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© 2018 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. 

CLIMATE CHANGE AND ADAPTATION STRATEGIES: FARMERS PERCEPTION IN 
OYO STATE, NIGERIA   

 

 

Oyewo, I. O.1+ 
Raufu, M.O.2  
Oladosu, B.O.3  
Adelalu, K.O.4 

 

1Federal College of Forestry (FRIN) P.M.B 5087 Jericho Ibadan, Oyo State 
Nigeria; Federal College of Forestry (FRIN) P.M.B 5087 Jericho Ibadan, 
Oyo State Nigeria 

 
2,4Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo State Nigeria 

 
3National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), Ibadan, Nigeria 

 
 
 

 
(+ Corresponding author) 

 ABSTRACT 
 
Article History 
Received: 23 July 2018 
Revised: 29 August 2018 
Accepted: 3 September 2018 
Published: 5 September 2018 
 
 

Keywords 
Adaptation 
Cassava 
Climate change 
Perception 
Production 
Nigeria. 

 
Climate change and weather variations have been one of the major problems of 
agricultural productivity most especially among crop farmers in Nigeria. This study 
therefore assesses farmer’s perception and their adaptation strategies to climate change 
in Ogo-Oluwa local Government area of Oyo State Nigeria. The survey research design 
was adopted in selecting 113 respondents, while the instrument of data collection was a 
structured questionnaire. The data collection was analyzed using both descriptive and 
inferential statistics. Results showed that the majority (65.5%) of the respondents were 
males while about 69% of them are between the ages of 31 to 50 years old, majorities 
(76.0%) of the respondents were married and average household size was 6.0 persons, 
family labour was the major source of labour for the respondents, 57.5 per cent and 32.7 
per cent of the respondents had farm size of 3- 4 acres and above 4 acres respectively. It 
also shows that majority (51.3%) earned less than N10, 000 per month while 20.4 % and 
21.2 % earns between N10, 000 - N20, 000 and N21, 000- N30, 000 per month 
respectively. The study reveals that 39.8% of the farmers had long years of farming 
experiences between 21-30 years. The study also reveals that the majority (81.0%) of 
the respondents are aware of the changing climatic conditions in their community. 
Educational qualification of respondents, farmers income, farming experiences and 
access to extension services are positively and significantly influenced farmer’s 
perception of climate change in the study area. Majority of the farmers have adapted to 
climate change through diversification of crop types and varieties, changing planting 
dates among others also constraints to adaptation of climate change include lack of 
access to weather forecast information, high cost of improved and resistant varieties, 
and inadequate knowledge of coping strategies. The study therefore recommends 
among others a deliberate policy of government to increase farmer’s access to weather 
forecast information in the study area.  
 

1. INTRODUCTION 

Agriculture constitutes the principal livelihood of 70 per cent of the world’s poor and is the primary means of 

their food security. The poor, who depend on agriculture for sustenance and livelihoods is currently faced with the 

challenges of changing climatic conditions. Climate change is a long – term change in the statistical distribution of 

weather pattern over a periods of time that range from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in the 

average weather conditions or a change in the distribution of weather events, for example, greater or fewer extreme 

weather events. Climate change may be limited to a specific region or may occur across the whole earth [1]. Recent 

Current Research in Agricultural Sciences 
2018 Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 32-41 
ISSN(e): 2312-6418 
ISSN(p): 2313-3716 
DOI: 10.18488/journal.68.2018.52.32.41 
© 2018 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. 

 
 
 

 
 

 

 
 
 
 

https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2018.52.32.41


Current Research in Agricultural Sciences, 2018, 5(2): 32-41 

 

 
33 

© 2018 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. 

evidence indicates that the world has already warmed by 0.80C since the pre-industrial era [2]. Climate change is 

now one of the most significant challenges facing human society in the 21st century and constitutes serious threat 

to sustainable development [3]. Several studies [3, 4] have demonstrated that climate change is a reality and a 

primary environmental threat to sustainable development. Addressing these challenges posed by climate change is 

now one of the development priorities of many nations of the world. 

