This research investigates rainfall variability and drought patterns in West Africa and their consequential impacts on rainfed agriculture, with a particular focus on vulnerability linked to weather extremes Utilizing NASA POWER/Agro-climatology data, cross-validated against observed meteorological records in the targeted countries, this study spans the years 1981 to 2021, with a particular focus on Ghana and Burkina Faso. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), and different statistical methods were employed to evaluate the variations in rainfall, including intensity and frequency, as well as analyze drought patterns in the study areas. Despite increased rainfall in the last decade, seasonal and decadal shifts have been noticed, and drought and irregular patterns still threaten the study areas. Temporal analysis reveals fluctuations in temperature and rainfall. SPI and SPEI results indicated a decline in drought frequency, aligned with global trends, though the monthly scale showed no evident decline. The spatial analysis highlights regional variations in rainfall and drought dynamics. The study emphasizes the importance of region-specific mitigation and adaptation strategies, providing valuable insights for informed decision-making in West Africa's agriculture and water resource management under climate change. The findings underscore the continued threat of irregular rainfall patterns and drought, emphasizing the need for tailored approaches to address these challenges.

Sorghum is cultivated on Vertisols in the Ethiopian Highlands. An experiment was conducted in the Gumara-Maksegnit watershed in 2013 and 2014 to assess the effect of rate and timing of nitrogen fertilizer application on the possibility to shorten the maturity period and to improve the productivity of sorghum. The experiment was laid out as Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. Treatments were nitrogen doses between 0 and 87 kg N ha⁻¹ as urea applied at planting, at knee-height stage or in split doses at both stages. Results showed that application of 23, 41, 64 and 87 kg ha⁻¹ N gave a yield increase of 40, 53, 62 and 69% over the control (0 kg N ha⁻¹), respectively. In addition, split application of 41 kg ha⁻¹, 64 kg ha⁻¹ and 87 kg ha⁻¹ of nitrogen fertilizer, half at planting and half at knee height stage, gave 19%, 15% and 18% increase in sorghum grain yield over a single dose application, respectively. Applying 87 kg ha⁻¹ nitrogen fertilizer with split application half at planting and half at knee height stage, along with 46 kg ha⁻¹ of P₂O_5, gave the highest grain yield and income.

Climate change severely impacts sub-Saharan Africa, which relies heavily on rainfed agriculture for food production. Variable and insufficient rainfall exacerbates food insecurity across the region. Traditional in situ water harvesting (IS_WH) practices enhance soil water-holding capacity, improve infiltration, and promote soil conservation. This meta-analysis of the peer-reviewed literature examines IS_WH practices’ effects on crop yield, soil moisture, runoff, and soil loss reduction across various rainfall conditions in sub-Saharan Africa. The analysis reveals that IS_WH practices significantly boost agricultural productivity, with a combined effect size showing a 71% increase in total crop yield. IS_WH practices also improve soil moisture retention by 59% and effectively reduce runoff by 53% and soil loss by 58.66%, demonstrating their robust water and soil conservation benefits. Despite their proven benefits, the adoption of IS_WH practices in sub-Saharan Africa is hindered by socioeconomic and institutional barriers, including limited technical knowledge, resource constraints, and inadequate extension services. By addressing these barriers, there is significant potential to scale up IS_WH practices, enhancing agricultural productivity and sustainability across the region. Such efforts are crucial for mitigating the impacts of climate change, ensuring food security, and promoting sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa.

In semiarid, fragmented landscapes where data scarcity challenges effective land management, accurate soil moisture monitoring is critical. This study presents a high-resolution analysis that integrates remote sensing, in situ data, and machine learning to predict soil moisture and evaluate the impact of land conservation practices. A Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model combined with Random Forest gap-filling achieved strong predictive performance (R² = 0.84; RMSE = 0.103 cm³ cm⁻³), outperforming SMAP satellite estimates by approximately 30% across key accuracy metrics. The model was applied to 222 field sites in northern Ghana to quantify the effects of stone bunds on soil moisture retention. The results revealed that fields with stone bunds maintained 4–6% higher moisture than non-bunded fields, particularly on steep slopes and in areas with low to moderate topographic wetness. These findings demonstrate the capability of combining remote sensing and deep learning for fine-scale soil-moisture prediction and provide quantitative evidence of how nature-based solutions enhance water retention and climate resilience in dryland agricultural systems.

This study evaluates the effectiveness of stone bunds in enhancing soil moisture, vegetation health, and crop yields in Ghana’s semi-arid Upper East Region, an important area for agricultural productivity in West Africa. In this region, agricultural practices are heavily impacted by erratic rainfall and poor soil moisture retention, threatening food security. Despite the known benefits of traditional soil conservation practices like stone bunds, their effectiveness in this context has not been fully quantified. Field and remote sensing data were used to evaluate the influence of stone bunds on soil moisture dynamics, vegetation growth, and crop yield. Experimental plots with and without stone bunds were monitored for climate, soil water infiltration, and soil moisture and analyzed using the NDVI from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery over two growing seasons under sorghum production (2022–2023). The results indicated that stone bunds enhanced soil moisture retention and increased infiltration rates. The NDVI analysis consistently revealed higher vegetation health and growth in the plots with stone bunds, particularly during critical growth periods. The intermediate results of the conducted experiment indicated that stone bunds increased sorghum yields by over 35% compared to the control plots. The substantial agronomic benefits of stone bunds as a soil and water conservation strategy were evident, improving soil water infiltration, water retention, vegetation health, and crop yields. The findings support the broader adoption of stone bunds in semi-arid regions to enhance agricultural productivity and resilience against climate variability. Further research is recommended to explore the long-term impacts and the integration of stone bunds with other sustainable farming practices to optimize rainfed agricultural outcomes.