ESTIMATING CROP WATER REQUIREMENTS AND CLIMATE-SMART FARMING IN CHEREPONI, GHANA

Author:
Tinawaen Tambol and Isaac Nevis Fianoo

Doi: 10.26480/efcc.01.2023.56.63

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Globally, agricultural production depends on the quantity and quality of the available water. Still, in recent times, climate change has affected the amount of water needed for agriculture. This study assesses the water requirements for three selected crops (maize, rice and cabbage) mainly cultivated in the lean season in Nansoni in the Chereponi District. The study determined the crop water requirement and crop irrigation requirement of each of the crops using the FAO CROPWAT software. The study’s findings reveal that February and March have the highest ETo (5.9mm/day and 5.96mm/day). Again, results show that crop evapotranspiration (ETc) and crop water requirements varied in real; for two crops, for maize crop evapotranspiration (ETc) and crop water requirements ranged from 11.7 to 75.1mm/dec and 0.0 to 56.7mm/dec, for rice 3.7 to 75.7mm/dec and 3.4 to 136.3mm/dec, and age 24.7 to 58.1mm/dec and 5 to 45.6mm/dec respectively. Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ), One Village One Dam (1V1D), and One District One Factory (1D1F) policies are geared towards helping rural farmers adapt to climate change and accelerate agriculture production to ensure food security, reduction of malnutrition and hunger and create jobs for the youths. The study will broaden farmers’ knowledge of water sustainability and increase their major crops’ farm sizes based on crop water needs.

Pages 56-63
Year 2023
Issue 1
Volume 4