AN ASSESSMENT OF THE PERCEPTION OF LOCAL FARMERS ON CLIMATE CHANGE

AN ASSESSMENT OF THE PERCEPTION OF LOCAL FARMERS ON CLIMATE CHANGE

CHAPTER ONE

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

1.1 Introduction

Climate change is one of the most serious contemporary environmental challenges, with global implications. The rising frequency of extreme climatic events associated with climate change is causing the most concern. Even skeptics are concerned about events such as prolonged dry seasons, long rainfall durations, and excessively long Harmattan periods. People are increasingly inquiring about what can be done to mitigate the effects of the change.

Climate change is defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC, 2007) as statistically significant variations in climate that persist for an extended period of time, typically decades or longer. It encompasses changes in the frequency and magnitude of sporadic weather events, as well as the slow and steady rise in global mean surface temperature.

Changes in the climate is a change in climate caused directly or indirectly by human activity. It has an impact on the earth’s atmospheric conditions, contributing to global warming. According to Raymond and Victoria (2008), climate change has the potential to affect all natural systems, posing a social, political, and economic threat to human development and survival. Over the last decade, interest in this issue has motivated a substantial body of research on climate change and agriculture (Fischer, et al., 2002; Darwin, 2004; Lobell, et al., 2008; Nelson, et al. 2009). Climate change is expected to have an impact on crop production, hydrologic balances, input supplies, and other agricultural system components. However, changes occur as a result of variations in various climatic parameters such as cloud cover, precipitation, and temperature.

temperature and increase in Green House Gases (GHG’s) emission through human activities. Climate change’s negative impacts in Nigeria include increased rural-urban migration, biodiversity loss, depletion of wild and other natural resource bases, changes in vegetation types, increased health risk and the spread of infectious diseases, and shifting livelihood systems (Abaje and Giwa, 2007; Hassan and Nhemachena, 2008).

According to Ajayi, 34% of Nigeria’s 923,768km2 land area is occupied by crops, 23% by grassland, 16% by forests, approximately 13% by rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, and the remaining 14% by other uses (2009). Furthermore, small-scale farm holdings predominate in Nigeria, accounting for approximately 94% of agricultural output (Ajayi, 2009). Agriculture employs over 70% of the population and contributes approximately 41% of GDP. It accounts for 5% of total exports and 88% of non-oil earnings. Furthermore, almost all agricultural sectors, such as crop production, livestock farming, pastoralism, and fishery, rely on climate variability, which means that local farmers who follow their regular annual farm business plans risk total failure due to climate change effects (Ozor et al, 2010). Climate change conditions are bound to jeopardize agricultural production (crop, livestock, forest, and fishery resources), nutritional and health statuses, agricultural commodity trading, human settlements, particularly agricultural communities, tourism, and recreation, among other things (Tologbonse, et al. 2010) Nigeria, like the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa, is extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change (IPCC, 2007). Regardless of what efforts have been made,

Scientific contributions to climate change mitigation, as well as research and policies aimed at indigenous knowledge and perception, are critical. Understanding local perception is helpful in determining the true consequences of climate change. As a result, there is a need to gather as much information as possible and learn about rural farmers’ positions and needs, as well as what they know about climate change, in order to offer adaptation practices that meet these needs.

Climate change is a major impediment to agricultural development in Africa and around the world. According to Ziervogel et al. (2006), climate change, which is caused by both natural climate cycles and human activities, has reduced agricultural productivity in Africa, making agriculture one of the sectors most vulnerable to climate change. Climate has a greater impact in Africa, as observed by Falaki et al 2013, where agriculture is rain fed and essential for daily survival, such as in Nigeria. According to Zoellick (2009), as the planet warms, rainfall patterns shift and extreme events such as drought, floods, and forest fires become more common. This leads to poor and unpredictable yields, making farmers more vulnerable, especially in Africa (UNFCCC, 2007). Millions of people in Nigeria are already experiencing changing seasonal patterns of rainfall and increased heat. As a result, climate influences water availability, which affects health and, ultimately, the level of poverty among Nigerians. Agriculture has a significant environmental impact in the process of providing humanity with food and fiber.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Even in the world’s developed countries, climate change poses a serious threat to socioeconomic development. Agriculture is important in Nigeria and other parts of Africa, particularly for food production and job creation. However, due to their lack of awareness, a significant proportion of agricultural actors are likely to have little or no knowledge of climate change. As a result, while they are more affected by climate change, they are likely unaware of the full extent of what is happening to the system. As a result, there is a need to better understand farmers’ perceptions of climate change in order to target them appropriately in climate change response actions.

Human perception of environmental issues has been widely studied.

Cognitive (knowledge and understanding), affective (feelings, attitudes, and emotions), behavioral (changes in the viewer’s behavior), and physiological (biological or physical effects on the observer’s body) Zube and colleagues, 1982.

However, perception governs resource allocation; if the risk is not adequately perceived, all other deterrents appear ineffective. The effects of climate change cause land degradation, which reduces quality and productivity and is visible throughout the country. While coastal erosion and flooding are a problem in the southern part of Nigeria, the most pronounced climate change related reforms of land degradation are wind erosion and related sand dune formation, drought and desertification, and sheet erosion, which results in the complete removal of arable land.

