Indigenous Agricultural Adaptation toClimate Change: Study of SoutheastNigeria
African Technology Policy Studies Network

TECHNOPOLICY BRIEF | No. 25
Anselm A. Enete
Ignatius I. Madu
Josephat C. Mojekwu
Anthony N. Onyekuru
Elizabeth A. Onwubuya
Fidelis EzeIndigenous Agricultural Adaptation to Climate
Change: Study of Southeast Nigeria

Anselm A. Enete
Department of Agricultural Economics,
University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Anthony N. Onyekuru
Department of Agricultural Economics,
University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Ignatius I. Madu
Department of Geography,
University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Elizabeth A. Onwubuya
Department of Agricultural Extension,
University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Josephat C. Mojekwu
Anambra State FADAMA III Project,
ADP Headquarters Complex,Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria

Fidelis Eze
No. 114A Ogurugu Road,
Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria

The African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) is a multidisciplinary network of researchers, private sector actors andpolicy makers promoting the generation, dissemination, use andmastery of science, technology and innovation (ST&I) for Africandevelopment, environmental sustainability and global inclusion.
ATPS intends to achieve its mandate through research, capacity
building and training, science communication/dissemination andsensitization, participatory multi-stakeholder dialogue,knowledge brokerage, and policy advocacy.
Published by the African Technology Policy Studies Network
P O Box 10081, 00100 GPO Nairobi Kenya
2011

Published by the African Technology Policy Studies Network

ISBN: 978-9966-030-08-5

Table of Contents
Acknowledgement

4Introduction

5Key Findings

6Conclusion & Policy Options

8

Indigenous Agricultural Adaptation to Climate Change: Study of Southeast Nigeria | 3

Acknowledgement
This policy brief was produced as part of the implementation of the African Technology Policy
Studies Network (ATPS) Phase VI Strategic Plan, 2008 – 2012 funded by ATPS Donors including theMinisterie van Buitenlandse Zaken (DGIS) the Netherlands, Rockefeller Foundation, amongst
others. The authors hereby thank the ATPS for the financial and technical support during theimplementation of the program. The Authors particularly thank the ATPS Climate Sense Program
Director, Dr. Kevin Urama (ATPS); and the Program Coordinators including Prof. Francis Mutua(ATPS Kenya); Dr. George Essegbey (ATPS Ghana), Prof. Eric Eboh (ATPS Nigeria), Dr. Nicholas
Ozor (ATPS), and Ms. Wairimu Mwangi (ATPS) for their technical support during the research
process.

4 | Indigenous Agricultural Adaptation to Climate Change: Study of Southeast Nigeria

Introduction
Climatic change, which is attributable to natural climate cycle and humanactivities, has adversely affected agricultural productivity in Africa (Ziervogel et al.
2006). As the planet warms, rainfall patterns shift, and extreme events such asdroughts, floods, and forest fires become more frequent (Zoellick 2009), which
results in poor and unpredictable yields, thereby making farmers more
vulnerable, particularly in Africa (UNFCCC, 2007). Farmers (who constitute thebulk of the poor in Africa), face prospects of tragic crop failures, reduced
agricultural productivity, increased hunger, malnutrition and diseases (Zoellick2009). It is projected that crop yield in Africa may fall by 10-20% by 2050 or evenup to 50% due to climate change (Jones and Thornton, 2003), particularly
because African agriculture is predominantly rain-fed and hence fundamentallydependent on the vagaries of weather. As the people of Africa strive to overcome
poverty and advance economic growth, this phenomenon threatens to deepenvulnerabilities, erode hard-won gains and seriously undermine prospects fordevelopment (WBGU 2004, Zoellick 2009).. There is therefore the need forconcerted efforts toward tackling this menace.
Much of climatic change agricultural research has tended to concentrate on
assessing the sensitivity of various attributes of crop systems (e.g. crop/livestockyields, pest, diseases, weeds etc) - the bio-physical aspects of food production,with little or no regard to the socioeconomic aspects. These partial assessments,
most often consider climatic change effects in isolation, providing little insight into
the level of awareness of the farmers on the issue, what and how they are doing tocope with climate change, etc. To better address the food security concerns thatare central to economic and sustainable development agenda, it is desirable toalso address these aspects of climate change and agriculture. Wisner et al (2004)
reports that the vulnerability of agriculture is not determined by the nature andmagnitude of environmental stress like climate change per se, but by thecombination of the societal capacity to cope with and/or recover fromenvironmental change. While the coping capacity and degree of exposure isrelated to environmental changes, they are both also related to changes insocietal aspects such as land use and cultural practices. This could be at the rootof the much talked about poverty alleviation and food security for the vulnerable
groups in Africa, who are most at risk when agriculture is stressed. In addition,
there is need for increased awareness, teaching, learning and research by
Indigenous Agricultural Adaptation to Climate Change: Study of Southeast Nigeria | 5

Universities and Research Institutes so as to develop a multi-pronged capacity totackle this imminent danger which is slowly eroding the gains of the fight against
starvation, hunger and poverty among farming communities in Africa. This
project was aimed at promoting the understanding of the most cost-effective andsustainable indigenous climate change adaptation practices in southeast
Nigeria. This was achieved by providing answers to the following policyquestions:
To what extent are local farmers aware of climate change? What are the activitiesof farmers that could contribute to climate change in the area? What are thepatterns of climate change impact on agriculture? What are the indigenous
climate change adaptation practices and how cost-effective are they? Whatfactors drive these adaptation practices?
In order to address the above questions, two states namely Enugu and Imo, wererandomly selected from the southeast geo-political zone of Nigeria. From each ofthem, two agricultural zones were randomly selected - Owerri and Okigwe in Imo
state and Enugu and Nsukka in Enugu state. In each agricultural zone and withthe assistance of the extension services Department, farming communities werecompiled, from which two communities were randomly selected making a total ofeight communities for the study. In each selected community, a list of farmhouseholds was compiled, also with the assistance of extension agents, fromwhich fifty farmers were randomly selected, bringing the total sampled
respondents to four hundred.
The data collected included status of awareness of climate change and its linkwith agriculture, land use practices that could exacerbate climate change, effects
of climate change, coping strategies and estimated costs and returns, etc.

