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KNOWLEDGE OF CLIMATE CHANGE AMONG FARMERS IN
OKIGWE SENATORIAL ZONE OF IMO STATE, NIGERIA.
BY
OKOROH JUOCHI P. PG/MSc./08/49379
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION
UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA
SUPERVISOR: PROF. E. M. IGBOKWE
October, 2011
ii
KNOWLEDGE OF CLIMATE CHANGE AMONG FARMERS IN
OKIGWE SENATORIAL ZONE OF IMO STATE, NIGERIA.
BY
OKOROH JUOCHI P. PG/MSc./08/49379
A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL
EXTENSION, FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE, UNIVERSITY OF
NIGERIA, NSUKKA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE AWARD OF
MASTER OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION (RURAL
SOCIOLOGY)
October, 2011
iii
iv
CERTIFICATION
Okoroh, Juochi Patience, a postgraduate student in the Department of Agricultural
Extension, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, with Registration Number PG/MSc/08/49379, has
satisfactorily completed the requirements for course and research work for the Degree of Master
of Science (M.Sc.) in Agricultural Extension (Rural Sociology.)
The work embodied in this project is original and has not been submitted in part or full
for other diploma or degree of this or any other university.
………………………………. …………………………….
PROF. A. E. AGWU PROF. E. M. IGBOKWE
(Head of Department) (Project Supervisor)
Date ………………………….. Date ………………………....
v
DEDICATION
This project is dedicated to God Almighty, the source and sustainer of my life and to my beloved
husband Mr. J. C. Okoroh and children, Chibuzor and Ogochukwu Okoroh.
vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I wish to acknowledge with every sense of gratitude, the encouragement, guidance,
instructions, inspiration and advise from my supervisor, Prof. E. M. Igbokwe Your close
monitoring and meticulous supervision have made the completion of this programme a success,
I truly say thank you Sir.
My gratitude also goes to all other members of teaching staff of the Department of
Agricultural Extension: Profs M. C. Madukwe, A. C. Anyanwu, E. M. Igbokwe, A .E. Agwu, Dr
(Mrs.) Onwubuya, Dr. (Mrs) M. Dimelu, Dr. N. Ozor as well as Dr (Mrs) Jane Chah. Others
include Mrs. J. C. Iwuchukwu, Dr. O. M Akinnagbe, Rev. (Dr.) Enwelu, Mrs Asadu and Mrs
Cynthia; and to all non teaching staff particularly Mrs. Oledinma.
I sincerely thank my classmates and friends who made my stay in University of Nigeria
Nsukka an interesting one. Among them are: Olaolu, Michael; Egbule, Chukwudumebi; Mrs E.
Ogbonnah; Mr. P. Njom; Umaru; Chika; Chiebonam and Chimezie I really appreciate all the
moments shared together. God bless you all.
Okoroh Juochi P.
vii
ABSTRACT
The study was conducted to ascertain the knowledge of climate change among farmers in okigwe
senatorial zone of Imo State, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling technique was used for the selection
of sample. The first stage involved the purposive selection of Okigwe senatorial zone out of the
three senatorial zones (Orlu, Owerri and Okigwe) in the state because of the proneness to
ecological instability arising from the rugged terrain and sandy soil. The second stage involved
random selection of four Local Government Area (LGAs) out of the six (LGAs) in the senatorial
zone. From each of the four LGAs two autonomous communities were randomly selected. The
third stage involved the selection of two villages from each of the 2 autonomous communities
using simple random sampling giving a total of 16 villages. A total of 15 farmers were selected
from each of the villages giving a sample size of 240 farmers. A set of interview schedule and
questionnaire were used to collect the data for the study. Descriptive statistics like frequency,
percentage and mean score were used to analyze the data collected while hypothesis was tested
using a multiple regression analysis. The result of the study showed that the majority of the
farmers (60%) were females, the mean age of the farmers was 50.63 years. Also, the average
years of respondents farming experience was 21.6 years ,This indicates that they had engaged in
farming for many years and probably would have noticed the changes in climate. Mean
household size in the study area was 7 persons. This indicates that the farmers had fairly large
households which could probably supply farm labour cheaper than hired labour. The farmers in
the study areas engaged more in crop farming (57.7%) and the major crop grown was cassava
and others included fluted pumpkin, maize and yam. The study showed that 75% of the
respondents were aware of climate change and their major source of awareness was through self
observation and experiences over the years (42.4%). The local names given to climate change
viii
were mgbanwo ubochi , mgbanwo urukpu, ntughari ubochi and mgbanwe eluigwe.The result
from the study reveals that about 54.6% of the respondents had no knowledge on the causes of
climate change while about 41.8 % had high knowledge of effects of climate change and 25%,
