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Abstract            Volume:12  Issue-12  Year-2024         Original Research Articles


Online ISSN : 2347 - 3215
Issues : 12 per year
Publisher : Excellent Publishers
Email : editorijcret@gmail.com

Climate Variability and Farmers’ Perceptions in the Rural Commune of Ouahigouya, Burkina Faso
Françoise Valea*
Joseph KI-ZERBO University (Burkina Faso)
*Corresponding author
Abstract:

In Burkina Faso, climatic conditions determine the agricultural practices of the populations engaged in this sector of activity to ensure viable socio- economic development. In Ouahigouya, farmers are trying to adapt to the vagaries of the climate, which are reflected in wide variations in rainfall, temperature, humidity and wind parameters. As a result, their perception of how these parameters behave is essential for organizing their activities and deciding what actions to take to get the most out of production. The aim of this study is to compare the dynamics of climatic parameters at the Ouahigouya synoptic station with the knowledge of farmers in the commune. To this end, documentary, meteorological and survey data were collected, processed and analyzed. Records of rainfall, temperature and wind over the normal 1992-2023 series were used to establish the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), the number of rainy days, and variations in temperature and wind. Surveys were carried out among 120 farmers on their assessment of climate variability. The results show that farmers perceive a decrease in the amount of rainfall (91.7%) and the number of rainy days (90%), coupled with a late start to the rains (94.2%), an increase in temperatures (81.7%) and an increase in the frequency of violent winds (80.8%). However, the scientific facts are quite different. They show an increase in rainfall and the number of rainy days, and a decrease in wind speed, despite the fact that temperatures are rising. This discrepancy between scientific observations and local perceptions calls for more in-depth investigations to gain a better understanding. Also, measures to adapt to climate variability could also be considered.

Keywords: Burkina Faso, Ouahigouya, climate variability, farmers' perceptions.
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How to cite this article:

Françoise Valea. 2024. Climate Variability and Farmers’ Perceptions in the Rural Commune of Ouahigouya, Burkina Faso.Int.J.Curr.Res.Aca.Rev. 12(12): 1-11
doi: https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcrar.2024.1212.001
Copyright: This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.