Adaptation Strategies of Cattle Farmers in the Dry and Sub-Humid Tropical Zones of Benin in the Context of Climate Change

Heliyon 6 (2020) e04373

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Research article Adaptation strategies of cattle farmers in the dry and sub-humid tropical zones of Benin in the context of climate change

Yaya Idrissou a,*, Alassan Seidou Assani a, Mohamed Nasser Baco b, Afouda Jacob Yabi c, Ibrahim Alkoiret Traore a a Laboratoire d’Ecologie, Sante et Production Animales (LESPA), Faculted’Agronomie (FA), Universite de Parakou, 01 BP 123, Parakou, Benin b Laboratoire Societe-Environnement (LaSEn), Faculte d'Agronomie, Universite de Parakou, 01 BP 123, Parakou, Benin c Laboratoire d’Analyse et de Recherches sur les Dynamiques Economiques et Sociales (LARDES), Faculted’Agronomie, Universite de Parakou, BP 123, Parakou, Benin

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: Cattle farming is directly impacted by climate change (CC), as it utilizes resources whose seasonality and pro- Adaptation strategies ductivity are strongly climate-dependent. Farmers respond to the negative influence of CC by implementing Climate change different adaptation strategies, where choices are informed by many factors. This study aims at analyzing the Livestock adaptation strategies of cattle farmers in the dry tropical zone (DTZ) and sub-humid tropical zone (STZ) of Benin Benin with regard to climate change, as well as the determinants for the choice of these strategies. For that matter, 360 Agricultural science Biological sciences cattle farmers were surveyed. Data collected were related to the demographic and socio-economic characteristics Earth sciences of the cattle farmers, their perception and adaptation to CC. The data collected were subjected to frequency Environmental science analysis and binary logistic regression. The results showed that livestock farmers were partly aware of climate Social sciences related with CC, especially the increase of temperature. The most important adaptation strategies mentioned by cattle farmers were mobility, integration of livestock and crop husbandry, provision of concentrate feed, reduction of herd size, diversification of livestock, and forage cropping. Farming experience, cattle herd size, membership in an organization, number of farm assets, level of education, and climate zone were the major variables affecting farmers' adaptation strategies. From this study, we recommend that any program promoting adaption of climate change resilience among farmers, especially cattle farmers, should take the identified factors into account.

1. Introduction will suffer more from the effects of climatic variations, with expected decreases in productivity. Climate change is a global phenomenon that causes warming of both Adaptation therefore remains one of the policies for addressing the the earth and sea surface, droughts, floods and exhaustion of natural climate challenges that prevail in the livestock sector (Deressa et al., resources (Naqvi and Sejian, 2011; Feleke et al., 2016). It has a direct 2009; Di Falco et al., 2012), especially cattle. This is of great importance impact on agricultural production, since agricultural systems depend on for developing countries such as Benin, where livestock production the nature of the climate (Boko et al., 2007; Bambara et al., 2013). This contribute significantly to food and nutrient security plans (Di Falco impact is most felt in developing countries (Enete and Onyekuru, 2011) et al., 2012; Tubiello, 2012). Socio-economic and environmental factors where capital investment in farming activities is relatively low compared influence the choice of adoption of an adaptation strategy by farmers to developed countries. Benin, a developing country in West Africa, is not (Taruvinga et al., 2013). According to Feleke et al. (2016), the most immune to the threats of climate change. Studies carried out in 2011 vulnerable farmers to the negative impacts of CC are those with low indicated that rainfall will remain more or less stable (þ0.2%) in the adaptive capacity. Understanding their adaptive response behavior is southern part of the country but will be reduced by 13–15% in the North therefore critical in developing programs that would be yield optimum by 2100 (MEHU, 2011). According to the same study, the temperature is output in building their resilience. expected to increase between þ2.6 C and þ3.2 C by 2100. Under these Several research projects have been conducted in Benin to assess the scenarios, cattle farms located in these climatic zones of the northern part perception of cattle farmers of climate change, as well as the adaptation of Benin, the country's favorite cattle production zone (Djenontin, 2010), strategies put in place (Djenontin et al., 2009; Zakari et al., 2015; Dossa

* Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (Y. Idrissou). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04373 Received 5 March 2020; Received in revised form 12 April 2020; Accepted 29 June 2020 2405-8440/© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by- nc-nd/4.0/). Y. Idrissou et al. Heliyon 6 (2020) e04373 et al., 2017; Idrissou et al., 2020). The results from these studies revealed and Banikoara in the DTZ. Within each municipality, three (3) villages that farmers are aware of CC and adapt through various strategies. were selected based on their importance in cattle breeding and accessi- Although a wide diversity of adaptation strategies for cattle farmers with bility (Figure 1, Table 1). In the DTZ, which includes the municipality of climate change has been reported, the analysis of the factors that affect Gogounou and Banikoara, the soils are ferruginous and the vegetation is the choice of these strategies is still neglected. However, identification dominated by savannah and dry woodland. The STZ, which consists of and understanding of these factors are essential to improving the effec- the municipality of Tchaourou and Nikki, is characterized by ferruginous tiveness of support of cattle farmers confronted to climate change (Mabe soils, savannah and dry woodland. et al., 2014; Folefack and Tenikue, 2015). The present study thus seeks to fill this gap, by first identifying the adaptation strategies implemented by 2.2. Data collection the farmers, and then analyzing the determining factors. Data collection was carried out from November 2018 to April 2019 in 2. Material and methods two stages that include: the exploratory phase and the in-depth research phase. 2.1. Research area

This study was conducted in two climatic zones of Benin; these are the 2.3. Exploratory investigation dry tropical zone (DTZ) and sub-humid tropical zone (STZ). The choice of these zones was based on the fact that climate forecasts indicate that they During this phase, the villages and cattle farmers to be surveyed were are the most vulnerable in the country (Gnangle et al., 2011; MEHU, deﬁned. Interview sessions were conducted with technicians of the ATDA 2011), and yet the cattle herd is more than 85% concentrated (Alkoiret to identify the villages to be investigated. The criteria for choosing vil- et al., 2011) in these two zones. In each zone, two (2) municipality were lages were the accessibility and importance of cattle breeding among the chosen on the basis of their importance in cattle breeding and pre- activities of the population. On the basis of these criteria, the villages of liminary interviews with the technicians of the “Agence Territoriale pour Koubou, Papane and Agbassa were chosen in the municipality of le Developpement Agricole” (ATDA). Thus, the municipality of Tchaourou; the villages of Tebo, Biro and Sakabansi in Nikki munici- Tchaourou and Nikki were retained in the STZ and those of Gogounou pality; the villages of Bagou, Fana and Lougou in the municipality of

Figure 1. Location of the villages surveyed in the dry tropical zone (DTZ) and sub-humid tropical zone (STZ) in Benin.

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Table 1. General characteristics of the Tchaourou, Nikki, Gogounou, Banikoara municipalities in Benin where the study was based.

Municipalities Villages Vegetation zones Climatic zones Annual rainfall (mm) Daily temperature (C) Estimates of total cattle (n)* Tchaourou Koubou SGZ STZ 1100–1200 23–32 47,000 Papane Agbassa Nikki Tebo SGZ STZ 1100–1300 28–35 125,000 Biro Sakabansi Gogounou Bagou SZ DTZ 1051 28.2 139,000 Fana Lougou Banikoara Founougo SZ DTZ 850 27.5 218,800 Goumori Soroko SGZ: Sudano-Guinean Zone; SZ: Sudanian Zone; STZ: Sub-humid Tropical Zone; DTZ: Dry Tropical Zone. * FAOSTAT (2019).

