Farmers’ perceived impact of climate change on agricultural activities in Otukpo local government area of Benue state, Nigeria.

Abstract

The study was undertaken to ascertain farmers’ perceived impact of climate change on agricultural activities in Otukpo local government area of Benue State, Nigeria. Data were collected from 60 respondents using interview schedule. Multistage random sampling technique was used to select the farmers. Data were analyzed using percentage and mean statistic. Farmers were aware of the phenomena related to climate change such as rise in both day and night temperature (M= 1.83) and increased variability in rainfall (M= 1.78). The major perceived impacts of climate change on agricultural activities were decrease in agricultural production (M=2.63) and decrease in area for cultivation as a result of erosion (M=2.58). The adaptation methods used to cushion the impact of climate change in the area were planting of cover crops like melon and groundnut (95.0%), practicing of crop rotation (93.3%) and early harvesting of crops (93.3%). The paper recommended that farmers’ adaptation capacities to climate change need to be urgently strengthened by extension agents visitation to disseminate more recent information on climate change