1

Farmers’ Perception of climate change and climate variability versus

climatic evidence in Burkina Faso, West Africa

Safiétou SANFO1* , John P.A. LAMERS2, Marc MUELLER2 and William FONTA1

1WASCAL, (West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use)

2 ZEF (Centre for Development Research, Walter–Flex-Str. 3, D-53113 Bonn, Germany)

*Corresponding author: Safiétou SANFO, WASCAL,

Climate change and climate variability (CC & CV) in West Africa is recurrently mentioned as

the main threat to sustainable development in Africa, which necessitates adaptation measures.

Of the many offered, few have been seen an impact on the ground because farmers have hardly

implemented such measures. This is due also because of an incomplete understanding of

farmers’ perception of potential climatic threats. This study compares the perception of male

and female farmers in two case study villages in Burkina Faso on climate CC & CV. The

subjective assessment of climate threats is then compared with historical weather and climate.

The farmer’s perceptions were captured through a combination of focus group discussions and

household questionnaires whilst historical weather data from the study region stations was used

to develop climate information.

The research findings underlined that farmers recall and understand CC & CV primarily based

on weather-crop interactions and on events that are associated with climatic fluctuations. Their

perceptions are additionally shaped by the cultural frame or belief system. Farmers emphasized

that climatic and weather patterns had changed over the three decades, and mentioned as

indicators the more erratic rainfall patterns, decreased rainfall amounts, increased temperatures,

winds and radiation. These changes they thought have been responsible for a decreased crop

productivity and increased livestock morbidity and mortality. The majority of the respondents

(90%) were additionally highly pessimistic for the future. On the other hand, the perceptions

did only marginally match the monitored long-term weather data. For instance, an increase in

the duration of radiation as perceived by farmers opposed to a decrease by measurements, or

the decrease in rainfall could be confirmed for the past decade only but not for three decades.

Despite the in part contrasting evidence, when negotiating adaptation measures the perception

of farmers is key and therefore must be taken into account as these greatly influence on-farm

investments and decision-making in agricultural management production. It is argued that an

increased general awareness of CC & CV by farmers is of paramount interest to the decision-

makers that should advance any attempt to promote adaptation measures to the farming

population.

Key Words: Climate change and climate variability, farmer perceptions, climatic evidence,

West Africa

2

Introduction

Climate change and climate variability CC & VC is predicted by scientists to have the main

impact on agriculture, economy and livelihood of smallholder farmers in West Africa (KANDJI

et al., 2006). CC & CV present many challenges in West Africa (Hulme et al., 2005), and annual

and mid-season droughts have become recurrent features of West African agriculture. It has

been reported that there is a large deficit of information and knowledge in this vulnerable region

which impedes decision making and assessment of climate related risks (McSWEENEY et al.,

2010). Information about this issue may be put into two groups: (1) climate trend analysis and

future projections from climate scientists and (2) the perception information from people at risk

in those regions (mainly farmers). It is important to recognise whether these 2 types of

information correspond to support the effectiveness of any policy towards farmer empowerment

for climate change adaptation. In West Africa (mostly for the Sahel), contradictory literature

regarding climate trend information has been published on climate change. For instance a close

relationship between the Sahelian rainfall decrease and the reduction in the number of rainy

days has been reported (SIVAKUMAR, 1992a, b; LE BARBÉ & LEBEL, 1997). The authors

observed a decrease in both the seasonal amount and number of rainfall events of about 25%.

But recently, while some authors reported the Sahelian drought to have ended since the 1990s

(e.g. OZER et al., 2003), or being simply an artifact of changing station networks (e.g.

