Strengthening climatic resilience by developing lowlands in the rural commune of Bilanga, eastern region of Burkina Faso

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Résumé

The use of inland valleys plays a key role in agricultural relations in the rural
commune of Bilanga and remains a decisive factor in the control of agrarian space on all
family farms, in a context of climatic variability. The use of lowlands is one of the resilience
strategies adopted by the population of Bilanga in the face of climatic variability. The aim of
this article is to analyse the strengthening of climatic resilience through the development of
inland valleys in the rural commune of Bilanga. To achieve this objective, the methodological
approach was based on the analysis of meteorological data (1994-2023) of climatic elements
(rainfall, temperatures, relative humidity, insolation, winds) and farmers' perceptions of the
strengthening of climatic resilience thanks to the development of lowlands. The investigations
showed that the scientific view of climate variability is in line with the farmers' perception
(96%). In addition, 89% of family farmers stated that the use of inland valleys contributes
to the climate resilience of the Bilanga farming community. In addition, 89% of farmers
said that the development of inland valleys was a response to the decline in soil fertility as a
result of overexploitation and extreme weather events. The development of lowlands could
therefore be an opportunity to achieve food security in the rural commune of Bilanga, as in
other rural communes in Burkina Faso.

Mots-clés

population of the study area, farmers' perception of climate variability, inland valleys, climate variability, climate adaptation