Implementation and application of APSIM for crop modelling in Ethiopia: A comprehensive review

In the 21st century, the practice of agriculture is becoming more interesting, valuable, and attractive by integrating many technologies and systems. Among the different technologies and systems Crop Simulation Models (APSIM, DSSAT, and AquaCrop) are widely used to predict crop yield, forecast climate change impacts, and optimize different management practices including pesticides, water, and fertilizers. Many researchers used these computerized representations of crops worldwide and in Ethiopia for the aforementioned purposes. These crop models were used in Ethiopia by different researchers for yield prediction. Climate change impacts assessment, and the most crucial factor that policymakers and agricultural production system planners should consider when making decisions is the ability of crop simulation models, such as the agricultural production system simulator (APSIM), to save time and resources while improving prediction accuracy. Because most models are poorly or never evaluated, it is unknown if they are useful in the decision-making process. Thus, to simulate the growth, development, yield, and climate change impacts of the chosen crops in Ethiopia, this research reviews the status, application, accuracy of result prediction, challenges, and research opportunities of the APSIM crop simulation model in Ethiopia’s agroecological environment.