Volume 43, Issue 3, September 2024, Pages 800–808
Daouda Boukary1, Hassimiou Halidou Djabri2, Karimou Harouna Boureima3, and Alzouma Mayaki Zoubeirou4
1 Directorate General for the Environment, Post Box 578 Niamey, Niger
2 Boubakar Bâ University of Tillabéri, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Agroecology Laboratory, Post Box: 175, Tillabéri, Niger
3 Boubakar Bâ University of Tillabéri, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Agroecology Laboratory, Post Box: 175, Tillabéri, Niger
4 Laboratoire Garba Mounkaila, Département de Biologie, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université Abdou Moumouni de Niamey, BP 10662 Niamey, Niger
Original language: English
Copyright © 2024 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Rainfall variability in the Tillabéri region is the result of significant vulnerability, which has been observed for decades. The aim of this study is to highlight the adverse socioeconomic and environmental effects of these rainfall deficits. The methodological approach used in this study included assessing farmers’ perceptions of climate change indicators through field investigations, analysing variations in temperature, relative humidity and rainfall indices in the area to better characterise the climate. The results show a low level of education among the farmers surveyed and a good perception of the effects of climate change. Rainfed and irrigated agriculture are the main economic activities in the region (99.3%), with livestock rearing and market gardening as secondary activities for 31.3% and 18.7% of respondents respectively. Access to inputs (50.8%) and agricultural credit (10.3%) are major assets for producers in the area, in addition to their experience of new agricultural technologies (62%). The most significant inter-annual peaks in rainfall indices were observed on the following dates: 09/25/1988, 03/01/199, 05/18/2004, 08/05/2009 and 01/10/2020. However, inter-annual variations are also observed (09/25/1988 and 01/10/2020). The indicators of environmental change as perceived by farmers are bare soil (77.3%), gravelly soil (9.7%), erosion gullies (7%), silting up of fields (8.7%) and proliferation of Striga sp. (7%). The reduction in herbaceous plants (30.7%) and the drying out and mortality of woody plants (20.3%) are visible signs of land degradation on natural vegetation. The main causes of these changes are reduced rainfall (82%), the action of strong winds (37.3%), water erosion (34%) and intensive deforestation (24.3%). To these must be added harmful agricultural practices such as the absence or reduction of fallow periods, bush fires, low inputs of organic and mineral fertilisers, low use of CES/DRS techniques, etc. The natural vegetation cover (woody and herbaceous) that used to protect the soil has declined sharply, leaving it vulnerable to erosion.
Author Keywords: rainfall index, climate change, vulnerability, negative effects, Tillaberi.
Daouda Boukary1, Hassimiou Halidou Djabri2, Karimou Harouna Boureima3, and Alzouma Mayaki Zoubeirou4
1 Directorate General for the Environment, Post Box 578 Niamey, Niger
2 Boubakar Bâ University of Tillabéri, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Agroecology Laboratory, Post Box: 175, Tillabéri, Niger
3 Boubakar Bâ University of Tillabéri, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Agroecology Laboratory, Post Box: 175, Tillabéri, Niger
4 Laboratoire Garba Mounkaila, Département de Biologie, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université Abdou Moumouni de Niamey, BP 10662 Niamey, Niger
Original language: English
Copyright © 2024 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Rainfall variability in the Tillabéri region is the result of significant vulnerability, which has been observed for decades. The aim of this study is to highlight the adverse socioeconomic and environmental effects of these rainfall deficits. The methodological approach used in this study included assessing farmers’ perceptions of climate change indicators through field investigations, analysing variations in temperature, relative humidity and rainfall indices in the area to better characterise the climate. The results show a low level of education among the farmers surveyed and a good perception of the effects of climate change. Rainfed and irrigated agriculture are the main economic activities in the region (99.3%), with livestock rearing and market gardening as secondary activities for 31.3% and 18.7% of respondents respectively. Access to inputs (50.8%) and agricultural credit (10.3%) are major assets for producers in the area, in addition to their experience of new agricultural technologies (62%). The most significant inter-annual peaks in rainfall indices were observed on the following dates: 09/25/1988, 03/01/199, 05/18/2004, 08/05/2009 and 01/10/2020. However, inter-annual variations are also observed (09/25/1988 and 01/10/2020). The indicators of environmental change as perceived by farmers are bare soil (77.3%), gravelly soil (9.7%), erosion gullies (7%), silting up of fields (8.7%) and proliferation of Striga sp. (7%). The reduction in herbaceous plants (30.7%) and the drying out and mortality of woody plants (20.3%) are visible signs of land degradation on natural vegetation. The main causes of these changes are reduced rainfall (82%), the action of strong winds (37.3%), water erosion (34%) and intensive deforestation (24.3%). To these must be added harmful agricultural practices such as the absence or reduction of fallow periods, bush fires, low inputs of organic and mineral fertilisers, low use of CES/DRS techniques, etc. The natural vegetation cover (woody and herbaceous) that used to protect the soil has declined sharply, leaving it vulnerable to erosion.
Author Keywords: rainfall index, climate change, vulnerability, negative effects, Tillaberi.
How to Cite this Article
Daouda Boukary, Hassimiou Halidou Djabri, Karimou Harouna Boureima, and Alzouma Mayaki Zoubeirou, “Contribution to highlighting the negative effects of climate variability in the Tillabéri region (Niger),” International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies, vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 800–808, September 2024.