CHAPPELL & AGNEW, 2004) others like L’HOTE et al. (2002, 2003), DAI et al. (2004) and

HULME (2001) reported it as being real and continuing. On the other hand, for the part of the

sub-Saharan Africa, when temperature trend is widely said to be increasing, annual rainfall was

reported to be highly variable on inter-annual and inter-decadal timescales and no long term

trends could be identified (McSWEENEY et al., 2010). Regarding the opinion of the

populations at risk in WA, several studies have been produced. Through a standardised

questionnaire, Egouaven (2013) collected qualitative data and provided an analysis of

environmental observations by farmers, as well as of models of blame in Northern Ghana. Mayo

et al. (2012) used participatory research techniques, to investigate farmers’ perceptions of

climate variability in semi arid Zimbabwe. To assess farmer’s perception in the SSWA,

Akponikpè1 and al. (2010) interviewed 234 farmers in five SSW African countries (Benin,

Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger and Togo with approximately 47 farmers per country, in a total of

78 villages).

In Burkina Faso, Roncoli et al. (2002) conducted a comprehensive farmer climate knowledge

and rainfall forecasting in Bonam in the central plateau in Burkina, and WEST et al. (2008)

later assessed local perceptions and regional climate trend from two provinces of the same area.

Drawing from a survey in 11 African countries (with 3 in West-Africa i.e. Ghana, Burkina and

Niger) MADDISON (2007) analyzed the ability of farmers to detect climate change, the way

they adapt and the barriers to adaptation. We noticed that these few studies provide either

country level bulked information or are climate and place localized. Despite the widespread

scientific debate concerning farmers perception of climate change and adaptation, not much is

know about rural farming households’ perceptions in Burkina Faso. The above studies mainly

focused the Plateau Central area. Knowing that every country in the SSWA encompasses at

least two main climatic regions (within Guinean, Sudanian or Sahelian), we hypothesized that

climate along a latitudinal gradient (imposing different agricultural systems) in West-Africa

will influence farmers’ perception differently. This means that differences between climatic

areas should be well known to guide decision making and policy for differential mitigation

actions. It has been also reported that Farmers’ ability to perceive climate change is a key

precondition fortheir choice to adapt. Farmers cope with climate change based on their

perceptions of changing climate patterns. Taking the above into consideration, and taking into

account the differents between regions within the same country this papper attempted to address

3

the following questions in the southern Burkina Faso: (1) How do farmers in the southern

Burkina Faso perceive climate change? (2) How do farmers’ perceptions of climate trends

correspond of metereological data? Overall, the study attempts to assess differential farmer

perception of CC & CV and wether teir perceptions correspond to meteorological data.

1.1: About climate change and farmers perceptions

Climate change refers to any change in climate over time, whether due to natural variability

or/and as a result of human activity (IPCC, 2007a:871). This paper uses the term climate change

in a broad context that includes changes in weather variability. Climate change imposes

constraints to development especially among smallholder farmers whose livelihoods mostly

depend on rain-fed agriculture (IPCC, 2007b; Tanner & Mitchell, 2008). Negative impacts of

extreme events such as floods and droughts are expected to be high in developing countries

especially in rural areas (Adger, Hug, Brown, Conway, & Hume, 2003; IPCC, 2007a). A large

array of measures is needed to effectively alleviate the climate thread. An individual nation

cannot change the force of the climate change by unilateral actions. It can, however, reduce

local damage by proper application of adaptation, which consists of local measures to reduce

the vulnerability of natural and human systems against actual or expected effects of climate

change.

However, according to Lorenzoni and Pidgeon (2006) people are not likely to support initiatives

addressing climate change unless they consider the issue a very serious problem for society, or

one that affects them personally. Slovic and Weber (2002) and Sunstein (2006) describe how

the way we perceive events that pose a potential risk to us is captured in the issue of risk

perception. This can be defined as the perceived likelihood of negative consequences to oneself

and the society from the specific (environmental) phenomenon (risk) for instance climate

change. CC & CV perception is the subjective judgment that people make about the

characteristics and severity of a risk.

Review of literature shows that the donor community, international development agencies,

regional political bodies, Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs), farmers’ organisations and

national government involved in adaptation strategies promotion have often not taken into

account perceptions of smallholder farmers of climate change (CFU, 2006; FAO, 2009, 2011b).

The adaptive capacity is influenced by factors such as knowledge about climate change.

Smithers and Smit (2009) contend that environmental perceptions are among key elements

influencing adoption of adaptation strategies.

