Informing livestock climate services through Herders’ climate perceptions and adaptation strategies in Benin

• Climate variability affects livestock productivity, vital to rural livelihoods and food security in Benin. • Herders’ views on climate change closely matched rainfall and temperature anomalies. • Crop residues as feed and mobility were key strategies to reduce climate impacts on livestock. • Adaptation strategies varied by phytogeographic zone and zebu proportion in the herd. • Insights guide livestock-focused climate services based on herders’ experience. The effects of climate variability and change on the agricultural sector and its livestock sub-sector, both key livelihood sources for rural populations in Benin and other sub-Saharan countries, have major impacts on regional economies and food security. To adequately mitigate and cope with the adverse consequences of climate variability and change on livestock productivity, cattle herders have developed various strategies. This study documents the climate perceptions of farmers keeping non-local cattle breeds and how these perceptions affect their livestock management and choice of adaptation strategies. To achieve this objective, 305 herders were randomly selected and interviewed in 10 municipalities across three phytogeographic zones of Benin. The comparison of respondents’ perceptions to recently published rainfall and temperature trends showed that most herders were aware of the temperature and rainfall patterns. However, their perceptions aligned more closely with short-term anomalies than long-term meteorological trends. The respondents’ most commonly adopted adaptation strategies were the use of crop residues for feeding and reliance on long-distance mobility. Logistic regression model analyses revealed that phytogeographic zone, membership in a livestock breeders’ association, proportion of zebu in the herd, and number of sheep owned were important variables affecting the choice of adaptation strategies. These findings demonstrate that livestock adaptation decisions are driven by experienced climatic stress rather than statistical trends and are strongly mediated by socio-institutional factors. The study highlights the need for participatory, livestock-specific climate services that integrate herders’ experiential knowledge with localized climate information to enhance adaptive decision-making and pastoral resilience under increasing climate variability.