CLIMATE ADAPTATION MEASURES BY IFAD-VCDP RICE FARMERS IN WUSHISHI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, NIGER STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Change in Climate is one of the major global environmental glitches threatening the survival of the entire human race. It is a global threat with serious negative results on agriculture, natural ecosystem, water supply, health, soil and atmosphere, which are all elements that institute the support for long term sustainability of life on earth. The variation in climate parameters affect different sectors of the economy such as agriculture, health, water, resources, energy etc. this main cause of climate change has been attributed to human activities. This study describes the socio-economic characteristics and examines the determinants of climate change adaptation strategies used by IFAD-VCDP farmers in the study area. The results of the study are expected to give direction for policy makers in designing appropriate policies to increase climate adaptation measure in Wushishi LGA. It will provide a useful guide to international and local donor agencies interested in climate adaptation in their provision of grants and funds for environmental and resource management studies. Researchers will also find the outcome of the study relevant in a bid to expand the frontiers of knowledge. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 120 rice farmers from a total of 173 rice farmers in the LGA using the Yamane’s formula at 5% limit or tolerable error. The farmers were male, married and have a mean age of 34 years. The years of farming experience was 23 years. The majority of the farmers cultivate less than five hectare as reveal by a mean farm size of 1.04ha. The result from the multinomial logit revealed that farm income, the number of years in school and years in farming were positively significant. Income from farm activities and years in farming were positively significant and had positive marginal effect on probability of choosing and using various adaptation strategies while household size was negatively significant. It is therefore recommended that government provide basic amenities such as hospital, market and credit facilities.