJ, Zhao Z-C (2007) Global climate projections. Climate change 2007: the physical science basis, contribution of: working group I to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. In: Solomon S, Qin D, Manning M, Chen Z, Marquis M, Averyt KB, Tignor M, Miller HL (eds) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 747–846
Phiri E, Verplancke H, Kwesiga F, Mafongoya P (2003) Water balance and maize yield following improved sesbania fallow in eastern Zambia. Agrofor Syst 59:197–205
Sangakkara UR, Richner W, Steinebrunner F, Stamp P (2002) Impact of the cropping systems of a minor dry season on the growth, yields and nitrogen uptake of maize (Zea mays L) grown in the humid tropics during the major rainy season. J Agric Crop Sci 189(6):361–366
Wigley TML (2008) MAGICC and SCENGEN version 5.3 user manual
Acknowledgements
This research was commissioned by CCARDESA’s CCARPASA project funded by USAID/Feed the Future, which was jointly implemented by CCARDESA, University of Botswana and Continental Consultants based in Gaborone, Botswana. The authors also appreciate the support of the University of Botswana for funding the daily weather generation model development under Research Project Grant No: R025, “Development of Daily Precipitation Model for Botswana.” The authors also acknowledge the Department of Metrological Services for providing daily rainfall time series data used in the weather generation modelling, and the Ministry of Agriculture for proving soil and related information.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Alemaw, B.F., Podisi, B.K., Mwale, S., Simalenga, T.E. (2020). Climate Change Adaptation Research and Policy for Agriculture in Southern Africa (CCARPASA)—Evidence from Rainfed Systems. In: Matondo, J.I., Alemaw, B.F., Sandwidi, W.J.P. (eds) Climate Variability and Change in Africa . Sustainable Development Goals Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31543-6_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31543-6_14
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-31542-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-31543-6
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)