Climate change refers to any change in climate overtime, whether due to natural variability or as a result of 

human activity [5]. It can also be seen as: “a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human 

activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability 

observed over comparable time periods. Climate change has become a global issue in recent times manifesting in 

variations of different climate parameters including cloud cover, precipitation, temperature ranges, sea levels and 

vapour pressure [6]. The variations in climate parameters affect different sectors of the economy such as health, 

water resources, energy as well as agriculture. Agricultural sector is one of the most affected especially in 

developing countries such as Nigeria. Agriculture is one of the most important sectors of the economy; it provides 

food and livelihood security to most of the population and plays an important role in national security and 

development. However, in Nigeria and Oyo state to be specific, agricultural production has declined very 

significantly over the past few decades. 

Adaptation helps farmers achieve their food, income and livelihood security objectives in the face of changing 

climatic and socioeconomic conditions, including climate variability, extreme weather conditions such as droughts 

and floods, and volatile short-term changes in local and large-scale markets [7]. Farmers can reduce the potential 

damage by making tactical responses to these changes. Analyzing adaptation is therefore important for finding 

ways to help farmers adapt in the rural economies of Nigeria [8].  The local farmers in this area are experiencing 

climate change even though they have not considered its deeper implications .This is evidenced in the late arrival of 

rain, the drying-up of stream and Small Rivers that usually flows year round. It has been observed that the 

perception of the local farmers, the way they think and behave in relation to climate change, as well as their values 

and aspirations have a significant role to play in addressing climate change. The need to fill these gaps is the reason 

for this study. Therefore the following research objectives are to: 

examine the socio-economic characteristics of cassava farmers in the study area 

analyse the perceptions of local farmers on climate change in the study area 

determine the socio economic factor influences farmer’s perception of climate change 

examine the major impacts of changing climate on cassava production in local people’s view 

examine the farmer’s adaptation to climate change and their constraints to adaptation in the study 

 

2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 

The study was carried out in Ogo-Oluwa Local Government Area of Oyo State. Its headquarters is in the town 

of Ajaawa, it has an area of 369 km² and a population of 65,184 at the 2006 census [9]. It is located between the 

longitude of 3’51.18’ and 3’58.9’ East of Greenwich meridian and the Latitude 7’30.3’ and 7’40.2’ North of the 

equator with rainfall between 1500 and 2000 mm and temperature between 23’C and 27’C Isotherms in January. It 

is situated at 233.2 meters above sea level and the general elevation is between 178m and 220m above sea level. The 

vegetation of the zone is derived savannah. The climatic and soil conditions of the study area favour the extensive 

production of food crops like cassava, yam, maize, pepper and tomatoes, to mention few. Ogo-Oluwa local 

government area is an extension block of the Oyo State Agricultural Development Programme (OYSADEP). The 

study area is located in North East of Oyo state, fall in the forest zone of the state and bordered in the south by 

Atiba Local government, in the North by Ogbomoso South Local Government, in the South West by Orire Local 

Government all in Oyo State while bordered in South East by Osun State. Multistage sampling technique was used 

for the study utilizing the extension cells. The study area is made up of one extension block that consist of eight (8) 



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34 

© 2018 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. 

extension cells, five cells was randomly selected for the study, in each of the selected cell three villages were 

randomly selected making 15 villages, 8 cassava farmers were randomly selected for the purpose of questionnaire 

administration. In all, 120 cassava farmers were interviewed but only 113 were used. 

 

3. DATA ANALYSIS 

Both descriptive and inferential statistics were employed in the analysis of the data collected. Descriptive 

statistics namely, frequency tables, mean, percentages, pie and bar charts were used to present information sought 

by the study. The inferential statistics used in the study was logit model. This was used to test the hypotheses of 

the study. Both the descriptive and inferential statistics were performed by the use of Statistical Packages of the 

Social Sciences (SPSS). ` 

 

3.1. Model Specification 

Y= f (X) 

Y= bo + X1 + X2 + X3+ X4+ X5……………………………+ X11 

Where, Y = Farmer’s Perception  

X1 = Sex 

X2= Age 

X3 = Size 

X4 = Household status 

X5 = Education 

X6 = Source of Labour 

X7 = Income 

X8 = Farm size 

X9 = Source of land 

X10 = Farming Experience 

X11 = Access to Extension 

 bo  = Constant 

 

