Closing the yield gap in the savannah zone

This chapter takes a closer look at low-income countries in the savannah zone, where poverty and malnutrition are dominant features. Although high rainfall variability across time and space is a key challenge, this zone has substantial hydrological potential. The chapter analyses how investments in agricultural water management can contribute to closing the yield gap between actual and potential yields in the savannahs, and thereby to building resilience in these regions. The chapter discusses the range of technological, biophysical and social constraints currently limiting the uptake of these promising technologies. Conclusions are finally drawn regarding broad based farming system solutions that target the interacting constraints, and deal with the uncertainty of the future.