Gogounou and finally the villages of Founougo, Goumori and Soroko in square test (X2) and presented in tabular and graphical form. The com- the municipality of Banikoara. parison was made according to the climatic zone. After the villages were identified, focus groups of 6–15 people were Subsequently, a binary logistic regression with a stepwise backward formed, with one focus group per village. This stage helped to test and elimination of predictors was performed to identify the most determinant corrects the questionnaire that was used during the in-depth phase. The variables affecting cattle farmers’ choice of adaptation strategies. The interviews conducted during this exploratory survey allowed us to equation of the binary model is as follows: randomly select 30 breeders per village to whom questionnaires were Yi ¼ β0 þ Xi βi sent individually for the rest of the study. Thus, a total of 360 cattle (1) farmers were surveyed during this study. Breeders' choice criteria were: where: Yi is the dependent variable which takes the value 1 if the to have cattle farming as the main activity; be at least 50 years old; have farmer adopts the adaptation strategy and 0 if he does not adopt it; Xi at least 10 heads of cattle. The choice of livestock as the main activity to are the explanatory variables; βi is the regression coefficient of the discriminate against the respondents is justified by the fact that several explanatory variables and β0 is the constant term. The explanatory studies nowadays focus on agro-pastoralists and generalize the results variables of the regression are shown in Table 2.Well-fitted models obtained both to agro-pastoralists and pastoralists. These socio- show significance (p 0.05) on the Chi-square test (X2) and non- professional categories face different socio-economic problems significance (p > 0.05) on the Hosmer and Lemeshow fittest(Archer (Zampaligre et al., 2014). The age barrier (50 years) is explained by the and Lemeshow, 2006). Climatic data (annual precipitation and fact that we would like to go back 40 years to analyze the facts related to maximum temperature) for the last 40 years (1976–2015) was sub- climate change. The choice of cattle size as a criterion is justified by the jected to a simple linear regression. fact that the size of the herd reflects the economic power of the farmer and gives him a certain social rank in society and then influences his behavior to adopt an adaptation strategy (Agossou et al., 2012; Houngbo, 3. Results 2013). 3.1. Socio-demographic characteristics of cattle farmers surveyed 2.4. In-depth investigation The socio-demographic characteristics of the cattle farmers surveyed are summarized in Table 3. Almost all the farmers surveyed are men The in-depth investigation phase consisted of collecting data through (92.5%), from mainly the Fulani socio-cultural group (80.83%). Their semi-structured interviews based on questionnaires tested and corrected ages ranged from 50 to 76 (average age 56) and 95% were unschooled. during the exploratory phase. No ethical approvals were required for the The average household size was 11 people and the cattle herd averaged study, but the consent of participants was taken and they remained 64 heads. The experience in cattle rearing averaged 30 years. Majority of anonymous. Data collected from cattle producers were related to their the farmers surveyed were members of herders’ organization (90.92%) demographic and socio-economic characteristics (sex, age, ethnicity, and were also in contact with the extension service (66.21%). household size, secondary activity, level of education, farming experience, contact with agricultural extension services, workforce employed and organization membership), livestock structure (breed and herd size), 3.2. Farmers' perception of changes in rainfall and temperature their perception of the change of precipitation and temperature and adaptation strategies developed to cope with climate change. In addition, In both climate zones, majority of cattle farmers reported noticing temperature and precipitation data covering the period 1976–2015 were changes in rainfall and temperature regimes (Figure 2). In the STZ, 77% collected on two synoptic stations (Kandi station for the DTZ and Parakou of farmers perceived a decrease in rainfall, against 15% of farmers who station for the STZ). perceived an increase. The same trend has been observed in the DTZ. These perception rates were significantly different (p < 0.05) within the 2.5. Data analysis same zone. With regard to temperature changes, majority of cattle farmers in the two climatic zones (75% and 85% respectively in the STZ The data collected were coded, entered and processed using the Excel and in the DTZ) perceived an increase against a minority having spreadsheets and SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) software perceived a decrease. This perception difference was significant at the version 17. The average response rate, which constitutes percentage of 5% level. respondents who perceived a particular event and having adopted a The evolution of rainfall and temperature in the two research areas particular adaptation strategy was calculated, compared by the Chi- has been on an upward trend since 1976 (Figure 3) as noted by some

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Table 2. Explanatory variables introduced in the regression model.

