Farmers' adaptation initiatives to the impact of climate change on agriculture in northern Nigeria
2012
B. K. Farauta
This study examines the innovative adaptive measures used by farmers in northern Nigeria to respond to the effects of climate change. Quantitative and qualitative approaches (rapid rural appraisal, focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews) were used to gather information from 500 farmers. The findings indicate that 84 per cent and 79 per cent of the farmers were aware and knowledgeable of climate change issues, respectively, while 81 per cent of them noted that they had experienced climate change incidences. The paper highlights adaptive measures used by the farmers in northern Nigeria, including: changes in planting and harvesting dates, multiple cropping, intensive manure application, shift to different sites and use of wetland/river valley (fadama) for farming. The study concludes that there is a need for the government to make concrete efforts to enact appropriate policies on climate change adaptation and assist local farmers to improve their resilience.
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