This type of evidence has led to interest in how farmers understand and perceive climatic

process (Adger et al., 2005; Conway et al., 2005; Ziervogel et al., 2006). One’s perception

depends on one’s environment and its characteristics (Heathcote, 1969) and a range of beliefs,

judgments and attitudes (Slegers, 2008). Experience is another important factor that shapes

individuals’ peceptions, with previous experiences of poor seasons creating memories that may

determine how farmers describe different types of seasons (Slegers 2008). Farmers can also be

influenced by peers’ perceptions and community values (Maddison, 2006). Perception of

climate is based on the economic and social impact it has on personal lives; and farmers’

perceptions of climate variability are important to adaptation as they determine decisions in

agricultural planning and management (Slegers, 2008; Bryant et al. 2008)). Several studies on

farmers’ perceptions of climate change have shown a high correspondence of resource users’

perceptions of climate change to meteorological data (Deressa, Hassan, Alemu, Yesuf, &

Ringler, 2008; Maddison, 2007; Mertz, Mbow, Reenberg, & Diouf, 2009; Slegers, 2008; West,

Roncoli, & Ouattar, 2008). This paper examines Burkina Faso farmers’ perceptions of CC &

CV and compares these perceptions with historical, official meteorological data.

4

1.2. STUDY AREA

The Burkina Faso agriculture services aclasiffy the westhern areas are as agro-ecological zones

(AEZ). Several studies reveal that though the area is suitable for crop production (it is

commonly known as the breadbasket of the country), it has experienced climate change impacts.

This southern region was selected as it represents environments with contrasting agricultural

potential, while having still one of the highest agricultural potential in the country. The region

is located between the 700 and 1100 mm isohyets. The region is subject to severe dry spells

within the rainy season (mid season droughts). The length of the growing period in the study

areas is quite variable, ranging from 70-100 days. The vegetation cover is deteriorating.

Population growth and deforestation have lead to land degradation. The investigation was

mainly conducted in two villages, Batiara and Pontiéba, in Ioba province of Burkina Faso, at

approximately 11oN and 2oW. The study sites had been selected as close to the meteorological

stations to minimise impact of spatial variability.

Maps here

2 MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data Survey

The data collection and analysis detailed below included three steps: fieldwork data collection,

meteorological data collection, and meta-analysis. Data were collected in the villages in April

and May 2011 using two complementary approaches, namely (i) focus group discussions

(FGDs) and (ii) household questionnaires. An FGD involving about 20 farmers in groups was

held in each village to collect qualitative information on the farming systems, farmer

perceptions on climate variability, farmers’ use of seasonal climate forecasts, and how they

cope with variable climate. The FGDs enabled community perspectives to be captured and

provided a picture of the survey areas in terms of climate-related issues and biophysical and

socio-economic constraints farmers face due to climate variability. A team of translators helped

to collect data.

Upon arrival in Dano, we contacted officers of the local agricultural service (Direction

Provinciale de l’Agriculture, DPA) and the local leadership, who facilitated farmer

participation at FGDs. The DPA officers helped with introductions of the research team to the

village authorities and the communities; and household sampling and identification. The semi-

structured questionnaire used both a qualitative and quantitative research approach (Bryman,

2008; Sanfo; 2010) to collect household level data on factors that may influence farmers’

perceptions on climate variability. Some of the specific aspects covered in the questionnaire

included: (i) Demographic and socio-economic indicators; (ii) What weather-related changes

have been noted over the years and explanations for such changes; (iii) Indicators of climate

change; (iv) Sources of weather- and climate-related information; and (v) Farmers’ coping

mechanisms or strategies, i.e. what agricultural management practices and other socio-

economic coping strategies they employ in the face of climate variability. The FGD helped to

understand farmers’ perception on weather fluctuations and climate change, through farmer’s

eyewitness accounts of about weather fluctuations observed over a lifetime. The data were

entered and analysed in the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and MS Excel.

Statistics were mainly descriptive including means, frequencies and standard deviations where

applicable. This study used only informations about farmers’ perception on climate change.

