Drought-Busting Crops |
As farmers
worldwide experience more frequent drought and erratic rainfall linked
to climate change, the race to find and improve drought-resistant crops
grows ever more important.
In recent decades,
research has increased to see how food crops cope with dry conditions,
and scientists are breeding and crossing seeds to make them more
drought-tolerant.But major obstacles exist in scaling up their use.
"Getting new crop
varieties into the hands of a large number of farmers quickly is the
challenge," said Robert Asiedu, head of biotechnology and genetic
improvement at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, a
research centre based in Nigeria.
"It can be five to 10 years before large quantities of new varieties reach farmers... That's the main bottleneck now."
It is crucial for farmers to grow drought-resistant crops as part of a range of pro-active measures, experts say.
For example, soil
degradation and deforestation exacerbate the effects of drought because
soil loses its ability to retain water, so farmers must improve soil
fertility and irrigation practices.
Below are some of the drought-tolerant crops and methods farmers across the world are using to combat drought:
1. INTERCROPPING
Staple food crops
like sorghum, cassava, sweet potato, pearl millet, cowpea and groundnut
are naturally more drought-tolerant than maize.
For centuries, farmers in parts of West Africa have grown maize alongside cassava and sweet potatoes.
The practice known
as intercropping - growing two or more crops together - means farmers
have another crop to fall back on when maize harvests fail because of
poor rainfall.Intercropping was introduced to maize farmers in East Africa in the 1990s.
2. COWPEA
Cowpea, also known as black-eyed pea, is mainly grown by small farmers in more than 80 countries, from Nigeria to Brazil.
Cowpea thrives in
parched soils and drought-prone areas where its roots can grow with as
little as 300 mm (11.8 inches) of rainfall per year. Once cowpea seeds
have enough moisture to take root, the plants can survive drought.
The stems and stalks of the high protein grain can also be used as fodder for livestock.Often intercropped
with maize and cotton, cowpea plants provide shade and dense cover that
help protect soil and preserve moisture.
Researchers are trying to map the genes found in cowpea to produce improved drought-resistant varieties.
3. CHICKPEA
Chickpea is one of
the most important grain legume crops in the world. Thanks to its
drought resistance, it is widely grown among small farmers in dryland
areas of South Asia and in China.
Scientists in
Australia are leading the way in research to enhance drought tolerance
in chickpeas and to better understand how the food crop adapts to
prolonged dry spells.
4. EARLY MATURING CROPS
Shifting rainfall patterns, often linked to climate change, have shortened the rainy season in many countries worldwide.
Hardest hit are small-scale and subsistence farmers as they largely depend on rain-fed crops for their livelihoods.
To adapt, farmers are increasingly planting new varieties of food crops that take less time to grow.
New varieties need
90 to 110 days to mature - against 120 days plus for traditional crops -
and can survive without rain for three weeks.
In recent years, early-maturing food crops have been adopted by tens of millions of farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.
5. ANCIENT PLANTS
Chia, a flowering plant, is grown for its edible seeds and is known to thrive in hot and dry weather.
Once widely grown
by the ancient Aztecs of Central America, chia is being rediscovered by
small farmers across Latin America, including Guatemala, Bolivia,
Nicaragua and Ecuador.High in protein, chia seeds can be eaten whole, ground into flour and pressed for oil.
6. TARWI
With its brilliant blue blossom, the tarwi pea plant stands out from the rest in the field.
Once grown
centuries ago by the Incas, more Andean subsistence farming communities,
particularly in Bolivia's highlands, are growing tarwi again. The drought-resistant seeds are nutritious, high in protein and a source of cooking oil.
7. NEW MAIZE VARIETIES
Maize is one of the world's most important cereal crops.In the past decade,
farmers - especially in sub-Saharan Africa - have tried new strains
that can withstand drought, allowing crops to grow when there is little
or no rain.
Maize has also been genetically modified to include the desired DNA traits that thrive in drought conditions.
A 2010 study found
that the widespread adoption of drought-tolerant varieties could boost
maize harvests in 13 African countries by 10-34 percent.
8. NEW BEAN VARIETIES
Beans feature on any given plate in most of Latin America. In drought-hit
Central America - Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras - prolonged dry
spells since mid-2014, linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon, have
decimated food harvests.
In 2015 alone,
drought in these countries left 3.5 million people in need of food aid,
prompting scientists to look for varieties of bean that can withstand
drought.
"It is a priority
in all the research centres to develop these new varieties of crops,"
said Tito Diaz, subregional coordinator for Mesoamerica at the U.N. Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Some have been successful, as in El
Salvador.
Farmers there
recently started to grow a new variety of drought-tolerant bean, named
after the country's National Center for Agricultural and Forestry
Technology (CENTA) where the research took place. The CENTA-EAC bean is a
hybrid, made from crossing black and red beans after years of trial and
error.
In Nicaragua, farmers are also growing a new variety of red bean, INTA-Tomabu, which can thrive with little rainfall.
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