Variables Types of variables Description Expected signs Climatic zone Qualitative 1 if farmer is located in the dry tropical zone, 0 otherwise Age Quantitative Number of years of the farmer Sex Qualitative 1 if farmer is male, 0 female Farming experience Quantitative Experience in livestock rearing (in year) Agricultural assets Quantitative Number of agricultural asset employed Ethnic group Qualitative 1 if farmer is Fulani, 0 otherwise Education level Qualitative 1 if farmer is schooled, 0 otherwise Household size Quantitative Number of family members living in the household Membership in an organization Qualitative 1 if farmer belongs to a herder organization, 0 otherwise Contact with agricultural extension service Qualitative 1 if farmer is in contact with an agricultural extension service, 0 otherwise Cattle herd size Quantitative Number of cattle owned by farmer

Table 3. Socio-demographic characteristics of cattle farmers in the sub-humid topical zone (STZ) and dry tropical zone (DTZ) of Benin.

Characteristics Climatic zones Total

STZ DTZ Percentage (%) Sex Male 95.00 90.00 92.50 Female 5.00 10.00 7.50 Ethnic group Fulani 80.00 81.67 80.83 Bariba 20.00 18.33 19.17 Level of education Educated 6.67 3.33 5.00 Non-educated 93.33 96.67 95.00 Membership in an organization 88.33 93.50 90.92 Contact with the extension 60.67 71.75 66.21 Mean ± Standard deviation Age 57.95 6.52 54.91 4.7 56.43 5.88 Farming experience 34.37 10.95 25.75 8.4 30.05 10.63 Number of agricultural assets 8.55 3.64 7.16 3.25 7.85 3.50 Household size 11.70 4.64 11.71 4.81 11.70 4.71 Cattle herd size 61.28 41.59 67.72 35. 46 64.50 38.62

Figure 2. Perceptions of changes in rainfall (a) and temperature (b) of cattle farmers in the dry tropical zone (white) and the sub-humid tropical zone (black) of Benin. breeders. This increase in rainfall and temperature is greater in the DTZ surveyed farmers, the impacts of CC on animals are felt on reproduction, where the correlation curves have higher coefficients of variation. health and productivity. In terms of reproduction, farmers reported a decrease in fertility, an increase in age at the first calving and in the number of abortions. All of these perception significantly differed (p < 3.3. Cattle farmers' perception of impact of climate change 0.001) between climatic zones except "age at first calving" (Table 4). On the health front, cattle farmers in both climate zones reported to have Cattle farmers in both climatic zones reported that changes in pre- seen an increase in disease frequencies, occurrence of new diseases and cipitation and temperature had negatively affected on their herd, natural mortality. Only the perception of the increase in mortality varied resources and the farmer community (Table 4). According to the

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Dry tropical zone 1600 36 y = 3,878x + 915,6 y = 0,0265x + 32,491 1400 35 1200 34

1000 (°C) 33 800 32

600 temperature Max. 400 31 Annual Annual rainfall(mm) 1976 1995 2014 1976 1995 2014

Sub-humid tropical zone

1900 y = 0,6315x + 1141,4 36 y = 0,0105x + 34,317 C) ° 1400 35

900 34

400 33 Annual rainfall (mm) rainfallAnnual

1976 1995 2014 ( temperature Max. 1976 1995 2014

Figure 3. Trend of the annual rainfall (left) and maximum temperature (right) of the dry and sub-humid tropical zones of Benin from 1976 to 2015.

Table 4. Perception of the harmful effects of climate change by cattle farmers in the dry tropical zone (DTZ) and sub-humid tropical zone (STZ) of Benin.