5

Climatology evidence. To ascertain how farmers’ perceptions of CC & CV correspond to

actual long term climatic records, climate data available for Dano and surrounding provinces

by the Burkina’s Meteorological Department were analysed and compared to findings from the

farmer survey. The study focuses on rainfall, temperatures, insolation, wind and season and

their duration. Daily rainfall, maximum and minimum temperatures, daily insolation and winds

data for the time period 1970–2010 have been collected. Ther is only one gap, the 1978 season

at Dano. The rainfall analysis based on the total annual amount and the number of day of

rainfall. For the temperature data, the dailly maximum values were summarised on a annual

temperature. The same was calculated for the daily minimum temperatures and insolation. The

first approach of the analysis of season and their duration was to identify the rainy seasons at

the station based on its daily rainfall data. The Burkina Faso Meteorological Services

Department classifies seasons according to whether or not they were below or above normal.

The Department classifies any season receiving <90% of the long-term mean (of 30 years 1981-

2010) as below normal or poor; seasons ranging from 90% of the long-term mean to 110% as

normal; seasons ranging from 111% of the long-term mean to 150% as above normal or good

seasons and those seasons >150% of the long-term mean rainfall as very above normal or very

good seasons. This classification is a simplification and does not take account critical periods

and dryspells within the rainy season. To verify consequently the assertions of farmers, we

therefore targeted critical periods of crops, flowering and harvested periods. The study looks at

dryspells within theses criticals periods that can impact negatively crops yields. For the length

of seasons, the rainy season is generally identified in the West African zone according to

different methods depending on the objectives of the studies and the locations. We can

distinguish two classes of methods which are usually used in the Sahelian region; the agronomic

method and the hydrological method (Sivakumar 1988; Balme et al. 2005). As this study deals

with agiculture and crops the agronomic method is needed. The agronomic method defines the

rainy season start after the first April with a 3 days cumulative rainfall amount higher than 20

mm and not followed by a dry spell of more than 7 days. The rainy season end of this method

is marked by the last rainfall higher than 5 mm/day after the first September with any rainfall

higher than 5 mm/day during the twenty following days. For the hydrologic method, the rainy

season begins with the first rainfall higher than last rainfall higher than 5 mm/day. The limit of

this method is that they are empirical and they are based on some assumptions on the behavior

of land surface conditions or the crops.

3 Results and Discussion

Farmers’ perceptions of weather-related changes and variabilities compare to

methodological eveidence

Many farmers (55%) had heard of climate change mainly through public media (television,

radio). Another 45% mentioned oral sources (Meeting, relatives, agricultural technicians,

cabarets, etc.). Farmers stated that disruptions of weather patterns occured since the 1970s, with

drought years in 1974, 1984, 2004 and years of excessive rainfall in 1976, 1996 and 2006. The

majority (52%) attributed the perceived weather-related changes to natural climatic processes

but other farmers (48%) indicated that these changes had been caused by cultural and religious

factors (table1). The FGDs revealed furthermore1 the belief that ancestors had been made angry

1 Some mentions from farmers indicating that God and the ancestors are angry included: “…..we have now

abandoned our ancestors, and we are following the modern world so much that we no longer even go to “”, the

rainmaking shrine to pray to our ancestors for a good rainy season…..”.lots of unusual things are now happening

6

because cultural norms and beliefs had been ignored and as a punishment had brought climatic

changes. Also an erosion of religious values and beliefs are perceived of having caused weather

changes noted over the years. Yet, farmers linked the weather changes also to politics in Burkina

by stating that the “owners of the land” or ancestors were not happy with political upheavals,

and hence, were punishing society by bringing along the adverse weather change reflected in

rainfall. Overall, the findings of the FGDs indicated that farmer’s recogniyed the climate effects

as “the work of God which cannot be influenced”.Smallholder farmers in Dano are aware of

climate change through their experiences. This is a common finding from other studies on

perceptions of resource users of climate change such as in the Sahel (Mertz et al., 2009), Nile

basin of Ethiopia (Deressa et al., 2008), semi-arid central Tanzania (Slegers, 2008) and Asia

(Marin, 2010b).

