Eleventh International Conference on Climate Change: Impacts & Responses

Abstract

Changes in air temperature and rainfall pattern brought about by climate change are likely to affect agricultural production system both directly and indirectly. In addition to the direct effect of climate on crop growth and development, weather also affects other process that may impact agricultural production system as a whole. A study was carried out using a crop simulation model (CERES) to examine the relationship between maize yields and changes in weather and climate and other related factors in order to forecast possible future yields using projected climate for a future period in central Uganda. Results show that in all climate scenarios future maize yields are projected to decrease by 5-50% in the near future and 10-60% in mid century climate period compared to the 1980-2010 maize yields. However early planting in both seasons was found to reduce the yield reductions by about 5% and should therefore be taken advantage of by the communities