Different Types Of Cropping Systems in Africa
The main cropping techniques used by peasant farmers in tropical Africa are shifting cultivation and intercropping, but large-scale farmers in east and southern Africa and the irrigated agriculture of the Nile valley in Egypt use solitary cropping with crop rotation. Continuous cropping rather than shifting agriculture is the norm in each situation.
The primary concerns of a cropping system are the timing and spatial distribution of crops, the resources used in crop production, and the types of crops that are planted.
The climatic conditions, resources available, and level of management expertise of the farmers all affect the cropping system in a particular area.
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Different Types Of Cropping Systems in Africa
Below are different types of farming/cropping systems in Africa.
1. Maize Mixed Farming System
2. Rice-Tree Crop Farming System
3. Irrigated Farming System
4. Root Crop Farming System
5. Pastoral Farming System
6. Large Commercial and Smallholder Farming System
7. Highland Perennial Farming System.
1. Maize Mixed Farming System
On the continent of Africa, this type of farming is among the most popular. The eastern and southern regions of the continent, specifically Kenya, Tanzania, Lesotho, Swaziland, Malawi, and Zambia, are where it is most widely used.
The crucial technique of operation in this type of farm is scattered irrigation schemes, which account for just 6% of the total area of all irrigated land in the region. These schemes are typically small-scale. Corn is the primary crop grown.
However, the cultivation and sale of crops including tobacco, cotton, coffee, cattle, small ruminants, grain, and legumes are the main sources of income in this style of farming.
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2. Rice-Tree Crop Farming System
Madagascar is the main region where this type of agriculture is practiced. This is mostly because of the area’s climate, which is characterized by humid and sub-humid zones.
Despite the fact that these farms are typically small in scale, irrigation accounts for a sizeable portion of their operations (about 10%). Under this system of farming, crops including coffee, bananas, rice, cassava, corn, and legumes are all farmed.
3. Irrigated Farming System
Large-scale irrigation systems are the foundation of this sort of farm for the irrigation of agriculture. The Gezira irrigation system in Sudan, which relies on nutrient-rich rivers and flood waters, is a superb illustration of this kind of agriculture.
Generally speaking, it can be challenging to deliver this irrigation system’s high level of capability. Because of this, in order to increase efficiency, this method of irrigation of agriculture is frequently integrated and augmented with rainfall and mixed with livestock farms.
4. Root Crop Farming System
From Sierra Leone to Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, and Cameroon, this style of farming is practiced in those regions. These regions experience a humid and subhumid environment.
With a substantial amount of dryness in the area, this style of farming has demonstrated its effectiveness in terms of high production percentages. In this kind of agriculture, crop cultivation is a fairly drawn-out process.
However, its biggest benefit is that if a drought starts, it won’t influence the product and won’t endanger the local population’s way of life.
5. Pastoral Farming System
The driest parts of Africa, including Mauritania, Uganda, Kenya, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Chad, Niger, and Mali, as well as pastoral areas like Namibia, southern Angola, and parts of Botswana, are where this style of farming is most prevalent.
The cultivation of animals, rather than the cultivation of crops, is the primary focus of pastoral farming. This is livestock raising for meat and meat products, dairy farming, and sheep and woolen farming. In general, this sort of agriculture currently has limited promise.
6. Large Commercial and Smallholder Farming System
Two different forms of farming make up this farming system: large-scale commercialized farming and scattered small-holder farming. A mixed system of agricultural production is used in both types of agriculture.
Grain is the main crop produced. Corn, whose cultivation is centered in northern Africa, and millet, whose cultivation is concentrated in the west, are two of the major crops. For this kind of farm, the annual growth rate is quite consistent.
The majority of the continent of Africa’s large commercial and smallholder farming systems are found in the northern and southern semi-arid and dry sub-humid zones.
7. Highland Perennial Farming System.
With this farming technique, cereals, beans, sweet potatoes, and cassava are grown in addition to the major crops of coffee, plantains, and bananas. Despite having high growth and development potential, this kind of farming is in decline.
Two key causes, reduced soil fertility and the relatively small size of farms, make this easier.
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Most Popular Farming Systems in Nigeria
The most generalized farming system in Nigeria is integrated crop-livestock. It is considered that this system might receive a real boost in the next few years.
The main problem in achieving the growth of agricultural productivity in Africa is the diversity of agroecological conditions and the agrotechnical backwardness of farms.
The yield increase associated with the use of high-yielding varieties is much lower in sub-Saharan Africa than in other regions, in part because of the imperfect distribution of agricultural knowledge and infrastructure.
The real option may be resource-saving agriculture, given the climate, the infrastructure situation, and the lack of capital and labor in some parts of Africa.
A significant increase in livestock production would be facilitated by the use of progressive methods of livestock breeding, veterinary medicine, and other technologies of production and processing at various levels.
Given the use of locally adapted techniques, the region could also use significant opportunities in fisheries and aquaculture production.