There is, however, divergence of perceptions amongst the farmers, as indicated by the results

of what is causing these changes in agricultural productivity. This may indicate that there are

different perceptions of what changes have occurred, but maybe the most remembered or

evident aspect the farmers associate with climate variability is the decrease in agricultural

productivity. There was uncertainty in terms of how seasons will fare, which in turn may

discourage any beneficial investments in terms of agricultural production for farmers (Cooper

et al., 2008). The farmers also reported considerable morbidity and mortality rates of their

livestock which were attributed to the climatic changes the farmers had experienced over the

years.

Weather factors highlighted by farmers concerned rainfall, temperature, insolation, winds and

comparison of seasons.

in our midst, so many women being raped, a lot of murders, immorality and God is not happy, hence is punishing

us by not bringing any rains…..”

7

Table 1. Weather changes that farmers have noted over the past two decades in the

Southern parts of Burkina Faso

About Climate and perceived change Percentage of sample

Climate change through media

Climate change through oral source

Natural changes in climate

Cultural and religious reasons

Increased number of seasons without enough rainfall

Rainfall starts late and ends early

Extremes in temperatures

Long dry spells during the season

Rains do not come when they normally used to

Rainfall starts late

Prolonged/extended dry season

Short rainy seasons

Too much rain

Rainfall distribution within seasons now poor

Decline in the amount of rainfall

55

45

52

48

65

97

95

97

97

97

85

97

5

90

90

Farmers perception on rainfall and seasons and meteorological evidence

About 65% of the farmers explained climate change by a decrease in rainfall. All respondents

stated that climate has changed and this is experienced in lesser rain and dryspells.

According to the Chairman of a group of cotton producers (GPC) in Pontieba rainfall is

gradually declining since 1974. Over 90% of the farmers surveyed agreed on lower amounts of

rainfall during the rainy season. One farmer aged 59 years from the Pontieba district, explained

during the FGD that “……in our youth, it was unheard to have 2-3 poor rainfall seasons in a

row. Nowadays, these poor rainfall seasons are more pronounced, occurring on a regular basis

and usually accompanied by unusually high temperatures, especially in the months of October

and November… Old farmers mentioned that rainfall intensity is becoming higher, compared

to the period ranging from 1960 to 1970, and rains are accompanied by stronger winds. Flooding

(plots and villages) during the rainy season was also debated whilst 95% of respondents think

it is a phenomenon in decline, even though floods once occurring have become more dangerous.

The recorded data on rainfall from 1970 to 2010 (figure 1) shows that about 80 percent of the

rainfall occurs from Jun to September. The curve with Therehere is a large variability in the

amount of precipitation from year to year in the study region characterized by a sawtooth curve.

The same patterns are pobserved in Bobo, Gaoua and in Boromo. The high proportion of

farmers noticing a decrease in precipitation could be explained by the fact that during the last

few years of the study (2007 to 200), there was a substantial decrease in the amount of rainfall.

Thus, farmers’ perceptions of a reduction in rainfall over the 30-year period are explained by

8

the fact that, as Maddison (2006) noticed, some farmers place more weight on recent

information than is efficient.

Farmers assessed a “good or “bad season” by evaluating the cropping seasons, including

climate-related changes. Farmers used the term “bad season” to refer to any year with reduced

crop production. A bad season was widely regarded (90% of the farmers) as a season with

irregular rainfall distribution which was defined as rainfall at the start of the season but with

consequent very long dry spells during the follow-up, leading to crop wilting and ultimately

poor yields or even complete failures. Farmers were asked how the seasons were over the past

decade, i.e. what season can be classified bad during the last past decade. Farmers reported that

the cropping seasons 2006 and 2009 were bad. Farmer and specifically agriculture technician

reported that crops failed during the 2009 cropping season were lead to the introduction of new

varieties of maize «bondofa». All agreed that the implementation of Bondofa helped fill the

yields gaps of maize during bad seasons.