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 

4.1. Socio-Economic Characteristics of the Respondents  

The socio-economic characteristics of the respondents examined include sex, sources of Labour, household size, 

education qualification, farm size, and sources of land. Table 1, indicates that the majority (65.5%) of the 

respondents were males while 69 per cent of them are between the ages of 31 to 50 years old, 20.4 per cent of them 

are between 51-60 years of age while only 10.6 per cent of them are between 21 and 30 years old. The low 

proportion of the respondents within this category is attributed to the design of the study which emphasized on 

only household heads as the respondents for the study. Generally, the average age of the respondents was 46 years 

implies that majority (76.0%) of the respondents were married and average household size was 6.0 persons implies 

that the household are fairly large, 45.1 per cent of the respondents had a household sizes of 4-6 and 16.8 per cent of 

them had a household sizes of 10-12 persons. With respect to education, the respondents can be described as a fairly 

literate population.  About 44.2 per cent of the respondents had primary education while 27.4 per cent of them had 

secondary education qualification. Also, 15.8 per cent of the respondents had tertiary education qualification while 

only 12.4 per cent of them had no formal educational qualification. labour was the main source of labour for the 

respondents as indicated by over 57 per cent of the respondents. It also showed that 32.7 per cent of the 

respondents had a farm size of 3-4 acres and above 4 acres respectively. Only 14.2 per cent if the respondents had 

less than 1 acre as their farm size. In addition, it indicates that there are two main sources of land including 



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© 2018 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. 

inherited and communal land as indicated by 42.5 per cent and 43.3 per cent respectively. Only 14.2 per cent of the 

respondents rented their land for farming practices in the study.  

 
Table-1. Socio-Economic Characteristics of the Respondents 

Variables (N=113) No. of Respondents Percentage  

Sex: 74 65.5 

Male 39 34.5 
Female   
   

Age in Years:   

21-30 12 10.6 
31-40 33 29.2 
41-50 45 39.8 
51-60 23 20.4 
   

Household Size   

1-3 3 2.7 
4.6 51 45.1 
7-9 40 35.4 
10-12 19 16.8 
   

Education Qualification of Respondents:   
Primary 50 44.2 
Secondary 31 27.4 
Tertiary 18 15.8 
No formal education 14 12.4 

   

Sources of Labour:   

Family labour 65 57.5 
Hired Labour 48 42.5 

Farm Size:   

Less than 1 Acres 16 14.2 
1-2 Acres 23 20.4 
3-4 Acres 37 32.7 
Above 4 Acres 37 32.7 

Sources of Land:   

Inherited 48 42.5 
Communal 49 43.3 
Rent 16 14.2 

             Source: Field survey, 2016 

 

Figure 1 on the other hand, showed the income levels of the respondents and it reveals that the majority 

(51.3%) earned less than N10, 000 per month while 20.4 per cent and 21.2 per cent earns between N10, 000- N20, 

000 Naira and N21, 000- N30, 000 per month respectively. 

 



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36 

© 2018 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. 

 
Figure-1. Income of the Respondents per Month 

Source: Field survey, 2016 

 

Figure 2 indicates that the farmers have long years of farming experiences. It shows that 39.8 per cent of the 

respondents had a farming experience of 21-30 years while it also shows that 21.2 per cent had a farming experience 

of 31-40 years. However, only 7.1 per cent of the respondents had a farming experience of above 40 years. 

 

 
Figure-2. Farming Experiences of the Respondents (Years) 

 Source: Field survey, 2016 

 

4.2. Perception of Local Farmers on Climate Change in the Study Area 

Figure 3 indicates that the majority (81.0%) of the respondents in the study area are aware of the changing 

climatic conditions in their community. However, it reveals that 19 percent of the respondents are not aware of the 

existence of climate change in their community. 

 



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37 

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Figure-3. Awareness of Existence of Climate Change in the Community 

                                                             Source: Field survey, 2016  

 

Table 2 shows that the extent of temperature change in the study area is much as indicated by almost half of 

the respondents. It is important to state that only 13.2 per cent of the respondents stated that there has not being 

any temperature change in their community.  It further shows that the majority (61.1%) of them stated that rainfall 

change has been much in the area while the occurrence of drought in the study area was reported to be nil by 

majority (57.5%) of the respondents. Also, majority (67.3%) of the respondents reported high occurrence of flooding 

in their community, the changes in rainfall and temperature and the high occurrences of flooding in the study area 

is a manifestation of climate change phenomenal in the study area.  