Parameters Level of perception (%) p-value

STZ DTZ Reproduction Increasing age at first calving 88 95 0.186 Decreased fertility 65 98 0.000 Increase in the number of abortions 33 75 0.000 Animal health Increased frequency of diseases 43 47 0.713 Increased occurrence of new diseases 97 100 0.153 Increase in mortality 28 85 0.000 Productivity of animals Decrease in milk production 97 100 0.153 Decrease in lactation length 95 97 0.647 Decrease in growth 77 93 0.01 Natural resources Increased drying of watercourses 97 88 0.083 Increase in the disappearance of existing plant species 98 100 0.315 Increased occurrence of invasive plant species 95 93 0.696 Decrease of the available forage 98 93 0.17 Increased appearance of unknown insects 95 92 0.464 Increased soil aridity 92 100 0.022 Pastoral community Decrease in income 92 92 1 Food insecurity 98 98 1 Land problem 95 93 0.696 Conflicts between communities over the use of resources 90 95 0.298 significantly (p < 0.001) between zones with more farmers on DTZ (85%) increment of drying of watercourse, increased in the disappearance of reporting this than farmers in STZ (28%). The increase in the occurrence existing plant species, increased growth of invasive plant species, of new diseases has been observed by almost all farmers in both climatic decreased availability of forage, increasing of unknown insects and zones. With regard to animal productivity, the majority of farmers aridity soil. These perception rates however was not significant (p > observed a decrease in milk production, lactation length and growth of 0.05) from one climatic zone to another, except the "increase of aridity animals. The latter perception was higher (p < 0.05) among cattle soil ". farmers in the DTZ (93%) than those in the STZ (77%). Almost all the farmers surveyed (at least 90%), perceived harmful In both zones, at least 80% of cattle farmers perceived negative effects of CC on the farming community. The main harmful effects changes in natural resources related CC. These changes are related to the enumerated were the decline in income, food insecurity, the land

5 Y. Idrissou et al. Heliyon 6 (2020) e04373 problem and conflicts between the communities over the usage of re- correspond well with the weather data of the last 40 years. Their per- sources. No significant differences (p > 0.05) were observed from one ceptions could probably have been affected by poor rainy seasons. climatic zone to another with respect to these perceptions. Indeed, Yabi and Afouda (2012) noted that the decade 1970 and 1980 presented years with significantly low rainfall (1973, 1977, 1982, 1983 3.4. Adaptation strategies of cattle farmers to climate change and 1984) throughout the country (Benin) than expected average. These events could therefore still be engraved in the memory of the farmers and To cope with the negative effects of climate change, cattle farmers in hence informed their responses. both study areas have developed a variety of adaptation strategies to According to the surveyed cattle farmers, CC has negative impacts on continue to draw from their environment their essentials livelihood. animals (reproduction, health and production), natural resources and the Seven (7) major adaptation strategies were identified that have been cattle rearing community that could be associated with increasing aridity developed by cattle farmers (Figure 4). Thought a great similarity was affecting feed availability and quality. This result is not surprising given observed among these strategies, it must be emphasized that they do not that agricultural activities are climate dependent (Ayanlade et al., 2010). have the same frequencies in the two climatic zones. In the STZ the most The decline in fertility, milk production and meat reported by farmers as relevant strategies put in place by cattle farmers to cope to climate impact of CC on animals in this study, corroborate the results of several change are integration livestock and crop husbandry (95%), trans- authors (Nardone et al., 2010; Kima et al., 2015; Sanou et al., 2018). The humance (92%), use of concentrated feed (68%), reduction in herd size same is true for increased morbidity and mortality in livestock due to an (62%), and forage cropping (52%). As for farmers in the DTZ, they increase in some vector-borne diseases (Courtin et al., 2010; Sanfo et al., focused on transhumance (100%), livestock diversification (93%), 2015). Oyekale (2014) in his study in Mali and Burkina Faso reported reduction in herd size (78%), usage of concentrate feed (78%) and that farmers have reported new diseases and pests in cattle. Climate integration of livestock and crop husbandry (73%). Adaptation strategies change will affect positively or negatively the development of pathogens such as integration of livestock and crop husbandry, the forage cropping according to their sensitivity to heat or humidity, but also their disper- and the practice of off-farm activity were significantly different (p < sion according to changes in intensity of rain or wind (Bazin et al., 2013). 0.05) between the two climatic zones. The perception of farmers regarding the negative effects of CC on natural resources has been reported by Zampaligre et al. (2014). According to the authors, CC has an impact on forage availability, soil fertility, desertifi- 3.5. Determinants of cattle farmers’ adaptation strategies in the face of cation and the specific composition of pastures. To these climatic causes climate change of degradation of the environment, it is necessary to add the anthropic causes of degradation which was outside the scope of the present study. The factors influencing the adoption of adaptation strategies by cattle According to Diallo et al. (2011) environmental change is influenced by farmers in the face of CC are summarized in Table 5 (See Appendix for factors such as human activities and CC. Farming practices such as details). It was observed that cattle farming experience and size of cattle repeated bush fires, deforestation, slash and burn, overgrazing and the herd influenced the concentrate feeding to animals as an adaptation reduction of fallow duration result in the degradation of vegetation and strategy in the two zones. Cattle herd size and the memberships of soil, favoring the release of greenhouse gases e.g. CO into the atmo- herders’ organization were the factors that seem to determine the forage 2 sphere (Diallo et al., 2011; Enete and Onyekuru, 2011). cropping. The cattle herd size was the only factor determining the The social consequences of CC were perceived by farmers in both reduction in herd size. Cattle production experience and number of study areas in the same way. Food insecurity was the indicator with a agricultural assets influenced (p < 0.05) to integrate livestock and crop high rate of perception. This result corroborates those reported by husbandry. The climatic zone was the only factor influencing farmers to Bambara et al. (2013) in Burkina. diversify the herd and to practice off-farm activities. Transhumance as an adaptation strategy was influenced by the level of education and cattle ’ herd size. 4.2. Determinants of cattle farmers adaptation strategies

