Climate Change Adaptation in Yam and Cassava Production, Cross River State, Nigeria: The Role of Higher Educational Institutions

Abstract

This paper has as aim to discuss the role of higher educational institutions in climate change adaptation in the production of yam and cassava in Cross River State, Nigeria with emphasis on the type and level of skills acquired by lecturers of the Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Wildlife Resources Management, the roles played and challenges encountered. The paper is based on an empirical study. The University of Calabar was purposively selected to represent higher educational institutions because there is no root and tuber research institute in Cross River State. However, the study can be extended to cover the entire south-south geopolitical zone of Nigeria to incorporate the views of the root and tuber research institute in the zone. Results of the study revealed that key technical skills directly linked to climate change adaptation e.g. ability to develop technologies for climate change adaptation; ability to design frameworks for monitoring climate change adaptation projects were acquired by only 40 and 46.7% of the respondents respectively. Regarding the level of skills acquired, results show that 13.3 and 40% of respondents had low and moderate skill levels respectively. The paper reveals that the prominent roles played by respondents were: teaching multidisciplinary professionals and students on climate change issues (4.6); providing opportunities for staff skill development and training on climate change issues (4.4). This paper will provide useful information to all stakeholders in sub Saharan Africa in particular that are concerned with climate change adaptation in the root and tuber crop production sub-sector.