15th Conf on Biometeorology and Aerobiology and the 16th International Congress of Biometeorology

Thursday, 31 October 2002
Impacts of drought and extreme weather events on farmers communities durng last 30 years in Senegal and drought preparedness and mitigation plan
Bamar Diagne, Senegal Metservices, DAKAR LSS, Senegal
Some of poorest people of Senegal lives in semi-arid zone, with annual rainfall under 400mm, poor and sandy soil, unselelectionned seeds…... Their livehood is essentially based on subsistence farming which is characterized by little or not input use. Decreasing agriculture production, Drought, population growth, increasing demand for food, and ever greater exploitation of land are all causing widespread about the sustainability of agriculture on this semi-arid zone.. There is a growing realisation that agriculture can only be sustained through the more efficient and effective use of natural ressources. In sahelian région, and partculary in Senegal , climate determines the general adaptation of land use activities and ecosystem at any location and consequently an improved undesrtanding of climate,is the basic natural resource for agriculture.

.. In fact,drought and extreme weather events are causing severe dammage in agriculture main source of incomes for rural and urban populations.

The review tries to demonstrate the basic linkages between climate, agriculture system and how to cope with drought by using efficient climate information for decision making.. The paper explore also scio-economic consequences of drought ; climate data bank, requirements of farmers communities on climate information. ; a drought prepardness plan and mitigation with climate and socio economic indicators like drought early warning system, drought forecast, multidisciplinary approach drought mangment.

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