Present Environment and Sustainable Development (Nov 2023)
Rainfall variability and changes in market gardening systems: a case study in Réo (mid-west region of Burkina Faso)
Abstract
Lowland market gardening is an economic activity in Burkina Faso. However, current climatic conditions are causing changes in this activity. The objective of this study is to analyze changes in market gardening systems in the light of rainfall variability. Both primary and secondary data were used. The study shows that the area is experiencing an increase in annual rainfall, with high variability (CV over 30%). The climatic aridity index shows alternating wet periods (1990-2002), dry periods (2002-2011) and a wet period (2011-2020). These different alternations of wet and dry periods are punctuated by high variability. In addition, the study reveals that market gardeners also perceive rainfall variability through the duration of the rainy season, the variability of annual rainfall and pockets of drought. This leads them to recompose their market gardening system. Thus, in the 2000s, the importance index (II) of vegetable cropping systems was high for systems such as: Onion + tomato + cabbage; Onion + tomato + chilli; Onion + tomato + African aubergine; Onion + tomato + African aubergine + chilli. The choice of these systems was motivated by urban demand. However, the current climatic context obliges market gardeners to produce vegetables while taking into account water problems. This has led market gardeners to recompose their vegetable growing system, with the domination of systems such as: Celery + parsley; Mint + parsley; Parsley + mint + celery; Parsley + onion + mint. However, the choice of these systems depends on socio-demographic characteristics. Thus, Spearman's rank correlation revealed that the experience of the vegetable farmers has a moderate correlation (p=0.559, p-value=0.000) with the choice of vegetable cropping systems and also the size of the farm, with p=0.657, p-value=0.000).
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