Analysis of Determinants of Maize Farmers Adaptation Strategies to Climate Change in South-South Nigeria

Abstract

Adaptation to climate change is critical for sustainable livelihood in developing countries like Nigeria where agriculture production depends majorly on rainfall. This research examined the analysis of determinants of maize farmers’ adaptation strategies to climate change in South-South Nigeria. Multistage sampling techniques were used for the selection of 260 maize farmers from 36 communities in the study area. Primary data were collected using a set of questionnaires and an interview schedule. The result of the Variance Inflating Factor (VIF) and Tolerance level revealed that multicollinearity does not exist. The majority (96.9%) of the maize farmers adopted the use of adaptation techniques. The majority (81.9%), (81.5%), and (78.5%) adopted the use of improved crop species, planting of drought tolerant crop species, and changing in planting dates respectively. The multivariate probit (MVP) model results show that among all determinants, access to information on climate change was the most important influencing factor that enabled farmers to adopt different adaptation strategies because it was statistically significant in all the dependent variables used in the analyses. The research, recommends collaboration among the tiers of institutions to improve access to credit/ finance facilities, avail affordable farm inputs, adequate extension service delivery, eliminate the risk of maize pests and disease, and provide necessary and timely information for the maize farmers.