Does place matter? Farmers' perception and adaptation to climate extremes around three dams of different sizes in Burkina Faso

This study examines the extent to which spatial context influences farmers’ perceptions of climate extremes and their adoption of adaptation strategies, beyond differences in the sociodemographic composition of farming populations. It draws on a survey of 425 farmers living around three dams of different sizes: the large Soum dam, the medium-sized Séboun dam and the small Sourgou dam and on daily rainfall and temperature records from the Ouagadougou and Boromo synoptic stations. The rainfall records cover 1980–2023, while the temperature records cover 1991–2023. The results reveal an intensification of extreme rainfall and warm extremes, particularly at the Ouagadougou station. By contrast, no statistically significant trends are detected in dry spells or in the onset, cessation or duration of the rainy season, although 57% of farmers perceive dry spells as having become longer. Variation in the adoption of the 24 adaptation strategies examined occurs mainly within villages (86% of the variance), followed by differences between villages within the same dam area (10%); differences between dams account for only 4%. Binomial multilevel models reveal no statistically detectable association between dam location, dam size and strategy adoption. Adoption is, however, associated with educational attainment and perceived climate extremes: each additional index perceived as intensifying corresponds to a 10% increase in the odds of adoption (odds ratio = 1.10). A significant village-level effect remains after individual characteristics are controlled for. These findings suggest that spatial differences in adaptation are expressed primarily at the village scale. Nevertheless, given the limited number of dams studied, a dam-specific effect cannot be ruled out.