AGROMETEOROLOGICAL DATA AND FOOD SECURITY

1. AGROMETEOROLOGICAL DATA AND FOOD SECURITY Prof. N.J. Bello College of Environmental Resources Management University of Agriculture, Abeokuta

2. AGROMETEOROLOGICAL DATA AND FOOD SECURITY Introduction The four major components of food security are: Food availability, • Food access, • Food utilization and • Stability of food production system The four components are affected by climate but food availability and stability of food production system are most intimately associated with climate variability and its changes. Since the 1972 Sahelian drought the falling trends of food production in this country seem to have persisted.

3. Some Few Endangered/Lost crops in Nigeria • Tree Food Crops Bread Fruit & yield of other fruit trees such as Mango, Cherry (agbalumo) irvingia, citrus, guava etc have fallen drastically. Also Fruit number/tree & fruit sizes as well as their juice content have reduced • Food Crops Millet, Wheat, Acha, Irish Potato, Cocoyam, Bread Fruit, Coffee and some yam varieties

4. Some Few Endangered/Lost crops in Nigeria (Contd.) • Vegetables Some varieties of vegetables:(Ebolo, Odu,Worowo Yanrin, Ajefowo Elegede,Isapa & many mushrooms like Olu, wuruku, Oran, ogogo, takele, tipitipa, agbe abaarun, eti okete to mention a few • Seeds and Nuts Bambara nut, Shear nuts, Beni-seeds,Palm Kernel,G/nuts,Wallnut

5. Climatic Threats to food security • Anomaly in the variability and change in meteorological elements (Rainfall, Radiation intensity Temperature, evaporation, wind) have increased • As a result the incidence of hazards such as drought, heat waves, floods and abnormal dry spells during the growing season have become higher • Consequently the soil, livestock and other food production factors at local and regional scales appear most vulnerable.

6. Order of presentation • Agrometeorological Focus of Food Security • The agrometeorological data required for crop growth and yield • Specific Roles of Climatic Elements in Agriculture • Measurement of agrometeorological data • Processing and analysis of agrometeorological data for crop yield prediction and assessment • Recommendations to strengthen agrometeorological services for food security

7. Agrometeorological Focus of Food Security • Understanding of the complex interactions between the atmospheric environment (Climate),crops and livestock • Prediction and control of the climatic attributes for better agricultural production and operational Management in crops, livestock and forestry. • Forecasts of climatic hazards or weather hazards to agricultural production and the control or protection of crops against such hazards like floods, drought, wind, heat wave etc

8. Agrometeorological Focus of Food Security (contd.) • Determine accurate schedule of farm operations such as time of land preparation, planting, fertilizer application, amount of irrigation water to ensure optimal crop yield and advice on time of harvesting of crops. • Understanding, the climatic condition favouring the breeding and infestation. of plant and animal pathogens and pests and their prediction, control and management • The appraisal of the climatic characteristics of an area for the introduction of a specific crop or domestic animal or a group of plants and animals.

9. Agrometeorological Focus of Food Security (contd.) • Climatic Classification of different agroecological areas for agricultural land use planning and particularly the selection of appropriate crops, agricultural systems and animal husbandry suitable for a given location • Micro-climatic modification to improve crop yield through the use of wind shelter mulches, and radiation shield practices. • Use climatic parameters accurately for the storage of harvested crops in man-modified micro-environments to prevent post harvest losses due to pests and diseases. • Carry out agrometeorological observations, obtain data and perform routine data processing

10. The Agrometeorological Data required for crop growth and yield The Moisture agrometeorological data are: • Precipitation (Rainfall), ) • Evaporation • Evapotranspiration (Potential and Actual) • Soil moisture at different depths depending on experimental crops • Information on dew and plant leaf wetness • Air humidity ( Absolute and Relative humidity

11. The Agrometeorological Data required for crop growth and yield (contd.) The Thermal agrometeorological data are: • Air temperature • Soil temperature at different depths (5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 cm) • Ground and grass minimum temperature • Duration of sunshine/photoperiod • Solar radiation

12. The Agrometeorological Data required for crop growth and yield (contd.) Aerodynamic agrometeorological data are: • Wind speed at a height of 2metres • Wind direction • Air pressure

13. Specific Roles of Climatic Elements in Agriculture The climatic elements and roles played in agriculture • Precipitation (rain) • Determines the beginning and end of the growing season • Determines condition of soil moisture during the growing season • Has influence on the length of the growing season • Determines time of planting of annual food crops e.g Maize • Critical during the different phenologigal stages of crops. • critical to availability of pasture for animal grazing/organic feeds • critical to seed germination and establishment of seedlings • influences the soil moisture condition of the plant environment

14. Specific Roles of Climatic Elements in Agriculture (contd.) 2. Air temperature • Conditions the level of the physico-chemical reactions of the plants and therefore their biological activities • Influences rate of development of plants and thus the length of its vegetative cycle • It conditions evaporative phenomena • It has a direct influence on the soil temperature near the surface and therefore conditions the rate of decomposition of organic matter • Determines germination of crops and physiological changes after germination • Important to organic matter decomposition in the plant environment • Determines the physiologic comfort of animals for best performance • Could influence the infestation of plant and animal diseases • Could contribute to the spread of fire disaster in the plant environment

15. Specific Roles of Climatic Elements in Agriculture (contd.) 3. Soil temperature • Influences ramification of plant roots • Has significant impact on the activities of soil organic matter • Conditions soil thermal balance

