INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON ADOPTION OF AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES BY FARMERS IN KATSINA STATE, NIGERIA
Keywords:
Climate change,, Crop yield,, Farmers,, Rainfall,, Temperature.Abstract
The aim of this study is to examine the influence of climate change on the adoption of agricultural technologies by farmers in Katsina State. Three hundred and sixty-one copies of a questionnaire were administered to Climate Change Adaptation and Agribusiness Strategies Programme participating crop production farmers, but only 315 were returned and used for the analysis. Focus Group Discussions and Key Informant interviews were also conducted. Temperature and rainfall data (1990– 2019) were used for the analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the perception of the farmers. Linear regression and polynomial curve fitting were used to analyze the trends of temperature and rainfall, while regression analysis was used to determine the influence of the adoption of climate change-related agricultural technologies on crop yield. The trends of temperature indicated that the minimum, maximum, and average temperatures were increasing at the rate of 0.006 °C,0.004 °C and 0.035 °C perannum, respectively. The annual rainfall also revealed an increasing trend of about 11.28 mm/annum. The second-order polynomial curve fitting also showed a growing trend in both the temperature and annual rainfall. The finding on the relationship between adoption of agricultural technologies and crop yield was positive (p-value=0.000).. The coefficient of determination was 0.126, meaning that the adoption of agricultural technologies was responsible for 12.6% of the variation in yield. The study recommended that sustainable adaptation strategies and Climate Smart Agriculture need to be encouraged among farmers in order to mitigate the risk associated with climate change.