To cope with the harmful effects of climate change, farmers in the two 4. Discussion climatic zones of northern Benin surveyed, diversified their livestock species, integrated livestock and crop husbandry, destocked their herds, 4.1. Perception of changes in temperature and rainfall and of their impacts practiced forage cropping, fed concentrates to their animals, practiced transhumance and off-farm activities. These strategies adopted by cattle The study suggests that cattle farmers in the STZ and DTZ of Benin farmers in the DTZ and STZ of Benin are consistent with those found by were aware of CC. This observation is supported by earlier studies in several authors in Africa (Naess et al., 2010; Zampaligre et al., 2014; Burkina (Zampaligre et al., 2014; Sanfo et al., 2015; Kima et al., 2015; Getachew et al., 2014; Zakari et al., 2015; Kima et al., 2015; Dossa et al., Bambara et al., 2016; Sanou et al., 2018), Ghana (Fagariba et al., 2018), 2017; Sanou et al., 2018). The adoption of one of these strategies by the Ethiopia (Getachew et al., 2014) and even in Benin (Zakari et al., 2015; farmers is influenced by at least one factor. Cattle herd size has positively Dossa et al., 2017). It should be noted that the perception of changes in influenced adaptation strategies such as bring concentrated feed to ani- the rainfall patterns by cattle farmers in the two study areas does not mals, growing of forages, decrease of herd size and transhumance. Indeed, insufficient forage resources due to the precariousness of rains Transhumance push farmers, especially those with large numbers of cattle to buy Forage cropping concentrate feeds (Kanao, 2012) and also to grow forage fodder to feed Concentrated livestock feed their animals. In a context of uncertain pastoral resources, the purchase Integration livestock and crop husbandry of livestock feed appears as a means to reduce mortality (Thiam, 2008; Herd destocking Jouve, 2010) associated with feed scarsity. Otherwise, farmers with large fi Livestock diversification numbers of cattle and lacking the nancial resources to maintain them are forced to reduce their herd size. This same observation was made by Off-farm activities other authors (Oyekale, 2014; Kima et al., 2015) who reported farmers 0 20 40 60 80 100 reducing their herd sizes in the face of feed scarsity. The precarious state Respondents (%) of animal feed pushes farmers with a large herd size to move (trans- Figure 4. Adaptation strategies adopted by cattle farmers in response to climate humance) to reduce the risk of mortality. Cattle rearing experience had change in the sub-humid (black) and dry (white) tropical zones of Benin. positive influenced in buying and feeding concentrate feed to animals

