In the previous posts I spoke about farming adaptations, but now
I'll be writing about how farmers select crops to grow.
The environmental preferences of crops can
be also complex. For example, tomatoes grow well in hot climates, but require a
lot of water. In Africa, farmers need crops that tolerate hot and dry
conditions. But at the same time, they also need crops that respond well to
unpredictable precipitation timings and amounts.
For example, the cassava plant reduces leaf formation and growth under water stress rather
than induces leaf-fall, helping it recover and begin growth if the water
shortage ends. This makes the plant comparatively more efficient than others in
surviving under stress conditions. It was also found that different cultivars
of cassava performed differently in response to the water stress, with one
cultivar recovering so well that it performed as well as the control plot after the stimulated drought.
The cassava or tapioca is a starchy, high
calorie crop which is an important in the diet of many urban dwellers as well,
and has many industrial uses. A study conducted in Nigeria found that cassava
has potential to employ large numbers of people, due to high industrial demand. This means that the crop is also useful as
a crop that can be sold to urban markets, something like a dual cash-subsistence
crop! I imagine that this advantage could be useful in specific scenarios. If
market prices are bad, a cash crop growing family may suffer more than a
subsistence crop growing family, which can survive on their own harvest.
Other important
staple food crops that grow
well in the driest areas are sorghum, millets, groundnuts and beans.
Traditionally, millets were also important crops in the Americas, but in modern
times, widespread irrigation and application of water has enabled commercial
scale growing of corn and wheat instead. Personally, I imagine that certain
crops are grown and consumed more than others because of preference or cultural
tradition, and not because of cost/water-efficiency. However water shortages in
the arid areas of the United States have revived some interest in millets.
Other considerations
But of course, it is important to bear in
mind that chasing water-efficiency is merely one solution, born out of looking
at the agriculture problem in one way. The ultimate goal of farming is not to
"be water-efficient". Being water-efficient is a means to an end.
Profit, quantity, quality and perhaps risk-minimalisation are goals that
actually make more sense and incentivise farmers. A study in northern Germany
brought to my attention the idea that farmers choose risk-efficient strategies in
the face of water quotas or price hikes.
We have to keep in mind that the choice of
crop sown and grown by farmers is influenced by many other factors. For example,
easy access to markets makes cash crops viable to grow, but many rural farmers
have to grow crops for subsistence, and cannot sell surplus crops due to lack
of market access.
Role of crops
Understanding how certain crops are more water efficient than
others could potentially inform policy on development or water resource
management. For example, in the absence of regulation on water use, or in cases
where charging for water is not possible, local governments could instead tax
water-inefficient crops to discourage production.
Or perhaps, governments and aid organisations could distribute
more drought-resistant crops and cultivars to rural farmers. Farmers in Africa
have already adapted to water shortages are grow many hardy, water-sipping
crops, but this information could be relevant to farmers in other countries hit
by climate change/water stress.
More research needed?
While this post talks about water efficient crops as an adaptation
strategy to climate change, this is very much a widely adopted adaptation
already, and nothing new to Africans. Neither does this post does not offer
details about which crop is the most efficient. I have found studies
determining the water efficiency for biofuel production, but biofuel energy is
rather different from consumable energy. If anyone has some information on
this, I would like to hear about it in the comments below!
Thanks guys, and Stay starchy,
Mr. Cassava
No comments:
Post a Comment