Adaptation to the Impact of Climatic Variations on Agriculture by Rural Farmers in North-Western Nigeria

Abstract

The impact of climatic variations on crop yields and the adaptation by farmers in northwestern Nigeria are examined using the modeling approach and farm surveys. Accordingly, regression models which relate climate data to crop yields were constructed. The results showed that rainfall has a positive relationship with crop yields in the region and explained over 70 percent of the variations in the yields of sorghum, millet and maize, all of which were significant at the 0.05 level. Evaporation also had a significant but inverse relationship with crop yields. Other climatic elements in the experiment provided minimal levels of explanation. The farm surveys found that rural farmers in northwestern Nigeria were quite innovative when it comes to adapting to drought. The study concluded that the impact of climatic variations on crop yields in northwestern Nigeria can be substantial especially under drought conditions. The need to update farmers' adaptive strategies is emphasized.