24.10% and 9.10.% had moderate knowledge, low knowledge and no knowledge respectively on
effects of climate change. Also the farmers identified the following: crop rotation ( 89.1%),
mixed cropping (86.7%), mulching (80.7%), use of water channel as drainage systems (83.7%),
regular weeding (80.1%), use of organic manure (83.7%), proper tillage to reduce soil water loss
(71.1%), reduced the use of generating set as a result of electrification of houses (91.6%) as the
mitigation strategies used in their community to cushion the effects of climate change. The
respondents perceived the following among other variables of indicators of climate change as the
indicators prevailing in their community: changes in temperature (55.4%), changes in rainfall
pattern (72%), increased in flood (97.5%) increased in pest and diseases (88.5%), incidence of
erosion (90.9%), low crop yield (92.1%) and high humidity (74.1%). The level of education (t=
10.420; P= 0.000), house hold size (t= 3.008; P= 0.003) and type of farming (t= 4.139P= 0.000),
had positive and significant influence on farmers’ level of knowledge of the causes of climate
change.
ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title page ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgement v
Abstract vi
Table of contents viii
List of Tables x
List of Figures xi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study 1
1.2 Problem statement 3
1.3 Purpose of the study 5
1.4 Hypotheses 6
1.5 Significance of study 6
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 8
2.1 Concept of climate and Climate change 8
2.2 Concept of knowledge and knowledge of climate change 10
2.3 Causes of climate change 12
2.4 Climate change and agriculture 16
2.5 Effects of climate change 19
2.6 Mitigation/Adaptation strategies of climate change 23
2.7 Conceptual framework 26
x
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
3.1 Study area 29
3.2 Population and sampling procedure 32
3.3 Instrument for data collection 35
3.4 Measurement of variables 35
3.5 Data analysis 38
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
4.1 Respondents’ socio-economic characteristics 39
4.2 Farmers awareness of climate change 44
4.3 Respondents’ sources of awareness and local name given to climate change 45
4.4 Local name given to climate change 46
4.5 Farmers knowledge of causes of climate change 48
4.6 Knowledge level of the farmers on the causes of climate change 50
4.7 Knowledge of effects of climate change 52
4.8 Adaptation/mitigation strategies used by Farmers to cushion the
effect of climate change 57
4.9 Farmers perception of the indicators of climate change 59
4.10 Influence of farmers knowledge level of causes of climate change 61
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary of findings 63
5.2 Conclusion 65
5.3 Recommendations 66
REFERENCES 67
APPENDIX: Questionnaire 72
xi
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Population and sampling proportion for the study 32
Table 2: Distribution of the respondents by socio-economic characteristics 43
Table 3: Distribution of farmers’ source of awareness 46
Table 4: Distribution of farmers knowledge of causes 50
Table 5: Respondents’ distribution on the knowledge of effects of climate change 56
Table 6: Distribution of mitigation strategies used by farmers to cushion the effects of
climate change 58
Table 7: Perceived indicators of climate change 60
Table 10: Factors influencing farmers knowledge level of causes of climate change 62
xii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1:Conceptual Framework on knowledge of climate change 28
Figure 2: farmers’ awareness of climate change 45
Figure 3: Percentage distribution of the names given to climate change 47
Figure 4:Knowledge level of Farmers on the causes of climate change 52
Figure 5: Knowledge level of farmers on the effects of climate change 53
1
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0 Background of the study
Climate refers to the average weather conditions of a place over a long period of time .
The elements of climate include rainfall, temperature, humidity, air pressure, wind, cloud and
sunshine (Iwena, 2008). Therefore, climate change is defined as a misnomer in the average
climatic condition (Anyadike, 2009). Climate change is a result of global warming which is
caused by greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide being trapped in the atmosphere (Ibidun,
2009). Green house gases include carbon dioxide (CO2), chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), methane
(CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and water vapour (Kregger, 2008). These gases trap the terrestrial
radiations from the earth and re-radiate the heat. The Climate Change Information Resources
(CCIR), 2004) defines climate change as a change in either the mean state of the climate or in its
variability, persisting for several decades or longer. This includes changes in average weather
conditions on earth, such as a change in average global temperature as well as changes in how
frequently regions experience heat, droughts, floods, storms and other extreme weather.
