Advancing the Resilience of Rural People to Climate Change through Indigenous Best Practices: Experience from Northern Nigeria

Abstract

Despite global concerns and negotiations on climate change, for poor rural people living in the tropics and sub-tropics, the phenomenon of climate change is not new. Experience shows that in northern Nigeria, rural people and their communities have over long periods of time built indigenous strategies, coping mechanisms and best practices which have enabled them adapt to climate change threats. However, the scientific, economic and social potentials associated with their mitigation and adaptive strategies have not been adequately unraveled or recognized in Nigeria’s climate change policy formulation and implementation. The crisis of climate change calls for an urgent response from all stakeholders within the national and international domains towards the possibility of creating conditions that permits equitable and environmentally sustainable development. Thus, this paper shares experiences derived from the analysis of indigenous best practices employed by irrigation farmers in coping with the adverse effects of climate change in two agro-ecological zones of Katsina State in northern Nigeria. The focal aim is to highlight the valuable lessons, provoke critical thinking and give insights into the contributions rural people have to offer in addressing the context-specific issues of climate change.