Farmers' Perception of Climate Change In Southern Guinea Savannah and Rainforest Agro-Ecological Zone of Southwest Nigeria

Abstract

The study assessed the farmers' perception of climate change in the southern guinea savannah and rainforest agro-ecological zones (AEZ) of southwest Nigeria and corroborates their perception using secondary data. The study was conducted in Ekiti, Ondo and Oyo States in Southwest Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling was used for the study and 360 farmers were interviewed for the study. Descriptive statistics comprising frequency distribution, mean and percentage was used to describe the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers. A 5- point Likert-type scale was used to determine farmers' perception of climate change. Relative humidity, rainfall and temperature trends from 1970 to 2014 were used to corroborate the farmers' perception of climate change in the southern guinea savannah and rainforest AEZs of the study area. The result revealed that 87.8% of the respondents were within the active productive age in southern guinea savannah, with a mean age of 49.2 years.Intherainforest,66.1%ofthefarmerswerewithintheactiveproductiveagewithameanageof 50.9 years. Farmers in the southern guinea savannah zone of the study area had more farming experience than their counterparts in the rainforest AEZ with 18.9 years and 16.6 years respectively. The results revealed that farmers in the southern guinea savannah had positive perception of high intensity of sun over time, high temperature over time, and high incident of drought. The study recommended that extension agents should be supported by both government and Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to visit the farmers regularly and orientate them about climate change.