Understanding perception and adaptation to climate change among cocoa farmers in tropical condition

Abstract

The impact of climate change on agriculture, economy and livelihood of the populations of developing countries and mainly in Sub-Saharan West Africa (SSWA) is no longer a prediction but reality. The impacts of climate change have been found to be heavy on rural farmers whose source of livelihood is mainly from the natural resources in their environment. The farmers’ perception and adaptation to the climate change will therefore determine the extents to which they can overcome the challenges posed by climate change. In this research, the coping strategies as well as factors influencing the cocoa farmers’ adaptation to climate change in Ondo State, Nigeria was investigated. Data were collected through multi-stage sampling technique. A well structured questionnaire was used to obtain information from 100 cocoa farming households and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) Regression Techniques. The descriptive analysis revealed that, all the farmers were aware of climate change and they coped with the observed climate changes. The farmers used various adaptation methods which were diversifying into other crops (14.7%); monitoring of weather change by indigenous knowledge (32.6%); regular cocoa spraying (50.5%) and monitoring of weather change through media (24.2%). Household size (+0.05), farmer awareness of climate change (+0.34) and access to radio information (+0.81) were the key determinants of adaptation of farmers. Educating the farmers through the media to improve awareness of potential benefits of adaptation is an important policy measure. In addition, enhancing farmers’ access to extension agents is crucial in improving farmers’ awareness of climate change.