Abstract
The phenomenon of climate change has negative impacts on rice production in Nigeria as it lowers its output and reduces farmers’ income with a resultant depreciation in their livelihood. This accentuates the need for adaptation to climate change in order to reduce the growing dependency on rice importation, ensure food security as well as achieve a sustainable rice production system in Nigeria. The study therefore investigated the utilization of climate change adaptation strategies among rice farmers in three states of Nigeria. Data were collected from 298 rice farmers using interview schedule in Ebonyi, Ekiti and Niger States on their socio-economic and farm enterprise characteristics, knowledge and utilization of Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (CCAS). Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Knowledge of CCAS was high (55.7%) among respondents while utilization of CCAS was low (65.4%). A non-significant difference existed in the use of CCAS across the states (F = 43.15; p-value>0.05). However, continuous and frequent weeding, appropriate use of fertilizer, and early harvesting of crops were major CCAS used by respondents. The result implies that rice farmers are not totally ignorant of CCAS, but have been using one form of adaptation strategy or the other irrespective of the agro-ecology. Also, the study revealed that CCAS is ecology specific thus effective utilization should be ensured. Key words: Climate change, adaptation strategies, utilization, rice farmers.
Highlights
Rice farming is highly dependent on environmental factors which are the most important among several factors that influence agricultural production
The result is consistent with a report from the AfricaRice (2009), which stated that many farmers prefer FARO 44 for its early maturity, good grain quality and high yield when compared with the local varieties
The analysis of socio-economic and farm enterprise characteristics suggests that respondents had the ability to understand the effects of climate change on their enterprise
Summary
Rice farming is highly dependent on environmental factors which are the most important among several factors that influence agricultural production. According to Edeh et al (2011), rice production depends on optimum combination of production inputs in order to achieve remarkable yield. These inputs are not limited to the familiar production inputs but include the various environmental factors provided by nature. Rainfall characteristics (intensity and duration), relative humidity and temperature constitute these weather-related and environmental factors that affect rice yield and its variability. The change in weather affects livestock, forestry, fishery and decreases
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