JOURNAL OF CURRENT DISCOURSE AND RESEARCH (JCDR)

CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION STRATEGIES USED BY WOMEN FARMERS IN EKITI STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Climate change has emerged as a major threat to agricultural productivity in Nigeria, consequently contributing to food insecurity. Thus, the study examined climate change adaptation strategies used by women farmers in Ekiti State, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 120 respondents for the study. Primary data were collected using a well-structured interview schedule and analysed using descriptive statistics such as frequency counts, percentages and means. The mean age of the respondents was 54.0 years. The mean farm size and the mean farm experience were 1.3 hectares and 20.0 years respectively. Most respondents (85.5%) were aware of climate change, with the extension agent (33.3%) as a major source of information. The major adaptation strategies employed included the use of improved varieties (4.1) crop rotation (3.9), shift cultivation (3.8), mixed cropping (3.7) and organic manure application (3.6). However, the use level of adaptation strategies of irrigation practices (2.7) was relatively low. The respondents indicated continuous temperature rise (4.3), reduced working hours (4.1), rapid loss of soil nutrients (4.1), reduced labour availability (4.1), pest infestation (4.1) and poor germination rate (3.9) as major perceived effects of climate change. Major constraints included lack of credit facilities (3.8), high cost of inputs (3.3), time-consuming activities (3.2), and poor access to relevant information (3.2). The level of use of adaptation strategies of irrigation practices was low among women. The study recommends improved access to credit facilities and relevant information to motivate women to use irrigation practices as adaptation strategies for enhanced food security.