Climate change refers to any change in climate over time, whether due to natural
variability or as a result of human activity and is widely recognized as the most serious
environmental threat facing our planet today (Ozor,2009). According to IPCC (2007),the change
in climate are attributed directly or indirectly to human activities and alter the composition of the
global atmosphere over comparable time periods.
Pollution from human activity in the last 200 years has released more carbon dioxide than
the planet can handle. The single human activity that is most likely to have a large impact on
climate is the burning of “fossil fuel” such as coal, oil and gas. These fuels contain carbon.
2
Burning them produces carbon dioxide gas (African Institute of Applied Economics
(AIAE,)2009). In addition, deforestation and agricultural activities such as “slash and burn”
practice remain important potential factors in climate change. The Food and Agricultural
Organization (FAO, 1989) estimates the loss of forest to agriculture at the rate of 11 million
hectares per annum. This purposeful elimination of vegetation is commonly presented as
“deforestation” (Ebil, 2000). The menace to the environment includes soil erosion, loss of wind
break and crops against the excesses of warming of the areas and subsequently the entire planet
(WHO, 1992). The “slash and burn” practice associated with farming systems of forest and
savannah regions is blamed for its enormous contribution to the accumulation of carbon dioxide
and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere (Cleaver, Kevin and Goetz 1994). In the long run, the
climatic change could affect agriculture in several ways (http://ideas.repec.org/
p/fem/femwpa/2006.6.html):
1. productivity, in terms of quantity and quality of crops
2. agricultural practices, through changes of water use (irrigation) and agricultural
inputs such as herbicides, insecticides and fertilizers
3. environmental effects, in particular in relation of frequency and intensity of soil
drainage (leading to nitrogen leaching), soil erosion, reduction of crop diversity
4. rural space, through the loss and gain of cultivated lands .
5. adaptation, organisms may become more or less competitive. Countries in sub-
Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, are likely to suffer the most because of their
geographical location, low incomes and low institutional capacity, as well as their
greater reliance on climate sensitive renewable natural resource sector like agriculture
(AIAE, 2009).
3
Also climate change causes sea level to rise due to melting of ice into the sea (Anyadike,
2009).According to Ujah (2009) climate change increases poverty rate as a result of low
productivity. The effects of climate change include flooding, drought, erosion, desertification,
sea level rise, heat stress, pests and diseases, erratic rainfall pattern, among others (Ozor, 2009) .
Mitigation as being defined by the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2006) as a reduction
in how unpleasant, serious etc something is. Therefore, mitigation strategies are the strategies
taken to reduce the effect of climate change. Climate change mitigation is increasingly important
since climate change is a global phenomenon that affects everybody (Eboh, 2009).
1.2 Problem statement
As a developing nation, Nigeria is particularly sensitive to the effects of climate change.
A large part of the economy depends on natural resources which are particularly vulnerable to
climate change. When those resources are affected, whole communities are implicated. Disease,
loss of livelihoods and settlements can force entire communities into relocation and even
refugee status. Due to the predominance of rural farmers in Okigwe senatorial zone couple with
the effects of climate change are prevailing in this zone, Okigwe zone has been selected for this
study.There is proliferation of disease-carrying insects and pests, namely, malaria, sleeping
sickness, dengue fever and schistosomiasis (a parasitic disease). An abundance of rain provides
more breeding sites. Wind helps to disperse them. Temperature, precipitation and wind are all
affected by climate change. Food crops are affected by the presence of pests (resulting in low
agricultural yields and food shortages, as well as human population problems such as
malnutrition). Pests can reduce meat supply and cause human suffering which in turn affects the
effectiveness and productivity of communities labour force. Okigwe senatorial zone is vulnerable
4
to climate change impact unless it adapts, or adjusts, to actual impacts of climate change. This
will require taking action, through preventive measures (to avoid the worsening of conditions)
or adjustment measures (changes in habits and the way things are done). Human settlements in
Nigeria will be affected by climate change in a variety of ways. Extreme climate change such as
tropical storms, floods, landslides, wind, heat and cold brings with it droughts, floods, and sea-
level rise. Urban and rural population concentration will be disrupted, especially along the coast
due to the rise in sea levels. Some settlements are known to have already relocated from their
original sites because of this. Rises in sea-levels will also threaten urban and rural facilities in
low-lying coastal regions, as evident in Lagos (Onyedika and Okonkwo, 2009). Climatic
catastrophes displace populations.
