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PR, IFPRI4; CRP2, PIM, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM), Rising temperatures and more extreme weather associated with climate change are expected to exacerbate existing social and gender inequalities across the globe (Adger et al. 2014 , Dankelman 2010). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projects that the production of major crops such as wheat, rice, and maize will be affected across all regions and that climate change will progressively increase variability in crop yields. All aspects of food security are affected, including food access, utilization, and price stability. In rural areas, major impacts are expected on water availability and supply, food security, and agricultural incomes, with shifts in production of both food and non-food crops as growing zones change as a result of weather variability (Adger et al. 2014, Girvetz et al. 2017). Climate-influenced migration is seen to be an intensifying factor in the feminization of agriculture in some regions, particularly South Asia and Central America, where out-migration for employment is predominantly male. Women left behind are required to manage farms and households with fewer resources and less family labor, further increasing their vulnerability (Gumucio et al. 2019a, Khatri-Chhetri et al. 2020).

Worldwide, cattle production is struggling to face the negative impacts caused by ticks and Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus is one of the most harmful ticks for livestock. Most of the people in West Africa depend on cattle farming and subsistence agriculture. The presence of ticks on cattle is a major problem faced by smallholder farmers who fight for their livelihood. National and regional tick control programs could assist these rural communities in protecting their livelihoods against ticks and tick-borne diseases, but only if they take into account the targeted herders and their perception on cattle management and tick control. This paper aims to provide a better insight in the socio-economic characteristics of Beninese cattle farmers, and their perception on tick burden, as well as to document common tick control strategies. Different tick species and their seasonality are well understood by cattle herders. For tick control, many still use manual tick removal, especially in the north of the country. The high cost of acaricides, the lack of financial means of African farmers, and of the local stockbreeders in particular, limits the use of acaricides in livestock breeding in Benin. While aiming to increase the meat or milk production of their animals, stockbreeders who can afford it sometimes turn to an abusive use of acaricides, which might in time lead to an increase in tick resistance. This study remains one of the rare studies to report extensively on the perceptions of West African cattle herders.

Adaptation strategies to reduce smallholder farmers' vulnerability to climate variability and seasonality are needed given the frequency of extreme weather events predicted to increase during the next decades in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in West Africa. We explored the linkages between selected agricultural adaptation strategies (crop diversity, soil and water conservation, trees on farm, small ruminants, improved crop varieties, fertilizers), food security, farm household characteristics and farm productivity in three contrasting agro-ecological sites in West Africa (Burkina Faso, Ghana and Senegal). Differences in land area per capita and land productivity largely explained the variation in food security across sites. Based on land size and market orientation, four household types were distinguished (subsistence, diversified, extensive, intensified), with contrasting levels of food security and agricultural adaptation strategies. Income increased steadily with land size, and both income and land productivity increased with degree of market orientation. The adoption of agricultural adaptation strategies was widespread, although the intensity of practice varied across household types. Adaptation strategies improve the food security status of some households, but not all. Some strategies had a significant positive impact on land productivity, while others reduced vulnerability resulting in a more stable cash flow throughout the year. Our results show that for different household types, different adaptation strategies may be 'climate-smart'. The typology developed in this study gives a good entry point to analyse which practices should be targeted to which type of smallholder farmers, and quantifies the effect of adaptation options on household food security. Subsequently, it will be crucial to empower farmers to access, test and modify these adaptation options, if they were to achieve higher levels of food security.