Farmers’ Perceptions of the Effect of Climate Change on Tomato Production in Nigeria

Abstract

Unpredictability of weather caused by climate change constitutes a constraint to production of rain-fed crops. The perspective of producers on the impact of climate change on production of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L) has not been fully documented. The perception of farmers on effects of climate change on production of tomato was investigated. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 202 respondents from the predominantly tomato producing zones: southeastern (Imo), southwestern (Oyo), northeastern (Gombe), and north central (Benue), Nigeria. This consisted of 25% of regions from which 50% of villages were chosen. Ten percent of farmers were randomly selected from the total population of tomato producers. Focus group discussions and structured interviews were used to elicit responses on farmer personal characteristics, changes in production between 2000 and 2009, and perception of effects on production. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s product moment correlation, and analysis of variance. Mean age of respondents was 46.0 ± 9.5 years and mean family size was 6.9 ± 3.2 persons. The majority (83.9%) of respondents were male, and 63.5% cultivated 1–3 ha. Seventy-eight percent of respondents experienced decreases in tomato production between 2000 and 2009 and 61.8% of respondents stated that climate change was the reason for change in tomato production. Changes in tomato production across agricultural zones differed. Production of tomato was highest in the northeastern area and lowest in the southeastern area. Climate change was perceived to be the cause of decline in production of tomato between 2000 and 2009.