Farming activities such as “slash and burn” practice, which are associated with the
farming systems of forest and savannah regions is blamed for its enormous contribution to the
accumulation of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere (Cleave, Kelvin, Schreiber,
Goetz, 1994). Also some vegetation are subjected to the threat of over-grazing by livestock. In
arid and semi-arid regions of sahelian countries of Africa, it is considered one of the chief factors
of desertification (Ebii, 2008). In addition to the issue of overgrazing, livestock contribute to
climate change by emission of methane gas through belches and flatulence (Durning and Brough,
1992). Domesticated animals such as dairy cows, goats, pigs, buffaloes, camels, horses and
sheep produce methane during cud-chewing process (Rosenwig and Hillel, 1993). Agriculture
accounts for roughly 14% of global greenhouse gases and 75% of the world’s poor live in rural
areas in developing countries and most depend on agricultural activities for their livelihoods
(World Bank, 2008).
5
Onyedika and Okoronkwo (2009) have shown that several indicators or variables that
increase greenhouse gases, which are the major cause of climate change are very common and at
a very high volume in Nigeria. British Broadcasting Co-operation (BBC) Trust Research as
cited by Etim (2009) also reveals that many Nigerians think that climate change is caused by
God. The reason cited for this view was that divine punishment was being meted out for the
basket of sins of the world. The knowledge of a phenomenon is a determinant of attitudes
toward the issue. People who perceive climate change as man made and a detriment to their
welfare will work toward reducing the actions that cause it and vice versa. The knowledge, in
turn is molded by cultural, technological and educational levels which vary from place to place.
Consequent upon this, it is pertinent to ascertain knowledge of climate change among farmers’ in
Imo state, Nigeria. In view of this, pertinent questions that guided this study were:
Are rural farmers aware of climate change? Do farmers have knowledge of the causes of
climate change? Do they have knowledge of the effects of climate change? What are the
indicators of climate change perceived in their communities. What adaptation strategies have
they adopted? These and other questions were answered by the study.
1.3 Purpose of the study
The broad objective of the study was to ascertain the knowledge of climate change among
farmers in Okigwe senatorial zone of Imo State, Nigeria. Specifically the study sought to:
1. determine awareness of climate change among farmers in Imo State, Nigeria;
2. ascertain farmers knowledge of causes of climate change;
3. ascertain farmers knowledge of effects of climate change;
4. identify the mitigation/adaptation strategies used by farmers to cushion the effects of
climate change on agricultural practices; and
6
5. identify indicators of climate change prevailing in the communities.
1.4 Hypothesis
Hypothesis: The characteristics of the farmers do not significantly influence the
knowledge of causes of climate change.
1.5 Significance of the study
The knowledge of the causes, effects and possible ways of adapting climate change by
the farmers will reveal the extent to which the farmers are at home with the concept of climate
change. It has been described in subtropical region that the agricultural sector is more vulnerable
to such as the landless farmers, livestock keepers, people in poor health, those who are
undernourished, people with low economic power, women and children including women
headed households, those with low level of education, and those with low technological know-
how are more exposed to the risk of climate change (Barber, 2003). Therefore having knowledge
of causes and effects of climate change will help the farmers in reducing the action that causes it.
The findings of this study will aid the extension agent to know the areas where farmers
need empowerment. The results of the study will equally aid the government in making sound
policy on climate change. Moreover policy makers and researchers will by the findings of this
study be intimated with the farmers’ needs for innovations needed to enhance the farmers’
ability to cope with the threats of climate change. Also, this research material will serve as a
reference paper for other researchers on climate change issues. This study will be made
available to the various stake holders when the findings are presented at conferences both
locally and internationally.
