Perceptions and Adaptation Practices of Agropastoralists to Rainfall and Temperature Changes in Mali

Abstract

Many people in African countries derive their livelihoods from agriculture and livestock. Therefore, unfavourable environmental and climatic conditions render them more vulnerable to increasing food insecurity and poverty rates. However, few studies have investigated how farmers’ adaptation strategies affect farm productivity and household food security in the Sahelian region, notably Mali. This study aims to examine the impacts of climate change agro-pastoralists and to analyse the adaptation strategies in Mali. For this purpose, an analysis of daily rainfall and temperature data from 1960 to 2020 over Bamako, Ségou and Sikasso station was carried out using Instat+ v3.36, Rstudio, XLSTAT and Rclimdex software. Field surveys were conducted among 355 agropastoralists in three regions of Mali to assess the impacts and adaptation strategies of agropastoralists. The analysis of climate data showed a downward trend in overall rainfall. As for the temperature, it shows an upward trend over the series from 1960 to 2020 at the station of Ségou, Sikasso and Bamako. Agropatoralists use adaptation strategies such as organic fertilizers, changing planting dates and growing of short duration maize varieties to mitigate against the negative effects of climate change. The use of organic fertilizers and short-duration use of improved varieties promotes agricultural productivity and food security. We conclude that building agropastoralists adaptive capacity tends to reduce their vulnerability to climate change by increasing crop yields and food security.