Soybean and Maize Zoning in West African Economic and Monetary Union—A simulation Approach

The West African Economic and Monetary Union (abbreviated as UEMOA from its name in French- Union Économique et Monétaire Ouest-Africaine) is an organization of eight West African countries- Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. This region suffers an agricultural yield gap mainly due to misplanning of crop zoning. Our study aimed to perform an agricultural zoning for maize and soybean in the UEMOA region based on (i) potential yield (carbon dioxide, temperature, photosynthetically active radiation, photoperiod and genotype), (ii) attainable yield, under high crop management and technology inputs and (iii) actual yield. Results show that the UEMOA region is very suitable for growing maize and soybeans; however, a large gap exists between attainable and actual yields. It is shown that the adoption of better management and technology strategies is a way to greatly increase local yields.