7
CHAPTER TWO
2.0 Literature review
Literature was reviewed under the following sub headings:
1. Climate and Climate change concept
2. Concept of knowledge and knowledge of climate change
3. Causes of climate change
4. Climate change and agriculture
5. Effects of climate change
6. Mitigation/adaptation strategies of climate change
7. Conceptual framework
2.1 Climate and climate change concept
According to Areola (1999) “ climate refers to the average atmospheric conditions
of an area over a considerable length of time and the elements of climate include: rainfall,
temperature, humidity .air pressure, winds cloud and sunshine.” The intergovernmental panel on
Climate Change (IPCC, 1992) has defined climate as the “average weather” or more rigorously,
as the statistical description in terms of the mean and variability of relevant quantities over a
period of time ranging from months to thousands or millions of years. The classical period is 30
years, as defined by the world meteorological organization (WMO) as cited by IPCC (1992). The
term ‘weather’ refers to the short term changes in temperature, wind and/or precipitation of a
region (Merrrits,1998) as cited by (kreger,2008). Climate encompasses the statistics of
temperature , humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle over a long
period count and numerous other meteorological elements in a given region over a long period
8
The climate change information resources (CCIR,2004) defined climate change as a
change in either the mean state of the climate or in its variability, persisting for several decades
or longer. This includes changes in average weather conditions on earth, such as a change in
average global temperature as well as changes in how frequently regions experience heat,
droughts, floods, storms and other extreme weather. Climate change refers to a statistically
variation in either the mean state of the climate or in its variability persisting for an extended
period (typically decades or longer) (IPCC,2007). United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC), as cited by baede in its article 1, defines ‘climate change’ as a
change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the
composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to the natural climate variability
observed comparable time periods. Human activity that contribute to climate change include in
particular the burning of fossil fuel, agriculture and land use changes like deforestation. These
cause emission of carbon dioxide (co2), the main gas responsible for climate change (UNFCC,
I992)
According to boto@ctaint climate change at a glance includes:
Increased warming: Eleven of last twelve years rank among the warmest years in global
surface temperature since 1850. The rate of warming average over the last 50 years is nearly
twice that for the last 100 years. The average global temperature went up about 0.74oC during
the 20th
century with the warming affecting land more than ocean areas.
There is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is the dominant contributor
to current climate change and its atmospheric concentration has increased from a pre-industrial
value of 278 parts – per million (ppm) to 379 in 2005.
9
More water, but not everywhere. More precipitation has been observed in the eastern parts of
North and South America, Northern Europe and Central Asia in recent decades. But Sahel, the
Mediterranean Southern Africa and parts of Southern Asia have experienced drying. More
intense and longer droughts have been observed over wider areas since 1970’s.
sea level is rising: The Intergovernmental Panel on climate change is highly confident that the
rate of observed sea level rise increased from the 19th
to 20th
century and the total century rise is
estimated to be 0.17 metres. The average temperature of the global ocean has increased to depths
of at least 3000 metres.
Less snow cover: Snow cover is decreasing in most regions, particularly in spring. The
maximum extent of frozen ground in the winter/spring season has decreased by 7% in average
rivers that freeze do some 5.8 days later than a century ago and their ice breaks up to 6.5 days
earlier. (American Meteorological society (AMS),2008).
2.2 Concept of knowledge and knowledge of climate change
Knowledge is defined as the state of knowing about a particular fact or situation, in other
words it means the information, understanding and skills that one gains through education or
experience (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 7th
ed.). In this context the ” particular fact”
here is climate change, climate change is a global phenomenon that is threatening the world
today, many people are already aware of this through either information, observation or
experience acquired over time. A research carried out by the British Council Nigeria in
collaboration with BBC world service on climate change and perception of Nigerians on the
issue revealed the following:
10
1. Awareness of climate change as defined by the environmental community is low,
2. Climate change terminology currently fails Nigerians,
3. Most Nigerians associate climate change with weather and the resulting impacts of the
weather on their environment,
4. Associations with weather create a framework dominated by God, which evoked a sense
of powerless,
5. Most Nigerians do not connect local issues such as desertification, coastal flooding,
gulley erosion and urbanization to climate change, with the exception of Jigawa State,
6. There is little evidence of Nigerians taking substantive steps to adapt to the effect of
climate change,
7. Most Nigerians are not empowered to address environmental issues and responsibility
for dealing with these problem is often attributed to the government and Nigerians want
practical, local information that is grounded in local examples of how to deal with the
environmental challenges they face (Onyedika and Okoronkwo, 2009). BBC research has
revealed that many Nigerians think that climate change is caused by God, the reason cited
for this view was that divine punishment was being meted out for the basket of sins of the
world (Imisim, 2009). According to Apata (2008) “farmers in Osun state perceive climate
change as having a strong spiritual, emotional and physical dimension, as sign of divine
anger on many sinners and God is trying to punish us, also curse from their ancestors
who are unhappy due to lack of appeasement.”
