ISSN: 2578-4994
Authors: Menwo Ukechi Osigwe, Oruonye ED*, Tukura Ejati Danladi and Abdulrashid Abdullahi
The reality of climate change and how it will affect the livelihoods of small scale farming communities in agrarian economies is an increasingly growing concern. The realization that climate change is here to stay has compounded the need to understand its occurrence in a bid to devise coping mechanisms among the most affected people. The ability of smallholder farmers to effectively adapt to this new reality requires adequate information as to how they perceive it, what impact it has on their livelihoods in order to adequately design coping strategies. This study, therefore examined the perceptions of climate change and its impact on smallholder farmers, as well as the adaptation strategies adopted by the farmers in Gombe state, Nigeria. The primary data used in this study were collected through the use of a structured questionnaire administered to 240 randomly selected members of farming communities in Gombe state. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and factor analysis methods. Results show a widespread acknowledgement and understanding of the seriousness of climate change, with various impacts on crop and livestock production, such as poor rains, increased occurrence of pests, poor harvests, animal diseases, loss of pasture and water for animals among others. Results also show that farmers have adopted various strategies in a bid to adapt to climate change, including: use of drought resistant crop species, local irrigation techniques, crop rotation, use of local fertilizers, animal paddocking, use of pesticides, rainwater harvesting and conservation of feed. The study concluded that the understanding of the severity of climate change has helped farmers in devising effective adaptation strategies, and recommended that more assistance from government is required, especially in sensitizing farmers, and supporting them with subsidizing the costs of adaptation.
Keywords: Agrarian Economies; Adaptation Strategies; Climate Change; Coping Mechanism; Livelihoods; Smallholder Farmers
