Climate change and variability are a global issue and their impacts vary across space, geography and time ( Akala, 2019 ). Climate change has affected people’s livelihoods, impacting development, economic stability, biodiversity and ecosystems ( Thornton et al., 2011 ). Africa, like all other continents, is sensitive to the impacts of climate variability and change. The continent could face increased poverty, higher food prices, high inequality, food insecurity, higher energy prices, a barrier to development and a high incidence of disasters ( Parry et al., 2007 ). According to Sylla et al., (2016) , analysis of the climate in West Africa has shown that climate parameters have changed over the last few decades. As a result, agriculture, mainly rain-fed, has emerged as the major economic sector most vulnerable to climate change ( Roudier et al., 2011 ).

In this context, beekeeping is one of the branches of agriculture that raises bees to produce honey other hive products ( Masuku, 2013 ). It is also impacted by the effects of climate change and variability. Beekeeping plays an important role in socio-economic development and environmental conservation ( Etxegarai-Legarreta & Sanchez-Famoso, 2022 ; Papa et al., 2022 ; Aryal et al., 2020 ). It increases the monetary income of stakeholders limits the destruction of forests and generates a large population of pollinating agents for the plant environment ( Ahouandjinou et al., 2017 ). Bees are essential to the global environmental balance as pollinators of many plants species ( Adjlane et al., 2012 ). Bees contribute to food security by increasing yields and the availability of food diversity and their behavior reflects the impacts of disturbances ( Bogdanov, 2006 ; Chauzat et al., 2006 ; Le Conte & Navajas, 2008 ).

Despite the many benefits of beekeeping, particularly in improving people’s livelihoods in rural areas ( Masuku, 2013 ). Beekeepers have reported a fall in production in recent years ( Van Espen et al., 2023 ; Nyunza, 2018 ), leading to consumer complaints about the scarcity of products and rising prices. There are several reasons why beekeepers have reported a fall in productivity, and climate variability and change are some of the most frequently mentioned factors ( Gajardo-Rojas et al., 2022 ; Ijigbade, 2017 ), given the current context of climate change in the countries of West Africa. Over the last decade, several scientific publications have reported an unusual weakening and mortality of bee colonies especially Apis mellifera in several countries around the world ( Faucon & Colin, 1983 ; Rafalimanana, 2003 ; van Engelsdorp et al, 2010 ; Adjlane et al., 2012 ; van der Zee et al., 2012 ; Pirk et al., 2014 ; Van Der Zee et al., 2014 ; Brodschneider et al., 2016 ; Kulhanek et al., 2017 ; Brodschneider et al., 2018 ). Indeed, numerous research studies have shown that climate change is one of the current threats to pollinators ( Hegland et al., 2009 ; Schweiger et al., 2010 ; IPBES, 2016 ; Flores et al., 2019 ). This loss of colonies, in addition to causing damage to bees, could be a threat to food security.

However, there is a lack of information in the literature on the effects of climate change on the ecosystem services provided by bees and on beekeeping productivity in Côte d’Ivoire. This article aims to assess the impact of climate variability on honey production in the Poro region, a beekeeping basin in Côte d’Ivoire. Specifically, the aim is to: 1) Assess beekeepers’ perceptions of climatic parameters and their impacts on productivity; 2) assess trends in climatic variability from 1982 to 2022 and the temporal evolution of honey production in the Poro region, and 3) to assess the relationship between trends in climatic variability and honey production.

The vulnerability of African populations to climate change ( Roudier et al., 2011 ) Is a worrying phenomenon. Increased temperatures and variations in precipitation ( Roudier et al., 2011 ) can alter the availability of crop yields. Studies on the impact of climatic parameters on bee productivity are limited in the Poro region. This study raised the question of the impact of climatic parameters on beekeeping productivity. It aimed to fill concerned assessing the impact of climatic parameters on honey productivity.

