| AgricultureinBurkinaFasoislargelydominatedby75%ofrainfedcropproduction,whichischaracterizedbyshortandunevenlydistributionofannualrainfall.Theshortageofwaterforcropproductionisnotonlyaconsequenceofwaterscarcity,butalsomismatchesbetweenwatersupplyanddemand.ThelowoutputinBurkinaFasofromthedelayedplantingresultingfromalackofinformationhasbeenrevealed[1].Apreviousstudy[2]suggestedthatfortheefficientuseofwaterinanAfricansemi-aridregion,amanagementpracticebasedonmatchingwatersupplyandcropdemandmustbeimplemented.Evapotranspiration(ETo)isoneofthemostimportanthydrologicalvariablesusedinagriculturewaterplanningandmanagement.ThedifficultyinBurkinaFasoisthelackofavailabilityoftherequireddataandasuitablemodelforestimatingtheETo.InordertoexploretheagriculturepotentialinBanforaandOuagadougou,thisstudyusesthemodel[3]previouslydefinedforevapotranspirationestimationforBurkinaFaso,whichrequiredonlytemperatureasitsinput.Theresultsshowthat,thecropwaterrequirementsandtheirassociatedirrigationrequirementswerehigherinOuagadougouthaninBanforaregardlessofthecropandsowingdate.Accordingtothestudy[4],thegeographicaldifferenceinthetemperatureandprecipitationcouldexplainthesedifferencesincropwaterdemands.Inaddition,therainfallcontributionindexisintroducedinthisstudyforexaminingtheavailabilityofrainwater.Baseontheindex,ithasbeenobservedthatinsufficientrainwaterisavailableformostofthecropsinOuagadougou,andsufficientrainwaterintheBanforaregion,particularlyformaize,drybean,sorghum,milletandgroundnutcrops.Consequently,theBanforaregionshowedahigherpotentialforagricultureascomparedtoOuagadougou.Generally,underrainfedcondition,Mayisthemostfavorableplantingmonthforpotato,cassava,sorghum,millet,groundnut,onionandricecrops;andJuneformaizeanddrybeancrops.Furthermore,accordingtotherainfallcontribution,itwasfoundinthisstudythat,aftertherainyseason,ifmaizeandbeancropsareundercultivationon1stSeptember,thentherainwatercanpossiblycontributebetween39.1and42.4%oftheirwaterrequirements.AgoodcroppingcalendaraswellasimprovedearlymaturingcropvarietiescouldbesuggestedasarecommendationtoenhancetheagriculturalwatermanagementefficiencyinBurkinaFaso. |