 
Table-2. Farmers Observations on Extent of Climate Change in the Community 

Variables No. of Respondents Percentage  

Extent of temperature Change:   
None 14 12.4 
Little 45 39.8 
Much 54 47.8 
Extent of Rainfall Change:   
None 15 13.2 
Little 29 25.7 
Much 69 61.1 

Frequency of Drought Occurrence:   
Nil 65 57.5 
Seldom 32 28.3 
Often 8 7.1 
Very Often 8 7.1 
Frequency of Flood Occurrence:   
Nil 3 2.7 
Seldom 14 12.4 
Often 10 8.8 
Very Often 76 67.3 

                Source: Field survey, 2016 

 

4.3. Socio Economic Factors Influencing Farmer’s Perception of Climate Change in the Study Area 

The study further examines the socio-economic factors influencing farmer’s perception of climate change in the 

area. The result of the logit regression is presented in Table 3. The estimated values of Education (X5), Income (X7), 

Farming Experience (X10) and Access to extension (X11) significantly influenced farmer’s perception of climate 



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change. It is of interest to note that age (X
1
), sex (X

2
), (X

3
), household size (X

6
), farming experiences (X10) do not 

significantly influenced farmer’s perception of climate change in the study. 

      
Table-3. Factors Influencing Farmer’s Perception of Climate Change in the Study Area 

Variables Coefficient S.E. Sig. Exp(B) 

Sex (X1) -.524 .683 .443 .592 
Age (X2) .026 .368 .944 1.026 
Size (X3) -.073 .539 .892 .930 
Household Status (X4 ) -.581 .465 .212 .559 
Education (X5) -4.117 .083 .016** .890 
Sources of Labour (X6) -16.364 4397.976 .997 .000 
Income (X7 ) -4.875 .239 .048** 1.184 
farm size (X8 ) -.386 .457 .398 .680 
Source of land (X9 ) -19.082 3753.700 .996 .000 
Farming Experience (X10 ) 1.000 .790 .020** .484 
Access to extension (X11 ) -2.195 1.125 .051** .111 

Constant 42.500 5782.081  .994 2.863 
 Source: author computation 

  

4.4. Effect of Climate Change on Cassava Cultivation in the Study Area 

Table 4 indicates that almost half (46.9%) of the farmers indicated climate change has significantly affected the 

cultivation of cassava in the study area. It also shows that 40.7 percent of the farmers stated that there has been a 

little change in cassava production as a result of climate change in the community. It is pertinent to note that only 

12.4 percent of the respondents stated that there is no effect of climate change in the cultivation of cassava in the 

study area. 

 
Table-4. Effect of Climate change on cassava cultivation 

Effect Frequency Percent 

No change 14 12.4 
Little change 46 40.7 
Significant Change 53 46.9 
Total 113 100.0 

                    Source: Field survey, 2016 

 

Table 5 indicates that the majority (50.4%) of the farmers indicated that there has been a little change in the 

cropping season of cassava occasioned by climate change.  It also shows that 40.7 percent of the farmers stated that 

there have been a significant change in cropping season of cassava while only 8.8 percent of the respondents stated 

that there has not being any change. From Table 5, it can be deduced that climate change had impact on the 

cropping season of cassava in the study area. 

 
Table-5. Impacts of Climate Change on the Cropping Season of Cassava cultivation 

Impacts Frequency Percent 

No change 10 8.8 
Little Change 57 50.4 
Significant Change 46 40.7 

Total 113 100.0 
                      Source: Field survey, 2016 

 

Table 6 shows that climate change has negligible effect on the general life of farmers in the study area as 

indicated by 54 percent of the respondents. Table 6 further shows that only 6.2 percent of the respondents noted 

that climate change has affected their general life conditions in the study area. However, it shows 39.8 per cent of 

the respondents stated that climate change has no effect on their life. 



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39 

© 2018 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. 