The results indicated that beekeepers observed an increase in temperature, variations in rainfall patterns, and a prolongation of the dry season. They reported that these climatic impacts adversely affected their beekeeping activities, particularly leading to a decrease in honey production. To understand the relationship between climatic factors and honey production, the study analyzed the combination of these parameters to predict beekeeping productivity in the region. This shows that precipitation is significantly correlated with productivity, with a correlation coefficient of r = 0.78 and a p-value of 0.04 (p < 0.05). On the other hand, temperature did not show any significant correlation with productivity, as illustrated in the accompanying Figure 8 . However, this relationship was not statistically significant, with a Pearson correlation coefficient of r = 0.02 and a p-value of 0.96 (p < 0.05). The trend analysis of temperature and precipitation over 40 years has confirmed beekeepers’ perception of climatic parameters concerning the changes. The result is confirmed by the IPCC AR5 report ( IPCC, 2021 ) and ( Switanek et al., 2017 ). This perception, particularly the decrease in precipitation, the increase in temperature leading to long dry seasons, and the decrease in watercourses is also reflected in their activities. They have a direct impact on the bees’ food sources, such as the availability of water and floral resources ( Landaverde et al., 2023 ), and the reduction in the production of nectar, pollen, and honey ( Vercelli et al., 2021 ). Only the production of two beekeepers has decreased while there is no trend for other beekeepers. This could be due to the type and the number of hives used the beekeepers’ experience, and the level of education in recording information. According to Nyunza, (2018) and Tarekegn and Ayele (2020) , the level of education affects beekeepers’ ability to record honey production statistics and manage beekeeping activity. The decreasing trends observed for the two beekeepers, BKP8 and BKP9, are comparable to the findings of Gajardo-Rojas et al., (2022) , who documented a decline in honey production and exports from Chile. In the United States, there is no constant relationship between the number of colonies and honey production, which has decreased over time, according to Romero-Leiton et al. (2022) . Some Ethiopian beekeepers have reported reduced honey production ( Degu, 2021 ). Additionally, 80.9% of Tanzanian beekeepers surveyed indicated a decrease in honey production ( Nyunza, 2018 ). Despite an increase in the number of hives, honey production has diminished due to several climatic factors in Nigeria ( Ukamaka & Eberechukwu, 2018 ). Similarly, a decrease in honey production in Japan and South Korea has resulted in an increased reliance on imported honey ( Kohsaka et al., 2017 ). On the other hand, the remaining production outcomes align with the research conducted by Shopova et al. (2022) , which showed no significant trends in honey production from 2008 to 2020 in Bulgaria, suggesting a level of stability in the region. These differences can be explained by the type of methodology used and the climatic and environmental conditions. Indeed, beekeepers’ perceptions via questionnaires and interviews are the most commonly used by the authors for impact analysis. The use of honey production statistics is difficult to obtain due to the lack of archives in the country ( Ouattara et al., 2023 ). This difference could be related to management practices which can increase or decrease production. Especially, the socio-economic, technical and physical factors ( Brodschneider et al., 2016 ; Jacques et al., 2017 ; Sperandio et al., 2019 ).

The strongest correlation between precipitation and honey production (Bkp) in our study area showed that it is an important factor for the productivity of beekeeping. It is in agreement with the study of ( Gajardo-Rojas et al., 2022 ) who showed that rainfall influenced production during the 12 months preceding the beekeeping season. According to Schweitzer et al, (2013) and Akala et al, (2019) , the decrease in honey production is due to the significant effect of rainfall on plant phenology, which modifies the flowering and foraging period of bees ( Schweitzer et al., 2013 ). The effects of climate change and variability are harmful to beekeeping. Their impact on bees has a negative effect on honey production. Some of these impacts are desertion in the hives ( Ohoueu et al., 2017 ); mortality ( Brodschneider et al., 2018 ); and a decline in honey production ( Gajardo-Rojas et al., 2022 ). Although the graph showed that there is a correlation between temperature and honey production, the Pearson correlation showed a lack of correlation. This could be explained by the interaction of temperature with other factors such as humidity, diseases and parasites, the types of flowers foraged by the bees and their sensitivity to pesticides. This may mask the impact on honey production ( Gajardo-Rojas et al., 2022 ). This is why ( Pătruică et al., 2021 ) state that the feeding of honey bees is strongly influenced by temperature and humidity We can also state that the temperature between 26˚C and 27˚C obtained in the Poro region could be ideal for good honey production. According to ( Schweitzer et al., 2013 ) An optimal foraging temperature for bees is between 25˚C and 35˚C. This will allow the bees to take full advantage of the harvest of plant products. In addition to climatic factors, which play an important role in the survival of bees and their goods, other factors need to be taken into account such as anthropogenic factors. In other words, hives management and beekeeping management practices ( Schouten, 2020 ) can cause damage to bees. Both can contribute to the reduction in the quantity of honey ( Nyunza, 2018 ), because effective management has the potential to reduce stress, whereas inadequate management may exacerbate it ( El Agrebi et al., 2022 ).

The use of Pearson correlation could not show the correlation between temperature and honey production. This implies the integration of other statistical analysis methods such as linear regression used by ( Schweitzer et al., 2013 ) and Mann-Kendall and Sen’s slope. The next analysis should take into consideration other climatic factors such as humidity, which could clarify the impact of temperature, and the number of hives associated with honey production.

The beekeepers’ perception of climatic parameters and their beekeeping production, as well as the correlation between these factors, enabled us to understand the effect of climatic variables on beekeeping production in the region. From a statistical point of view, there is no trend in honey production except Bkp8 and Bkp9. There is no correlation between temperature and honey production even though we observe an effect on the graphic, while precipitation strongly correlated with honey production. Beekeepers have a good knowledge of the impacts of climate variability and recognize that it affects their activities; some adaptation strategies will be proposed to beekeepers to cope with climate impacts like the use of water tanks, transhumance, reforestation and changes in management practices.

We must urge the authorities, scientists and producers to be ever-vigilant and to take steps to anticipate the situation. It is necessary to take into account all the environmental parameters, the number of hives used, and the location of the apiary, beekeeping management practices, other climatic factors to improve productivity. This study will enable the implementation of adaptation strategies to be put in place to improve productivity.

This paper is prepared as part of the PhD research work for the corresponding author. The study was fully funded by WASCAL (West African Science Center for Climate Change and Adapted Land Use) through the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). We are grateful to the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) for providing all the support needed during fieldwork. Our thanks go to FENAPCI for their support during my fieldwork.

This work was supported by WASCAL (West African Science Center for Climate Change and Adapted Land Use) through the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).