Improving resilience of rural women to climate change in Western Sudan

Home gardening is wide spread amongst rural women in western Sudan under rainfed conditions. However, due to climatic variability that affects both soil fertility and rainfall patterns, garden yields are often drastically reduced, affecting family food security in sudan. This study was initiated to enhance garden yield by provision of both water and fertilizer using biogas liquid effluent obtained through biogas units installed in rural households. Although only 15 units were installed, 50 households benefited from the biogas effluent. Two types of vegetables, Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench) and Jew mallow (Corchorus olitorius L.) were randomly planted in plots and subplots prepared for the application at different concentration (0.5 m3, 1 m3, and 1.5 m3) of biogas effluent. MSTATC and STATISTIX8 program were used for data analysis. Results showed significant increase in yields for both vegetables in the off season, except Jews mallow in the first season. Okra yields increased from 0.93 t/ha fresh green pods to 1.4 t/ha with 1.5 m3 fertilizer in season one. In season two, okra yield increased from 0.92 t/ha to 1.38 t/ha with 1.5 m3 fertilizer application. In season two, Jew’s mallow yield increased from 13.15 t/ha to 21.06 t/ha with 1.5 m3 fertilizer application. Combined analysis of variance indicated that there were significant differences among treatments for all studied traits in two seasons. The highest effluent concentration (1.5m3) gave the best yield for both types of vegetables.