Adapting to climate change in the Volta Basin, West Africa

Impacts of climate change vary from region to region. The 4th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) mentions that drier areas will be affected by more droughts while the rainfall regime, in general, will become 'rougher'. In West Africa, specifically the area below the Sahel, the climate change signal may be more subtle. Anecdotal evidence from farmers suggests that the onset of rainy season has been shifting forward in time over the past two generations. Recently, detailed atmospheric modelling over the region shows that in the near future too, the onset of rainy season will shift to later periods in the year, roughly from April towards May. The end of rainy season as well as the total amount of rainfall will remain more or less fixed. This implies that adaptation strategies should be twofold. The first part of a comprehensive adaptation strategy would be a continuation of the efforts to produce faster growing rain-fed crop cultivars, mainly corn and sorghum. The second part would consist of increased water storage during the wet season for use during dry season.