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Table 5. Factors affecting adaptation strategies cattle farmers to climate change.

Predictors β SE β Wald X2 df p Odd ratio (exp β) Concentrated livestock feed Constant 4.866 0.999 23.745 1 0.000 129.800 Framing experience 0.076 0.024 10.350 1 0.001 1.078 Cattle herd size 0.019 0.006 9.643 1 0.002 1.019 Test Overall model evaluation 25.351 2 0.000 Goodness-of-fit 11.855 8 0.158 Forage cropping Constant 3.323 0.695 22.844 1 0.000 27.743 Cattle herd size 0.015 0.007 5.145 1 0.023 1.015 Membership of herders’ organizations 3.196 0.557 32.977 1 0.000 24.434 Test Overall model evaluation 47.989 2 0.000 Goodness-of-fit 5.845 8 0.665 Herd destocking Constant 2.048 0.449 20.838 1 0.000 7.752 Cattle herd size 0.017 0.006 10.063 1 0.002 1.017 Test Overall model evaluation 11.028 1 0.001 Goodness-of-fit 12.268 8 0.140 Integration livestock and crop husbandry Constant 1.971 1.054 3.497 1 0.061 7.180 Farming experience 0.078 0.031 6.210 1 0.013 1.081 Agricultural asset 0.190 0.067 8.049 1 0.005 1.209 Test Overall model evaluation 14.711 2 0.001 Goodness-of-fit 22.308 8 0.004 Livestock diversification Constant 2.639 0.518 39.160 1 0.000 14.000 Dry tropical zone 3.738 0.597 26.001 1 0.000 42.013 Test Overall model evaluation 65.427 1 0.000 Goodness-of-fit 0.000 1 1.000 Off-farm activities Constant 2.639 0.518 26.001 1 0.000 14.000 Dry tropical zone -3.258 0.584 31.118 1 0.000 0.038 Test Overall model evaluation 49.504 1 0.000 Goodness-of-fit 0.000 1 1.000 Transhumance Constant -7.004 1.308 28.691 1 0.000 0.001 Level of education -5.802 1.856 9.773 1 0.002 0.003 Cattle herd size 0.124 0.023 28.515 1 0.000 1.132 Test Overall model evaluation 114.165 2 0.000 Goodness-of-fit 26.159 8 0.001 and integration of livestock and crop husbandry as adaptation strategies. Ndamani and Watanabe, 2016). The results of this study revealed that Cattle farmers with many years of experience in livestock rearing were membership of herders' organization have a positive influence on the more aware of CC and its consequences, and they are developing adap- establishing of forage cropping as a strategy for adapting to climate tation strategies. In addition, experienced farmers observe changes over change. Livestock associations’ members benefit from training from time and compared them to current climatic conditions, allowing them to development partners through non-governmental organizations (NGOs), respond by developing strategies to mitigate effects of CC. Moreover, the agricultural development projects and programs. These different struc- number of years spent in the activity could have allowed the farmer to tures make farmers aware of the current climate variability and the have some control over the entire production process and the factors that present and future consequences on their livelihoods. In addition, the influence the various stages of this process. This result confirmed the relationships that farmers maintain with each other serve as channels for observations of Mabe et al. (2014); Obayelu et al. (2014); Yegbemey et al. sharing experiences that could have led to common adaptation initiative. (2014) and Feleke et al. (2016). Nevertheless, other studies have Membership in an organization thus facilitates access to information and revealed that the most experienced farmers are elderly and therefore practices, such as the installation of forage cropping observed in this generally lack interest and incentive to adapt (Uddin et al., 2014; study.

