In The Gambia, climate change has affected, and continues to affect, the agriculture sector. Thus, there is a need to develop and understand effective agricultural adaptation policies. The present study used protection motivation theory to describe farmers’ adoption of climate change adaptation measures in the Central River Region of The Gambia. Primary data were collected in eight communities of the region. A transect walk was conducted, followed by a survey of farmers (n = 283). Perception data collected referred back to the past 20 years, with stated implementation addressing current adaptation practices. Results showed that the perception variables, namely, severity, ability to withstand, and internal barriers, were significantly correlated with protection motivation, while protection motivation and stated implementation for water conservation technique were strongly correlated. Structural equation modeling confirmed the mediation role of protection motivation between farmers’ “stated implementation” of adaptation measures and their perception of climate variability. A decrease in soil water storage capacity, degradation of the quality of soil surface structure, and a decrease of the length of the growing season are all factors that motivate farmers to implement an adaptation measure. The cost of the implementation and farmers’ vulnerability are factors that prevent implantation of adaptation measures. This study suggested that farmers’ resilience should be improved and adaptation measures should be subsidized in order to make them more accessible to farmers.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the recurring erratic and uneven rainfall distribution has resulted in low crop yields, income losses, and low food stock. In response to these climate change challenges, farmers have recourse to several coping strategies to survive. This present paper explores farmers' perception of climate variability and the coping strategies in use in the Central River Region of The Gambia. The main purpose of this paper is to analyze perceived climate variability and farm level adaptation options in the region. Data were collected from 283 farmhouses through transect walks, quantitative surveys including the use focus group discussions. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results revealed that farmers generally perceive an increase in the frequency of extreme weather events and a decrease in the duration of the growing season. With regards to vulnerability and severity, nearly 95% of the respondents considered the dryness as the main threat to their farming activities and perceived its consequences as the most severe. The results equally showed that the perception of changes is linked to the adoption of some adaptation measures among which the preferred were the use of chemical fertilizers (66%), though it is stated to be the most expensive. The Spearman correlation test showed that the use of water conservation techniques is highly correlated with the quality of soil surface structure (p ≤ 0.01) and soil storage capacity (p ≤ 0.01). Findings of this study are of paramount importance in planning and implementing adaptation policies in The Gambia and beyond. To improve farmers' resilience, drought tolerant crops should be promoted along with climate change and variability awareness campaigns.

Aims: An experiment was conducted to compare the growth performance of two varieties of Moringa oleifera (wild variety and PKM-1) under different seasonal period at two locations in northern Burkina Faso, and the potential for improving household nutrition. Study Design, Place and Duration of Study: Two separate trials corresponding to sowing period (cold and warm) were laid out at each site (Bani and Tougou) in a completely randomized block design with three replicates between December 2017 and September 2018. Methodology: Each block was subdivided into two plots of 8 m² (separated from each other by 3 m break) intended to receive each variety of Moringa at each sowing period. The seeds were sown with 2 seeds by pit at 2 cm depth with spacing of 0.5 m x 0.5 m in each plot ploughed up to 30 cm. Watering was done daily during the dry season and consisted of applying 24 liters of water in each plot at two times. Vegetative growth measurements (plant height, number of leaves) were done weekly while leaf biomass production was assessed monthly from the 40th day after sowing. Results: The results showed that seedlings growth parameters and foliar biomass differed significantly (p < 0.001) among the two Moringa oleifera varieties and were influenced by the sowing period and sites. Although the two varieties grew well, Moringa oleifera var PKM-1 grew faster and produced much leaves compared to the wild or local variety. Then, greater growth attributes (height and number of leaves) and foliar biomass were noted for PKM-1. Conclusion: The warm period (March / April) appear to be the most recommendable period for the growth and biomass accumulation of the two varieties of Moringa oleifera.