Key findings
Almost all the farmers were aware of climate change. The sources of thisinformation were, in order of importance, friends, Extension workers,radio/television, researchers and then farmers' cooperatives. Majority of thefarmers were also aware that climate change will affect agriculture, but do notagree that farming contributes to climate change.

6 | Indigenous Agricultural Adaptation to Climate Change: Study of Southeast Nigeria

The most often practiced farm related activities that could contribute to climatechange in the area were, in order of intensity, burning of wood fuel, the use offertilizers and bush burning.
Majority of the respondents indicate that in the past ten years, climate change
variables associated with uncertainties in the onset of farming season (such as
unusual early rains that are not sustained, erratic rainfall, delay in the onset of rain,
long period of dry season, etc.), except heavy/long period of rainfall andno/reduced hamattan, have all been increasing. This was also the trend(increasing) for extreme weather events (such as thunderstorms, heavy winds,floods, drought, heat waves etc.), pests, diseases, weeds and signals of landdegradation (declining soil fertility and drying up of steams/rivers). The
respondents also indicate that climate change was responsible for all thechanges in these variables. Although there was no significant difference between
Enugu and Imo States regarding the extent to which climate change wascontributing to the changes in some of these variables, its (climate change)
contribution to their (the variables ) changes was however generally significantly
higher for Imo than for Enugu.
In order of importance, the biggest effects of climate change on agriculture werereduced income, reduced yield, streams/rivers drying up, reduction in storage
quality of crops, loss of pastureland/vegetation, changes in the population of fish,
destruction of wildlife ecosystem and reduction in farm size. In line with thepreceding paragraph, the effects were significantly higher in Imo than Enugu formost of these variables, except reduction in farm yield and income, which weresignificantly higher in Enugu than Imo.
Some of the indigenous adaptation practices used by the farmers, which had
relatively high Profitability Indices (PI), were, in order of importance,multiple/intercropping, agro-forestry, afforestation, mulching, expansion ofcultivated land area, the use of herbicides and pesticides, purchase/harvest ofwater for irrigation and use of resistant varieties.
The most important household level factors motivating farmers to invest in climatechange adaptation practices were experience, which was indexed by age,
number of years of formal education of the farmer and his level of awareness ofclimate change issues.
Indigenous Agricultural Adaptation to Climate Change: Study of Southeast Nigeria| 7

At the societal level, the major factors constraining them from adapting to climatechange were poverty; farmland scarcity and lack of more efficient inputs, lack of
information and requisite skills, land tenure and labour constraints.

Conclusion and policy options
Virtually all the respondents were, not only aware of climate change, but also
aware that some of its variables like extreme weather events and uncertainties in
the onset of farming season have been on the increase. In addition, they werealso aware of the effect of climate change on agriculture, but were not aware thatsome agricultural practices could exacerbate climate change. The effect ofclimate change on most of the considered agriculture related weather variables
were generally more pronounced in Imo than Enugu State. However, the overall
impact (farm yield and income) was significantly higher in Enugu than in Imo
state, essentially because of Enugu's inherently drier weather; being closer to theNorth. The biggest effect of climate change in the region was reduced farm yieldand income, drying up of streams/rivers, reduction in storage quality of crops,
loss of pastureland/vegetation and destruction of wildlife ecosystem.. Some ofthe coping strategies adopted by the farmers with a relatively high PI include
multiple/intercropping, agro-forestry/aforestation, mulching, purchase/harvestof water for irrigation and use of resistant varieties. The major factors identified tobe driving farmers' investment in adaptation practices were age and level ofeducation of the farmer as well as his/her level of awareness of climate change
issues. At the societal level, the major factors constraining them from adapting toclimate change were poverty; farmland scarcity and lack of more efficient inputs,
information and training constraints, land tenure and labour constraints.
The foregoing suggests that multiple/intercropping, agro-forestry/aforestation,mulching, irrigation and use of resistant varieties are some of the adaptation
practices that should be encouraged among farmers, perhaps through extension
services. There is also the need for farmers' education, vigorous awarenesscreation, poverty alleviation and the provision of more efficient inputs for them, asthese could be potent tools for climate change adaptation in the area.

8 | Indigenous Agricultural Adaptation to Climate Change: Study of Southeast Nigeria

The African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) is a multidisciplinary network of researchers, private sector actors andpolicy makers promoting the generation, dissemination, use andmastery of science, technology and innovation (ST&I) for African
development, environmental sustainability and global inclusion.
ATPS intends to achieve its mandate through research, capacity
building and training, science communication/dissemination andsensitization, participatory multi-stakeholder dialogue,knowledge brokerage, and policy advocacy.

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ISBN: 978-9966-030-08-5