When comparing the actual rainfall data for the past 5- 10 years with the farmer perceptions

there is generally good agreement that the 2009 season was a bad season. Indeed in 2009 Dano

district received a total amount rainfall (Figure 1) less than 90% (about 770 mm, 86%) of the

long-term mean (of 30 years 1981-2010). The perceptions of farmers, however, contradict in

some cases with the climate data. In the case of the 2006 season, the total rainfall amount

suggests that it was an above normal season. However, further analysis indicated that the rainfall

distribution within the season, especially the intra-seasonal dry spells that was experienced in

Jun and August coincided with the anthesis stage of cereal crops and could have been

detrimental to crop production. This observation is corroborated by various other studies

reporting that in semi-arid southern Burkina, the start of rain during May and Jun may be

followed by a long dry spell, which can lead to crop failure (Mahé et al. 2010). Yet, according

to farmers, the yield levels determine farmers’ assessment irrespective of the meteorological

events. Thus, even those seasons that has a good rainfall distribution and above average rainfall

can be termed “poor” by farmers. This indicates also that for farmers, when evaluating cropping

seasons, any problem that limits harvests leads to a bad season.

This is similar to the reports of Slegters (2008) claiming that perceptions of climate change, are

based on livelihood impacts the climate has on individual farmers, i.e. the social and economic

impacts.

In additional, almost all farmers perceived a change in the duration of both the rainy and dry

seasons. About 97% saw a shift in the onset of the rainy season into June or even July thus

shortening concurrently the duration of the rainy season and thus the number of rainy months

in the year. It was underlined that presently the rainy season starts in June or July and usually

ends in late September or early October lasting thus about 3 to 4 months only. Women and

elderly underlined that both the dry and rainy season had the same length (6 months) three

decades before. Meteorological evidence to support this includes analysis of rainy days, amount

of rainfall and dry spells in line with the agronomic method. An analysis of weather data in the

5-10 past years showed a shift in the onset and the offset of cropping season. From 2000

cropping season to 2010, the onset, effectively took place by the end of Jun or the beginning of

July except the cropping season of 2000 and 2004. For instance the onset of the cropping season

of 2005 was about 2 nd July, 2006 about the 27th Jun and the onset of the cropping season of

2007 was about the 11th July. The offset of these seasons was very earlier, about the end of

September or the beginning of October. The rainy season last about 3 months.

9

Figure 1: Interannual variability of rainfall (1970-2010) in Dano.

Source: National Meteorology services, Ouagadougou (2013)

Figure 2: Number of rainy days (1970-2010)

Source: National Meteorology services, Ouagadougou (2013)

Farmers perception on temperature and meteorological evidence

Virtually all respondents (95%) mentioned it has currently become warmer than before whilst

temperature appeared to be the biggest problem to them. Referring to the times of their

childhood, the elderly mentioned a decline in the number of months with low temperatures

which range now from the second half of December to the second half of February only. The

rise in temperature was evidenced also a reduced use of wood stumps during the cold periods

to warm themselves in the morning.

The data in the stations of Gaoua at a same latitude as Dano showed an increase in maximum

temperature as well as the average temperature over time. The analyses revealed however in

y = -1.5211x + 893.48R² = 0.0179

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1970

1972

1974

1976

1978

1980

1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

Rai

nfa

ll (m

m)

Years

10

general an increase in temperature per year. The study finds both farmers and climatology data

reporting increases in temperatures.

Figure 3: Temperature (1970-2010) for the Dano area.

Data source: National Meteorology services, Ouagadougou (2013)

Farmer’s perception on insolation and meteorological evidence.

This was mentioned only by few individuals (5%) during interviews. In particular the elder

believed that solar rays have become more intense, both in the dry and rainy season.

Furthermore, these elders saw the increase in insolation causing the very hot and suffocating

days without rain during the rainy season. Almost all farmers surveyed underlined that

insolation is caused by land degradation.

There is no synoptic station in Dano. The station of Gaoua, in the same latitude of Danos was

therefore used. The average insolation in Gaoua over the past 30 years (Figure 4) has changed.

