In tropical Sudan climate regions, agricultural activities are often affected by increasingly frequent extreme climate events (floods, droughts). With regard to current climate manifestations, this study aimed at assessing agricultural risks in the rural communities of Oti I and II. The analysis of daily, monthly and annual rainfall and temperature data for the period from 1961-2020 enabled to identify the risks faced by farmers in the research area. Indeed, the start (19th may and 18th may, respectively at Dapaong and Mango) and end (20th October at Dapaong and 16th October at Mango) dates of the cropping seasons and the climate indices have been determined. The climate risks identified are extreme rainfall and temperature, high winds and the instability of the rain-cropping seasons characterized by uncertainty in the start (false starts), rainfall breaks, early ends and reduction of wet seasons which compromise the efficiency of agricultural activities. The Coefficient of Variation (CV) is 12.9% in Mango and 13.5% in Dapaong. It clearly indicates that the rural populations of the research area face a notorious irregularity in rainfall during the cropping season. In addition, water erosion of the soil also influences crop yields. From one year to another, all these manifestations hinder the normal progress of the various agricultural activities carried out in the study area. Consequently, we observe the reduction of the crop production with high risks of increases in the prices of foodstuffs.

Keywords: climate, food shortage, drought, cropping season, communities