Perception et adaptation des éleveurs de bovins aux changements climatiques dans le bassin de l’Ouémé Supérieur au Bénin. Perception et adaptation des éleveurs

Perception and adaptation of cattle breeders to climate change in the Upper Oueme basin in Benin Cattle breeding is a major component of the economy of African pastoral societies in general and Benin in particular. This activity has been facing many difficulties in recent years, despite its multiple economic and socio-cultural functions. This study aims, on the one hand, to understand the perception of climatic and environmental disturbances by cattle breeders and, on the other hand, to analyze the adaptation strategies developed by breeders to cope with the new climatic conditions. 300 cattle breeders were surveyed in the communes of Tchaourou and Djougou in Benin. The methodological approach adopted included an exploratory survey phase that allowed for the selection of survey districts and villages, and an in-depth survey phase that allowed for the administration of questionnaires to the herders through individual interviews and group discussions. The results reveal that climate change is perceived as a major phenomenon that affects the various cattle breeding practices, which are highly dependent on the environment. Cattle farmers surveyed noted an increase in temperature (48%), a decrease in rainfall (46%) and an increase in wind speed (6%) in the study area. These climatic conditions have a negative impact on the availability and quality of forage and water resources. In addition, they influence the performance of the farms, particularly milk performance (47%), age at first calving (36%) and animal growth (17%). The animals are subject to an upsurge in diseases, including pasteurellosis (28%), peripneumonia (26%), foot-and-mouth disease (22%) and trypanosomiasis (8%). Under these conditions, herders adopt various strategies to mitigate the effects of drought and the degradation of pastoral resources through the use of transhumance (50%), the storage of fodder, particularly harvest residues (8%), and the cultivation of "Panicum maximum C1" fodder crops (17%). In the face of bovine diseases, 57% and 30% of respondents have recourse to the veterinary services and ethno-veterinary treatments, respectively. These strategies developed by farmers in the face of the adverse effects of climate change need to be supported through sustainable development policies in the cattle breeding sector in order to make them more effective.