Rice and Climate Change: It’s Significance towards Achieving Food Security in Nigeria: A Review

Abstract

Climate change is already impacting on every aspect of man life on earth especially in the agricultural sectors of developing nations. In Nigeria, and indeed the world over, seasons are shifting, temperatures are rising, landscapes are changing and sea levels are rising. Extreme weather events like drought and flood are becoming more frequent and pronounced.[3] stressed on the fact that Agriculture will suffer from major damage caused by changes in climate especially in the African continent. Nigeria is one of the African country that is highly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, as Nigeria is still practicing rain fed agriculture [16]. The impact of climate change is experienced in form of extreme climatic events like flooding, severe heats, and droughts which has led to the degradation of soil and consequently low yield in crops. This will have consequences for rice cultivation in Nigeria, where the dominating climatic factor relied on by farmers in the choice of when to prepare the land for planting, the actual planting,the types of crop variety to plant and harvesting of crop is rainfall [23, 24].The implication of this will be interference with food security as rice is an essential food crop in Nigeria that is consumed by a large number of the population. [26] has warned that hunger in Africa will be worsen by adverse effects of climate change, as it threatens the capacity of vulnerable countries like Nigeria to guarantee food security, eradicate poverty and actualize sustainable development in agriculture. The increasing rate of inadequacy in food supply in the world leading to different form of malnutrition is worrisome and more needs to be done in the areas of agriculture so as to guarantee food security to some extent and improve on nourishment, if a world without hunger is to be achieved by 2030.