Maize Yield Potential in West Africa Estimated By Two Methods.

Estimates of crop yield potential, otherwise known as crop productivity is of great importance in determining yield gap between the potential and the actual production at the farmer’s level. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) publishes annually crop production, productivity, and land area covered by the crop in all regions of the world, including West Africa (WA). There is an ongoing controversy on the accuracy of maize (Zea mays L) productivity estimates published by FAO for WA, especially in the last 2-3 decades. The objective of the study reported herein was to compare on-station potential maize productivity estimates with those published by FAO. Yield data per hectare from research studies conducted in several locations within most WA countries during the last 30 years were analyzed and compared with similar data published by FAO during the same period. Results showed increasing trends for the two estimates with a statistically significant larger b-value for the on-station studies than the FAO estimates. Present yield potential of maize in WA is 3-4 t ha-1, depending on the type of variety (OPV vs hybrid, early vs late maturity, type of hybrid, etc); contrary to the less than 2 t ha-1 published by FAO.