16. Specific Roles of Climatic Elements in Agriculture (contd.) 4.Ground temperature • Influences the physiological adaptation of plants and animals • Modifies the thermal characteristics of the terrestrial ecosystem Has influence on the natural habitat of animals and the micro-organisms in the soil organic layer

17. Specific Roles of Climatic Elements in Agriculture (contd.) 5. Air humidity • Encourages breeding and infestation of certain plant and animal pests and diseases • Could significantly reduce the quantity and quality of crop yield • It conditions the inner water balances of plants by restricting the transpiration exchanges • It tends to reduce the diurnal ranges of temperature and thereby affecting the radiation balance

18. Specific Roles of Climatic Elements in Agriculture (contd.) 6. Evaporation and Evapotranspiration • Influences water availability for growth processes of plant and animals in their various habitats • Determines the consumptive water use or moisture requirements of plants and animals • Critical to plant’s biological formation and net photosynthesis • Could dry out the top soil and lead to crop failure

19. Specific Roles of Climatic Elements in Agriculture (contd.) 7. Solar and Terrestrial radiation • Solar Radiation is crucial to Photosynthesis and biological or biomass production in plants ( radiation within the spectral range of 0.4-0.74µ ir referred to as Photosynthetic Active Radiation; PAR) • Has significant influence on ground and soil temperatures • The pattern of Solar and Terrestrial radiation influences the air temperature, evaporation and energy balance in the plant environment

20. Specific Roles of Climatic Elements in Agriculture (contd.) 8. Duration of sunshine or/Photoperiod • Critical to flowering and fruit formation • Has effect on diurnal radiation balance • Influences evaporation

21. Specific Roles of Climatic Elements in Agriculture (contd.) 9. Wind speed • Influences evaporation and diffusion of carbon dioxide • Causes mechanical damage to plants • A transporting agent for sand particles which may harm the vegetal surfaces of crop plant which may harm the vegetal surfaces of crop plant

22. Specific Roles of Climatic Elements in Agriculture (contd.) 10. Soil moisture • Important to seed germination and helps plants to maintain its natural turgidity 11. Dew • . Delays rise in leaf temperature • Encourages the breeding of plant pathogens

23. Agroclimatic elements and their measurements Precipitation (rain) • Rainguage (ordinary, automatic), • memory store rainguage with data logger Air temperature • Minimum and maximum thermometer • Thermograph/thermo-hydrograph , Temperature sensor Soil temperature • Soil thermometer, Soil temperature sensor Air humidity • Wet and dry bulb hydrometer • thermo hydrograph, Humidity sensor

24. Agroclimatic elements and their measurements (contd.) Air pressure • Barometer (simple, aneroid) Barograph Wind speed • A three cup anemometer Wind direction • Wind vane Duration of sunshine • Campbell stroke sunshine recorder Evaporation • Class A pan , lysymeter, evaporation sensor

25. Agroclimatic elements and their measurements (contd.) Solar radiation • Pyrheliometer ( radiation intensity) • Pyramometer (shortwave radiation) • Pyradiometer (infrared and short-wave solar radiation) • Net radiometer (net radiation) • Pygeometer: ( infrared or long-wave radiation) • Albedometer ( albedo of a surface) Ground temperature • Grass minimum temperature/sensor Soil moisture • Soil moisture probe/ sensor

26. Some important considerations for sitting an agrometeorological station • The area must be well drained • It must not be on a sloppy ground • Must be far from any obstruction e.g. building, trees e.t.c. • Avoid changes in the location of a weather station or changes in the natural and or man-made environment around it • In an area of uniform terrain weather stations should be randomly distributed over space • In an area of about 100 square kmabout 5 weather/ rainfall stations could serve satisfactorily

27. Processing and analysis of agrometeorological data for food security Rainfall (From daily rainfall records determine the following) • Dry days and Dry Spells and their probabilities • Wet days and wet spells and their probabilities • Onset, Cessation and duration of the rainy season • Persistence on transition of the mean dates of the onset of the rain. • Probabilities of persistence of transition of categories of wet and dry days as well as the early normal and late onset of the rain • Rainfall variability and seasonality • Replicability of seasonal rainfall

28. Processing and analysis of agrometeorological data for food security (contd.) • Rainfall; crop water requirement satisfaction index • Actual water availability during crop’s phenological stages • Actual water availability- consumptive water use ratio • Decadal rainfall • Decadal water requirement satisfaction index • Heptadal rainfall • Heptadal water requirement satisfaction index • Pentad rainfall • Pentad water requirement satisfaction index

29. Processing and analysis of agrometeorological data for food security (contd.) Temperature • Cardinal temperature of crops and physiological temperatures Soil moisture • Actual water capacity of the soil Evaporation and evapotranspiration • Reference crop evapotranspiration (lysimeter studies) • Petad, heptadal and decadal crop consumptive water use

30. Recommendations to strengthen agrometeorological services for food security • Adequate number of agrometeorological stations (conventional and automatic) should be set up in each agro ecological region to obtain relevant climatic data • Attempt a regular classification of climate to define macroclimatic zones with specific characteristics that can be exploited for food security • Provides useful information for soil and water conservation • Device means of reducing the risk from unusual or extreme meteorological events

31. Recommendations to strengthen agrometeorological services for food security (contd.) • Produce agro-climatological maps and review from time to time the condition of production potentials of various crop at different locations • Produce pentads, Dekads, and Heptadal agrometeorological bulletins to be able to effectively track down the pattern of climatic variation and change • Use agrometeorological models to select more suitable crops for the climate and provide climatic advice that farmers can use for improving their agricultural production • Use appropriate crop-water balance model to optimize climate fertility interactions on yield.

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