Media Practitioners’ Knowledge and Coverage of Climate Change and Rural Farmers Adoption in Nigeria

Abstract

Climate change's impact on agriculture seriously threatens mankind because of antecedent food insecurity. In developing countries such as Nigeria, food prices and other commodities are currently high as farmers fail to produce, store, process, and distribute enough food due to erratic rainfall, temperature fluctuations, gully erosions, and herders-farmers conflicts, among others. Therefore, there is an urgent need for all the stakeholders, especially the mass media, to join in mitigating the impact by reporting accurately to hold the government and general public accountable for their actions, including promoting adoption strategies the farmers should consider. Hence, this study was conducted across six of Nigeria’s geopolitical zones with a focus on media practitioners and rural farmers. Also, three research hypotheses were formulated from the study’s four research objectives. During the survey, 768 respondents, comprising 384 media practitioners and 384 farmers, were selected using Krejcie and Morgan's (1970) sample size table. Purposive and convenience sampling methods were used in selecting and administering questionnaires through social media, phone calls, and face-to-face. The findings showed that mass media practitioners and farmers have considerable knowledge of climate change. It was also found that farmers were applying most of the adoption strategies being reported by the media. The study suggested increased media and farmers' relationships towards mitigating climate change impact generally.