A research carried out by Ibidun and Gbadegesin (2009) on “Analysis of the public
perception of climate change issues in an indigenous African City of Ibadan” indicated that a
significant proportion (92%) of the public is aware of the dynamics of the local climate. In
11
addition, Almost 70% of the respondents have heard of global climate change but less than 25%
know the causes.
2.3 Causes of Climate Change
The change in the composition of the atmosphere is caused directly and indirectly by various
human activities in addition to natural climate variability over time (kppant@yahoo.com). The
causes of climate change that is the things that bring about climate change, according to
www.edugreenterites/explore/climate/Dg-072920 are as follows:
1. Those that are due to natural causes and
2. Those that are created by man
Those that are due to natural causes are as follows:
Volcanoes: When a volcano erupts out large volumes of sulphurdioxide (SO2), water
vapour, dust and ash into the atmosphere. Although the volcanic activity may last only a few
days, yet the large volumes of gases and ash can influence climate patterns for years. Millions of
tones of sulphurdioxide gas can reach the upper levels of the atmosphere (called the stratosphere)
from a major eruption (Pidwirny, 2006). The gases and dust particles partially block the
incoming rays of the sun, leading to cooling. Sulphurdioxide combines with water to form tiny
droplets of sulphuric acid. These droplets are so small that many of them can stay a lot of years.
They are efficient reflectors of sunlight, and screen the ground from some of the energy that it
would ordinarily receive from the sun. Mount Pinatubo in the Philippine Island erupted in April
1991 emitting thousands of tones of gases into the atmosphere, also Mount St. Helens erupted on
May 18, 1980 (cited by Pidwirny, 2006). Volcanic eruptions of this magnitude can reduce the
amount of solar radiation reaching the Earth’s Surface, lowering temperatures in the lower levels
of the atmosphere (called the troposphere), and changing atmosphere circulation patterns.
12
The earth’s tilt: The Earth makes one full orbit around the sun each year. It is tilted at an
angle of 23.50C to the perpendicular plane of its orbital path. For one half of the year when it is
summer, the northern hemisphere tilts towards the sun. in the other half when it is winter, the
earth is tilted away from the sun. If there was no tilt we would not have experienced seasons.
Changes in the tilt of the earth can affect the severity of the seasons. More tilt means warmer
summer and colder winters, less tilt means cooler summer and milder winter. Periods of a large
tilt result in greater seasonal climatic variation in the middle and high latitudes (Pidwirny, 2006).
At these times, winter produce less snow because of lower atmospheric temperatures. As a result
less snow and ice accumulates on the ground surface.
The ocean current: The oceans are a major components of the climate system. They
cover about 71% of the Earth and absorb about twice as much of the sun’s radiation as the
atmosphere or the land surface. Ocean currents have been known to change direction or slow
down. Much of the heat that escapes from the oceans is in the form of water vapour, the most
abundant greenhouse gas on Earth. Yet, water vapor also contributes to the formation of clouds,
which shade the surface and have a net cooling effect.
Any or all of these phenomena can have an impact on the climate, as is believed to have
happened at the end of the last Ice Age, about 14,000 years ago
Those that are human causes
The industrial Revolution in the 19th
century saw the large scale use of fossil fuels for
industrial activities. These industries created jobs and over the years, people moved from rural
areas to cities. This trend is continuing even today. More and more land that was covered with
vegetation has been cleared to make way for houses. Natural resources are being used
extensively for construction, industries, transport and consumption. Also our population has
13
increased to an incredible extent. All these have contributed to a rise in greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere. Green house gases include carbon dioxide (CO2), chlorofluorocarbons (CFC),
methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), troposheric ozone (O3) and water vapour (Kregger, 2008).
According to Lockwood (2009) the gases that contribute to greenhouse effect include the
following:
Water vapour. The most abundant greenhouse gas, but importantly, it acts as a feedback
to the climate. Water vapour increases as the Earth's atmosphere warms, but so does the
possibility of clouds and precipitation, making these some of the most important feedback
mechanisms to the greenhouse effect.
Carbon dioxide (CO2). A minor but very important component of the atmosphere,
carbon dioxide is released through natural processes such as respiration and volcano eruptions
and through human activities such as deforestation, land use changes, and burning fossil fuels.
Humans have increased atmospheric CO2 concentration by a third since the Industrial Revolution
began. This is the most important long-lived "forcing" of climate change.
