Jovanovic, NebojsaMusvoto, Constansia DDe Clercq, WPienaar, CPetja, BZairi, AHanafi, SAjmi, TMailhol, JCCheviron, B2018-06-152018-06-152018-01Jovanovic, N. et al. 2018. A comparative analysis of yield gaps and water productivity on smallholder farms in Ethiopia, South Africa and Tunisia. Irrigation and Drainage: DOI: 10.1002/ird.22381531-0353DOI: 10.1002/ird.2238https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ird.2238https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ird.2238http://hdl.handle.net/10204/10261Copyright: 2018 John Wiley & Sons. Due to copyright restrictions, the attached PDF file only contains the abstract of the full text item. For access to the full text item, please consult the publisher's website.Agriculture in developing countries will have to transform and increase production by an estimated 70% in order to meet demands by 2050. Although well-managed commercial farms offer little manoeuvring space for increasing agricultural water productivity, smallholder farms usually operate at low input costs and therefore provide ample opportunities to reduce the potential yield gap through agricultural intensification. The aim of this paper is to analyse and compare yields and water productivities obtained in field and modelling experiments in Ethiopia (maize, garlic, onion), South Africa (tomato) and Tunisia (tomato, potato, wheat). Innovative agricultural practices were introduced on smallholder farms: irrigation scheduling and NPS Zn fertilization in Ethiopia; high-yielding cultivar, drip irrigation, mulching and organic amendments in South Africa; and crop water modelling in Tunisia. In general, crop yields increased up to eight times with innovative practices compared to current conventional farming practices. Crop water productivities were fairly stable within the same experiments, but increased with innovations, indicating that intensive farming can be more environmentally sustainable than conventional farming. Intensive farming systems in a resource-rich environment (high radiation levels, relatively fertile, deep and well-drained soils), combined with technology transfer and capacity building could be seen as viable strategies to secure food for smallholders and communities in African rural areas, as well as to improve water utilization in water-scarce catchments.enFertilization managementIrrigation schedulingMulchingOrganic amendmentsPILOTE modelArticleJovanovic, N., Musvoto, C. D., De Clercq, W., Pienaar, C., Petja, B., Zairi, A., ... Cheviron, B. (2018). A comparative analysis of yield gaps and water productivity on smallholder farms in Ethiopia, South Africa and Tunisia. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/10261Jovanovic, Nebojsa, Constansia D Musvoto, W De Clercq, C Pienaar, B Petja, A Zairi, S Hanafi, T Ajmi, JC Mailhol, and B Cheviron "A comparative analysis of yield gaps and water productivity on smallholder farms in Ethiopia, South Africa and Tunisia." (2018) http://hdl.handle.net/10204/10261Jovanovic N, Musvoto CD, De Clercq W, Pienaar C, Petja B, Zairi A, et al. A comparative analysis of yield gaps and water productivity on smallholder farms in Ethiopia, South Africa and Tunisia. 2018; http://hdl.handle.net/10204/10261.TY - Article AU - Jovanovic, Nebojsa AU - Musvoto, Constansia D AU - De Clercq, W AU - Pienaar, C AU - Petja, B AU - Zairi, A AU - Hanafi, S AU - Ajmi, T AU - Mailhol, JC AU - Cheviron, B AB - Agriculture in developing countries will have to transform and increase production by an estimated 70% in order to meet demands by 2050. Although well-managed commercial farms offer little manoeuvring space for increasing agricultural water productivity, smallholder farms usually operate at low input costs and therefore provide ample opportunities to reduce the potential yield gap through agricultural intensification. The aim of this paper is to analyse and compare yields and water productivities obtained in field and modelling experiments in Ethiopia (maize, garlic, onion), South Africa (tomato) and Tunisia (tomato, potato, wheat). Innovative agricultural practices were introduced on smallholder farms: irrigation scheduling and NPS Zn fertilization in Ethiopia; high-yielding cultivar, drip irrigation, mulching and organic amendments in South Africa; and crop water modelling in Tunisia. In general, crop yields increased up to eight times with innovative practices compared to current conventional farming practices. Crop water productivities were fairly stable within the same experiments, but increased with innovations, indicating that intensive farming can be more environmentally sustainable than conventional farming. Intensive farming systems in a resource-rich environment (high radiation levels, relatively fertile, deep and well-drained soils), combined with technology transfer and capacity building could be seen as viable strategies to secure food for smallholders and communities in African rural areas, as well as to improve water utilization in water-scarce catchments. DA - 2018-01 DB - ResearchSpace DP - CSIR KW - Fertilization management KW - Irrigation scheduling KW - Mulching KW - Organic amendments KW - PILOTE model LK - https://researchspace.csir.co.za PY - 2018 SM - 1531-0353 T1 - A comparative analysis of yield gaps and water productivity on smallholder farms in Ethiopia, South Africa and Tunisia TI - A comparative analysis of yield gaps and water productivity on smallholder farms in Ethiopia, South Africa and Tunisia UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10204/10261 ER -