Historical mobility and settlement transitions influence livestock farmers’ climate risk perceptions and strategies against feed gaps in Central Côte d’Ivoire

To meet the increasing demand for livestock and livestock products in Côte d’Ivoire, sedentary livestock farming in peri-urban areas is promoted; however, there is limited information on how these farmers manage production amid climate uncertainties. This study examined the livestock production system and evaluated farmers’ perceptions of climate risks, livestock feed gaps, and management practices. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire with 126 cattle farmers across two locations (Bouaké and Toumodi) in Central Côte d'Ivoire. The locations were selected as case studies representing two contrasting settlement histories of sedentary herding systems: Bouaké, with a non-pastoral tradition, and Toumodi, with a pastoral tradition. Overall, 98% of farmers reported using common grazing resources, with 70% practicing continuous year-round grazing. The most commonly perceived climate risks were decreased rainfall (94%) and increased temperatures (82%), which often led to frequent livestock feed gaps (88%) and negative impacts on livestock productivity (e.g., weight losses, mortality). Moreover, our logistic regression models revealed that perceptions of climate hazards and the occurrence of new diseases were location-specific ( P < 0.01), but the latter perception was attributed to increased herd movement to access water and forage. A high perception of climate risk was a greater concern across herders, regardless of the settlement history. However, the proportion perceiving low climate risk was generally higher among those with additional cropping activities, though this finding was inconclusive due to the small sample of mixed crop-livestock farms (25%). The primary management strategy to address feed gaps was increased mobility, which was more prevalent among herders in Toumodi (77%) with a pastoral tradition than among herders in Bouaké (∼50%) ( P < 0.05). Furthermore, an exploratory latent class analysis of coping and adaptation strategies revealed that a subgroup of herders in Bouaké (42%) is not aware of significant innovative practices, making them a key target for support. We conclude that future climate adaptation efforts should prioritize underrepresented regions by considering the specific production characteristics of settled herders and by strengthening connections among livestock keepers, breeders, and agroecological contexts.