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The level of education (schooling) negatively influences the adoption As the adoption a strategy to reduce the impact of climate change on of transhumance as an adaptation strategy. The educated farmers are livestock leads to improved welfare for farmers, policies should focus on often managers of the farmers associations and are mostly invited to the implementation and capacity building of adaptation of cattle farmers attend training sessions with the development partners, which makes to climate change. Also, regular sensitization, training, exchange and them less available for transhumance. Otherwise, education is likely to knowledge-sharing sessions on future climate conditions and sustainable improve the ability of the farmer to receive, interpret and understand adaptation strategies to CC could be potential intervention tools, geared relevant information to make innovative decisions (Getachew et al., towards farmers’ organization, through extension services. Future 2014). Thus, educated farmers prefer adopting other strategies such as research may focus on assessing the effectiveness of these adaptation concentrate feeding and the growing of forage fodder instead of trans- strategies in livestock productivity and on environment protection. humance. The results of this study revealed that the number of agricultural assets has a positive influence on the integration livestock and crop Declarations husbandry. Availability of manpower leads cattle farmers to get involved in crop farming. The integration of livestock and crop husbandry allows Author contribution statement cattle farmers to have manure used in crop production, which gives them higher yields as compared to non-cattle keepers. Crop residues in return Yaya Idrissou: Performed the experiments; Analyzed and interpreted in fed to the animals. The DTZ positively influenced the diversification of the data; Wrote the paper. livestock and negatively the practice of off-farm activities. Compared to Alassan Seidou Assani: Performed the experiments; Analyzed and the STZ, the DTZ had few fodder resources. As a result, farmers in the interpreted the data. DTZ were faced with pasture scarsity and therefore had to diversify their Mohamed Nasser Baco: Conceived and designed the experiments. herd with inclusion of small ruminants. A diversified herd is an adapta- Afouda Jacob Yabi: Contributed reagents, materials, analysis tools or tion to a broader ecology where vegetation can be very varied in space data; Wrote the paper. and time. According to IUCN (2010), the diversification of cattle herds Ibrahim Alkoiret Traore: Analyzed and interpreted the data; Wrote through the introduction of small ruminants is a real benefit to the farmer the paper. because of their low feed requirements, their wider feed resource base and their higher reproduction rates. Off-farm activities are less practiced Funding statement by cattle farmers in the DTZ and more practiced by those in the STZ. This could be explained by the fact that the STZ has more urban lifestyle than This work was supported by International Foundation for Science the dry zone, which could facilitate the practice of other non-agricultural (IFS), Sweden, (B/6189-1), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate activities. Thus, income from off-farm activities can be used by farmers to Change (IPCC), Switzerland and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foun- increase the level of investment in inputs such as manpower, concen- dation (PAMF), Monaco. The contents of this document are solely the trated feed and veterinary products. In addition, the practice of off-farm liability of Yaya Idrissou and under no circumstances may be considered activity is a climate change adaptation strategy that reduces risks (Yeg- as a reflection of the position of the IPCC and PAMF. bemey et al., 2013; Piya et al., 2013). For this reason, farmers who practice an off-farm activity would have a higher probability of adapting Competing interest statement to climate change. The authors declare no conflict of interest. 5. Conclusion Additional information This study uses a rich set of data, collected in the DTZ and STZ, to analyze cattle farmers' perception of climate change as well as the stra- Supplementary content related to this article has been published tegies they develop to adapt to this phenomenon. The results revealed online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04373. that cattle farmers perceive climate change through decrease in rainfall and an increase in temperature. These climatic change have a negative References impact on livestock, natural resources (water and fodder) and on the pastoral community. To adapt to climate change, cattle farmers in the Agossou, D.S.M., Tossou, C.R., Vissoh, V.P., Agbossou, K.E., 2012. 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