VULNERABILITY AND ADAPTATION OF CROPS FARMERS TO CLIMATE CHANGE IN AGRICULTURAL ZONE

Climate change which is attributable to natural climate cycle and human activities, has adversely affected agricultural productivity in Africa (Ziervogel, Nyong, Osman, Conde, Cortes, and Dowing, 2006). As the planet warms, rainfall patterns shift and extreme events such as droughts, flood, and forest fires become more frequent (Zoellick, 2009). This results in poor and unpredictable yields which subject farmers to vulnerable events (United Nation Framework and Convention on Climate Change  UNFCCC, 2007). Farmers who constitute the bulk of the poor in Africa face challenges of tragic crop failures, reduced agricultural productivity, increased hunger, malnutrition and disease.

  Food crises in countries such as Nigeria are reminders of the continuing vulnerability of the region to the vicissitudes of climatic conditions. This is in large measure due to weak institutional capacity, limited engagement in environmental and adaptation issues, and a lack of validation of local knowledge (Adams et al. 1988, Royal society 2005; BNRCC, 2008) Accordingly, there is the need to gain as much information as possible, and learn the positions of rural farmers and their needs, on what they know about climate change in order to offer adaptation practices that meet these needs (Apata, Samuel and Adeola, 2009). Specifically in West Africa, small changes in comparison to the normal climatic factors can lead to climate extremes with disastrous consequences on agriculture, animal resources, and the economy as a whole. Other phenomena such as desertification, deforestation and in particular, migration of populations as a result of poverty associated to climatic effects call for urgent sensitization and actions for government and populations on climatic risk and their mitigation; and also their integration into development strategies (ECA,2008). The vulnerability of developing countries like Nigeria is worsened by heavy reliance on renewable natural resources for livelihoods, employment and incomes.

In view of the foregoing, the following research questions are deemed appropriate:

i.                    What are the socioeconomic characteristics of crop farmers in the study area?

ii.                  What is the level of awareness and the perception of crop farmers about climate change phenomenon in the study area?

iii.                What is the level of vulnerability of crop farmers to the consequences of climate change in the study area?

iv.                What are the indigenous and emerging adaptation measures used by the crop farmers in the study area, and

v.                  What are the factors affecting the choice of adaptation measures selected by the farmers?

1.3       Objectives of the Study

The main objective of the study is to analyse the vulnerability and adaptation of crop farmers to climate change in Agricultural  Zone 1 of Niger State, Nigeria. The specific objectives are to:

i.          describe the socioeconomic characteristics of crop farmers in the study area; 

ii.         determine the level of awareness and perception of crop farmers to climate change;

iii.        determine the  level of vulnerability of the farmers to the effect of climate   change;

iv.        analyze the determinants of vulnerability of crop farmers to the effect of climate change in the study area;

v          identify and describe the adaptation measures  used  by the crop farmers to mitigate the adverse consequences of climate change, and

vi.        analyze  the factors affecting  the choice of  adaptation measures.

1.4   Hypotheses

The following null hypothesis were tested in this study;                                                        The following farmer-specific and institutional factors do not significantly explain the vulnerability of farmers to climate change;                                                                                                             

a) age    b) gender  c) level of  education  d)  access to credit  e ) membership of association and  f) access to warning information.                        

1.5   Justification for the Study

Adverse climate change impacts are considered to be particularly strong in countries located in tropical Africa that depend on agriculture as their main source of livelihood. Climate change influences crop production and have impacts on agriculture which become a crucial challenge for sustainable development on the continent. The challenge is composed of the likely impacts on the ecosystem services, agricultural production and livelihoods. The socioeconomic characteristics of crop farmers will provide insight on socio economic characteristics and institutional factors significantly affecting the vulnerability of famers to the policy makers to come up with appropriate policies on adaptation measures that will match the attributes of farmers. Information on the level of awareness and perception will guide the extension agency to come up with effective extension service delivery that will help the farmers cope with and adapt to climate change. The findings of the study on the vulnerability of farmers to climate change will assist the policy makers to come up with appropriate  policies  that  will reduce level of vulnerability of crop farmers to climate change. Farmers will also use the results as a handy guide to improve upon their resilience to climate change phenomena. The findings will also serve as spring board for the conduct of further research.

Till date, little attention had been devoted to investigate the extent of vulnerability of crop farmers in Niger State Nigeria. This is evidenced by a dearth of such studies which necessitated the conduct of this study