Cassava Farmers' Adaptation Strategies to Climate Change in Abia State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

The study was designed to assess cassava farmers’ adaptation strategies to climate change in Abia State, Nigeria. It examined among other s, cassava farmers perceived effects of climate change, adaptation strategies used by cassava farmers’ and constraints that militate against cassava farmers adapting to climate change. Data were collected using structured questionnaire, complemented with interview schedule from 230 cassava farmers selected through multi-stage and simple random sampling technique. Descriptive and inferential statistical tools, such as frequency counts, percentages, means, ordinary least square (OLS) test model and analysis of variance (ANOVA) test were used to analyze the data. Results showed that the perceived effects of climate change were soil fertility depletion, prolonged drought, delay in planting period and poor yield among others. The adaptation strategies used by farmers’ were use of pest and disease resistant varieties, changes in planting dates, increased use of family labour. Major constraints were lack of access to weather forecast technologies, inadequate credit and inadequate knowledge on different adaptation strategies and inadequate extension contacts. A grand mean of (0.7), (0.8) and (0.7) was arrived at from the results of standard deviation which revealed that there were variations in cassava farmers responses on adaptation strategies to climate change, perceived effects of climate change and constraints that militate against the use of adaptation strategies to climate change. The hypothetical analyses showed that there was a significant relationship between the socio-economic characteristics of cassava farmers and their adaptation strategies to climate change (R2 = 0.637) and cassava farmers’ in the three agricultural zones of Abia state do not differ significantly in their use of adaptation strategies to climate change (F-cal 1.46, F tab =1.871). Hence, it was recommended among others that government policies and programmes should focus on how to promote adaptation strategies to climate change. To achieve this, extension educational campaign should be intensified to increase the knowledge of cassava farmers on adaptation strategies to climate change, regular extension visits and follow up visits, subsidy on farm inputs such as improved cassava varieties and organic fertilizers for sustained cassava production should be available. The study concluded that protecting food security is through regular use of adaptation strategies to climate change.

Key words: adaptation strategies, cassava farmers, climate change.