Table-6. Effect of climate change on General Life Conditions of Respondents 

Effect Frequency Percent 

No effect 45 39.8 
Negligible effect 61 54.0 
Significantly 7 6.2 

Total 113 100.0 
                  Source: Field survey, 2016 

 

4.5. Farmers Adaptation Strategies to Climate Change 

The study examines the adaptation strategies of cassava farmers to climate change adaptation in the study area. 

Figure 7 shows that 65.5 per cent of the respondents have adapted to changing climatic conditions in the study 

area. This only explains the fact that a large proportion (34.5%) of the respondents have not adapted to climate 

change.  

 

 
Figure-4. Percentage of Respondents Adapting to Climate Change 

    Source: Field survey, 2016 

 

Table 4 shows the various coping strategies adapted by cassava farmers to cope with climate change. It 

indicates that 85.8 per cent of the farmers practice diversification of crop types and varieties while about 75.5 per 

cent of the farmers change planting dates as their coping strategy. Table 4 also shows that 77 per cent of the 

respondents utilized early cassava maturing variety while 54.6 per cent change the size of their farms as a way of 

reducing the impact of the drop in yield. Table 4 shows that only 10.5 per cent of the cassava farmer’s practices 

water harvesting as a coping strategy. This is expected as the occurrence of drought is low as reveals previously in 

the study. 

 
Table-7. Adaptation Strategies Practice by Cassava farmers 

Strategies Frequency Percent 

Change crop variety 40 35.7 
Build water harvesting schemes 12 10.5 
Implement soil conservation schemes 52 45.8 
Diversification of crop  types and varieties 97 85.8 
Changing planting dates 85 75.5 

Changing size of land under cultivation 62 54.6 
Adopt improved variety of crops 97 85.5 
Adoption of early maturing crop species 87 77.0 

               Source: Field survey, 2016 

 

Table 8 identifies the main constraints to cassava farmer’s adaptation to climate change in the study area. The 

table identifies lack of access to weather forecast information, high cost of improved and resistant varieties, and 



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inadequate knowledge of how to cope or build resilience as indicated by 85.8 per cent, 77.9 per cent and 76.9 per 

cent respectively. Others constraints include limited income, poor access to the technologies necessary for 

adaptation and non-availability of credit facilities as indicated by 67.2 per cent, 69.0 per cent and 48.6 per cent of the 

respondents respectively. 

 
Table-8. Constraints to Cassava farmers Adaptation to Climate Change in the Study 

Strategies Frequency Percent 

Inadequate access to extension service 45 39.8 
Poor access  to the technologies necessary for adaptation  78 69.0 
Poor information on early warning system 55 48.6 
Lack of access to weather forecast information 97 85.8 
High cost of improved and resistant varieties 88 77.9 
Inadequate knowledge of how to cope Or build resilience  87 76.9 
Non-availability of credit facilities 55 48.6 
Lack of capacity of extension service to Build resilience of farmers 54 47.8 
Limited income 76 67.2 

  Source: Field survey, 2016 

 

5. CONCLUSION 

Agriculture is the principal livelihood of 70 per cent of the study area and with the increasing impact of climate 

change on cassava production, the poverty levels of the community is bound to increase. It is therefore important 

for appropriate policies to be in place to help in community adaptation.  

While several studies have been conducted on farmers perception of climate change and their adaptation 

strategies, findings from the diverse countries indicates divergent perceptions of farmers and adaptation strategies. 

This is however expected since adaptation strategies is context specific. It is important to state that none of this 

study has been carried out in Ogo-Oluwa Local Government Area of Oyo State. Also, none of the studies have 

focused on cassava farmers. This present study will filled this research gap. In view of this and the findings of the 

study, the study therefore makes the following recommendation. 

 

6. RECOMMENDATIONS 

1. There should be deliberate policy for government to increase farmers access to weather forecast 

information 

2. Government should provide improved cassava varieties to the farmers at subsidized rate 

3. Government should create farmers friendly policy that will enhance adaptive capacity of the farmers in the 

study 

4. Government should improve access to formal credit facilities among the cassava farmers by having access 

to micro credit without interest in the study area. 

 

Funding: This study received no specific financial support.    
Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.  
Contributors/Acknowledgement: All authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the 
study. 

 

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41 

© 2018 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. 

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