Climate change and cashew (<i>Anacardium occidentale</i> L.) productivity in Benin (West Africa) : perceptions and endogenous measures of adaptation

Abstract

This study aimed at analyzing the perceptions of cashew producers of the climate change, climate change effect on cashew productivity and to identify the adaptation strategies developed to mitigate them, two hundred and seventeen (217) cashew producers older than 50 with more than 10 years experience in cashew plantation were selected randomly from 20 villages. In each of the selected villages, the data were collected using questionnaires, individual and group interviews and fields visit. The collected data were sociodemographic characteristics of the households (sex, age, household size, education level, years of experience in the cultivation of cashew, types of the men size of household laborer used, farm size), perceptions of cashew producers in relation to indicators of climate change, and climatic factors that influence the productivity of cashew and especially the various strategies developed to adapt to. These data have been submitted to descriptive statistic, analysis of variance and multivariate analysis. The results this study indicate that the producers of the Central parts of the country were significantly older and more experienced (P<0.05 to P<0.0001) when compared to producers from other areas. The lowest of cashew plantation area were recorded in the North-East despite the availability of cultivable lands (P <0.0001). The producers have reported an increase in temperature and decrease in rainfall and the occurrence of violent winds from time to time. The high rates of dried flowers and yield losses were the new climate change indicators identified in the study. Mulching (71.80%), manure application (7.8%) and regular management of plantations (6%) were the main strategies developed. The number of household laborer, the experience of the producer, determined significantly (P < 0.05 to P <0.0001), the choice of the adaptation measures to climate change. We recommend to assess the efficacy of these strategies for sustainable cashew production.

Effect of Climate Variability on Yams (&lt;i&gt;Dioscorea spp&lt;/i&gt;.) Production in Central and Northern Benin

“…The study revealed that the precocity or not of the beginning of the rainy season especially after the emergence outside the mounds of seedlings of planted tubers, the distribution of precipitation during the vegetative cycle, the length of the rainy season, the heights of rainwater received during the rainy season, the dry season throughout its duration, the ambient temperature, the insolation as well as the harmattan are the main climatic factors listed by producers as those whose fluctuations affect production yams in Benin. Several authors such as Agossou et al (2012) and Bello et al (2017) in Benin; Ugwoke et al (2012) in Nigeria, Bambara et al (2013), this perception of farmers in tropical regions can be justified by the fact that the climatic variables cited (Rainfall, temperature, insolation and the harmattan) have a direct influence on agricultural production in tropical Africa. The results of the study also showed that socio-linguistic groups have different perceptions according to sex and age.…”

Performances agronomiques des arbres-mères d’anacardiers (<i>Anacardium occidentale </i>L.) sélectionnés dans les plantations paysannes au Bénin

“…Les productivités moyennes des arbresmères d'anacardiers potentiels identifiés ont varié de 27,20 à 38,26 kg/an en fonction des tranches d'âges. Ces productivités moyennes obtenues sont toutes supérieures à productivité moyenne d'un anacardier ordinaire qui est de 15 kg de noix par an (Aliyu, 2004). Ceci confirme que ces arbres-mères identifiés sont de meilleurs anacardiers.…”

Expansion of Cashew Cultivation and its Environmental and Economic Impacts on Guinea-Bissau

“…Taking these aspects into account, the volume of rain that falls in a region can be considered as a factor that determines the agricultural activity to be developed in such location (Danfá et al, 2009). Both temperature and precipitation are important variables for agricultural production in the tropics; overall, the irregularity of rain, high temperatures, and violent winds are the main climate changes indicated by cashew producers in Benin as a factor of low agricultural productivity (Bello et al, 2017).…”