The trendline shows a negative slope illustraing a gradual negative decline in the average annual

insolation, although this decrease is very low. This is caused also by an increased cloud cover

explaining the reduction in number of hours of sunshine per month. The months with the highest

insolation are October, November, December, and January and to a lesser extent May. The

monthly average insolation duration based on the analses of the 1970/2010 is about 7.9 hours

per day. A similar trend is measured in Boromo and Bobo, indicating also in these stations a

decrease in the annual duration of insolation. The findings do not confirm farmers’ perception

that claimed an increase in insolation over time.

11

Figure 4: Average insolation at Gaoua (1970-2013)

Data source: National Meteorology services, Ouagadougou (2013).

Farmer’s perception on winds and meteorological evidence

Wind speed perceived by farmers has increased. Framers mentioned that due to higher

temperatures and an on-going degradation of the vegetation cover, winds have become

increasingly violent whilst in addition 35% of the respondents claimed that in the dry season,

the very strong winds are accompagnied by unusual dusty masses. This dust is accused to have

increased the occurrence of certain diseases such as meningitis. In February, March, April,

winds seriously cause the withering of fruit trees such as shea-tree, néré, and mango. Also an

increasing frequency of whirlwinds had been mentioned whilst 96% of the respondents found

that during the rainy season, violent winds advacing rainfall events had increased. These strong

winds, accompanied by heavy rains are causing damage such as the destruction of straw roofs

and houses but also uprooted trees and damage on crops. In Gaoua the wind speed varies from

1 m/s (1974) to 1.9 m/s (1980, 1994 and 2010). The ground speed of winds increased. This is

also found in other stations in the same laltitude (Boromo and Bobo). Meteorological data

confirmed farmer’s perception

y = -0.0262x + 9.8882R² = 0.1529

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

1970

1972

1974

1976

1978

1980

1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

Len

gth

(h

ou

rs)

Years

12

Figure 5: Evolution of winds at Gaoua (1970-2013)

Data source: National Meteorology services, Ouagadougou (2013)

To reach a conclusion on farmers perception of CC & and the historical data we synthesize the

scientific analysis and the perception of changing climatic parameters.

Table 2: Summary of scientific observations and farmers’ perceptions

Climate factors Observation and perception

Monitored data Farmers’ perception

decrease stable increase decrease stable increase

Rainfall + + +

Temperature + +

Insolation + +

Winds + +

Rainy season (lengh) + +

Dry season(lengh) + +

Wind load + +

Source: National Meteorology services, Ouagadougou (2013)

y = 0.0126x + 1.1609R² = 0.3429

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

Spe

ed

(m

/S)

Years

13

Conclusion

This study used individual household interviews and small FGDs in two villages in the southern

Burkina Faso, to compare farmer’s perception of climate change and historical weather data.

Specifically, the study investigated farmer perception of changes in rainfall and seasons,

temperature, insolation and wind speed. Results from the descriptive analysis of farmers

interviewed and FGDs revealed that smallholder farmers in the southern region of Burkina Faso

showed awareness of climate change and variability, mainly based on their perceptions. Farmers

generally perceived temperature, insolation, wind speed to have increased and rainfall to have

decreased over the last two or three decades. These changes were mostly corroboted by

scientific reports for temperature and wind speed but no always confirmed for rainfall and

insolation. The second conclusion is that in the design and implementation of projects on

planned adaptations there is a need to focus not only on technical aspects but also social

dimensions such as perceptions of smallholder farmers. Climate change communication

provides an avenue through which perceptions of resource users can be integrated in climate

change adaptation projects. This would facilitate exchange of climate change information

between smallholder farmers, donors and project implementers.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This work was conducted within the WASCAL (West African Science Center for Climate

Change and Adapted Land Use) initiative which is financed by the German Federal Ministry of

Research and Education. We wish to thank our partners: The Burkina Faso Meteorological

services, the regional Department of Agriculture of Dano and all the staff. We would like to

acknowledge the surveyed households and to all the Focus Group discussions participants.

14

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