Impact of Climate Change on Farms in the Commune of Savalou (Benin, West Africa)

Guy Wokou

Savalou, climate change, farms, vulnerability

Climate change affects the development of agriculture in the Commune of Savalou. This research studies the impacts of climate change on farms in the Commune of Savalou. The methodological approach used consisted firstly of data collection, then their processing and finally the analysis of the results. The data processing was carried out using Khronostat, SPSS and ArcView software. The results show a climatic divergence in terms of monthly average rainfall totals. The decrease in rainfall intensity associated with the reduction in the number of rainy days is a factor in the decrease in rainfall amounts in the Commune of Savalou. Only the month of August recorded a 23% increase in monthly rainfall amounts during the 1980-2021 sub-series. In addition, non-compliance with social norms (40% of those interviewed), divine will (27%), deforestation (19%) and wildfires (14%) are the causes of climate change. These climate changes are characterized by the decline, late arrival and early end of rainfall, the rise in temperature and the high frequency of dry years. This recorded rainfall dynamic has consequences on farms. Climate change causes the reduction of sown areas ranging from 2 ha to 0.5 ha during the agricultural season. The loss of corn is 317.29 kg. Peanuts recorded a loss of less than 100 kg per farm and by the total sown area.

Received: 30 May 2025, Received in revised form: 26 Jun 2025, Accepted: 01 Jul 2025, Available online: 05 Jul 2025

10.22161/ijaers.127.2