Land is Nigeria’s most serious agricultural threat, particularly in the sandy soils regions of south-eastern Nigeria.

The social mental picture of climate change is determined by perception. However, other factors such as socio-demographic and socio-economic factors, ideological orientations, awareness level, and information source influence perception and mental picture of climate change (Sjoberg, 1995; Stedman, 2004). However, the extent to which these factors influence perceptions of climate change, particularly among local farmers, has received insufficient attention in the literature and thus remains a research priority.

Fundamentally, Nigeria’s location, size, and characteristic relief give rise to a variety of climates, ranging from tropical rainforest climate along the coast to Sahel climate in the country’s north. distinct in terms of annual precipitation, sunshine, and other climate factors (Adejuwom, 2004). Despite this, Nigeria has yet to establish an agency to negotiate and coordinate the country’s climate change activities (Agwu, et al., 2011). Farmers have developed adaptation and mitigation strategies in their efforts to cope with climate change. Cover cropping, early planting, prompt weeding, regulated use of agrochemicals, and the use of tolerant varieties are some of these measures (DelPHE, 2010). However, due to the rapidity with which adverse climate events occur, previous adaptive measures used by farmers become rapidly obsolete and ineffective (Eneteet al., 2011). According to Action Aid (2008), farmers in Nigeria’s southeastern region have continued to complain about crop losses. in farm output as a result of the uncertainty of rainfall patterns, increased erosion as a result of heavy downpours that destroy fertility while also washing away plants and human settlements. The unfortunate aspect of Nigeria’s climate change dilemma is that most farmers do not understand or value their contributions to climate change devastation. This is especially true among rural farmers who continue to practice traditional slash and burn farming methods (Agwuet al., 2011). Farmers are aware that the climate has changed and that this change has had a negative impact on their output (Eneteet al., 2011), but they do not appear to understand how their farming activities contribute to climate change. As a result, it is critical to investigate how farmers, as major environmental stakeholders, perceive the issue of climate change, what types of changes they have observed in the past, and how they have dealt with them. The goal of this study is to find answers to these and other related questions.

1.3 Research Questions

1. How well do local farmers understand climate change and what actions do they take?

2. Where do they get their information about climate change?

3. What are their thoughts on the effects of climate change?

4. What coping strategies have been implemented?

5. What steps can the government take to address climate change issues?

1.4 Aim and Objectives of the study

Aim of the Study

The purpose of this study is to assess local farmers’ attitudes toward climate change.

The specific goals are as follows:

1. Examine farmers’ understanding of climate change and potential actions.

2. Examine farmers’ sources of climate change information.

3. Examine farmers’ perceptions of climate change effects in the study area.

4. Investigate farmers’ coping strategies.

5. Investigate government efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change.

1.5 Hypothesis

1. Farmers’ understanding of climate change varies significantly across the study area.

2. Farmers’ sources of information on climate change differ significantly.

3. In the study area, farmers’ perceptions of climate change vary significantly.

4. Farmers’ adaptation strategies to climate change differ significantly.

1.6 Study Area

Ido is a Local Government Area in the Nigerian state of Oyo. Its headquarters are in Ido, which is located on the Ibadan-Eruwa road. It lies between Latitude 6′ 45′ and 9′ 45′ north of the Equator and Longitude 2′ 30′ and 9′ 45′ east of the Greenwich Meridian. The Local Government was established on May 29, 1989, during the second republic, and it borders Oluyole Local Government, Ibarapa East Local Government, Akinyele Local Government, Ibadan North West Local Government, Ibadan South West Local Government, Ibadan North Local Government areas of Oyo state, and Odeda Local Government areas of Ogun state. It was one of five local governments in Ibadan district before being dissolved in 1956, with the other four existing at the time.

Mapo, Akinyele, Ona-ara, and Olode-Olojumo were among those present at the time.

It has a population of 103,261 with a growth rate of 3.2% from the 2006 census and a population density of 116 people per square kilometer. Ido, like most cities in Southern Nigeria, experiences two distinct seasons: dry and rainy. It receives over 1800mm of rain per year and is blasted by south-westerly winds for the majority of the year.

The majority of the people are Yorubas, and the area is blessed with fertile land suitable for agriculture. The people’s main occupation is farming, primarily of food and cash crops such as cassava, maize, yam, vegetable, timber, cocoa, oil palm, and kolanut. There are also large hectares of grassland. are suitable for animal husbandry, as are vast forest reserves and rivers. The Local Government is a block of the Oyo State Agricultural Programme’s Ibadan/Ibarapa agricultural zone (OYSADEP). Ido’s people are primarily small-scale farmers, with a sizable proportion of them working in secondary occupations such as hunting, trading, artisan, civil service jobs, and food processing. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigeria Wire and Cable, Nigeria Mining Corporation, and Cassava Processing Industry are also located within the Local Government Area. The Local Government Area has 75 primary schools, 33 secondary schools (including 18 junior secondary schools and 15 senior secondary schools), and 15 senior secondary schools.