Methane. A hydrocarbon gas produced both through natural sources and human
activities, including the decomposition of wastes in landfills, agriculture, and especially rice
cultivation, as well as ruminant digestion and manure management associated with domestic
livestock. On a molecule-for-molecule basis, methane is a far more active greenhouse gas than
carbon dioxide, but also one which is much less abundant in the atmosphere. ). Ruminant
animals are the major emitters of methane. Enteric fermentation in digestive process of animals
produces methane (Krishna,2009).
14
Nitrous oxide. A powerful greenhouse gas produced by soil cultivation practices,
especially the use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel combustion, nitric acid
production, and biomass burning.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Synthetic compounds of entirely of industrial origin used
in a number of applications, but now largely regulated in production and release to the
atmosphere by international agreement for their ability to contribute to destruction of the ozone
layer. They are also greenhouse gases .
The presence of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is a natural component of the
climate system and helps to maintain the earth as a habitable planet (Climate Change Information
Resource CCIR, 2005). Greenhouse gases are relatively transparent to incoming solar radiation,
allowing the sun’s energy to pass through the atmosphere to the surface of the earth. The energy
is then absorbed by the earth’s surface, used in the processes like photosynthesis or emitted back
to space as infrared radiation (CCIR, 2005). Some of the emitted radiation passes through the
atmosphere and travels back to space, but some is absorbed by greenhouse gas molecules and
then re-emitted in all directions, the effect of this is to warm the earth’s surface. Water vapour
(H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) are the two largest contributors to greenhouse effect (CCIR,
2205). Carbon dioxide is undoubtedly, the most important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere.
Methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and chlorofluorocarbon (CFCs) are present only in trace
amounts, but can still have a powerful warming effect due to their treat-trapping abilities and
their long residence time in the atmosphere (National Academy of Science, NAS, 2001).
According to Anyadike (2009), human causes of climate changes are the followings:-
Combustion of Fossil Fuel: such as petrol, kerosene, diesel etc The by-products of these
15
greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, sulphur(IV)oxide. He went further to say
that the properties of these gases lead to global warming. Concentration of greenhouse gases
especially carbon dioxide have risen over the past 250years, largely due to the combustion of
fossil fuels for energy production (CCIR, 2005).
Deforestation: Plants grow through the well known process of photosynthesis, utilizing
the energy of sunlight to convert water from the soil and carbondioxide from the air into sugar,
starch, cellulose and carbohydrates that are the foundations of the entire food chain (Rosenzwig
and Hillel, 1995). When these trees are felled the CO2 will be forced to stay in the air thereby
causing climate variations (Anyadike, 2009).
2.4 Climate change and agriculture
Climate change and agriculture are interrelated processes, both of which take place on a
global scale. Global warming is projected to have significant impacts on conditions affecting
agriculture, including temperature, carbon dioxide, glacial run-off, precipitation and the
interaction of these elements These conditions determine the carrying capacity of the biosphere
to produce enough food for the human population and domesticated animals. The overall effect
of climate change on agriculture will depend on the balance of these effects. Assessment of the
effects of global climate changes on agriculture might help to properly anticipate and adapt
farming to maximize agricultural production( Wikipedia).At the same time, agriculture has been
shown to produce significant effects on climate change, primarily through the production and
release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, but also by
altering the Earth's land cover, which can change its ability to absorb or reflect heat and light,
thus contributing to radioactive forcing. Land use change such as deforestation and
16
desertification, together with use of fossil fuels, are the major anthropogenic sources of carbon
dioxide; agriculture itself is the major contributor to increasing methane and nitrous oxide
concentrations in earth's atmosphere.
The agricultural sector is a driving force in the gas emissions and land use effects
thought to cause climate change. In addition to being a significant user of land and consumer of
fossil fuel, agriculture contributes directly to greenhouse gas emissions through practices such as
rice production and the raising of livestock; according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change, the three main causes of the increase in greenhouse gases observed over the past 250
years have been fossil fuels, land use, and agriculture.
Agriculture contributes to greenhouse gas increases through land use in four main ways:
• CO2 releases linked to deforestation
• Methane releases from rice cultivation
• Methane releases from enteric fermentation in cattle
• Nitrous oxide releases from fertilizer application
Together, these agricultural processes comprise 54% of methane emissions, roughly 80% of
nitrous oxide emissions, and virtually all carbon dioxide emissions tied to land use. The planet's
major changes to land cover since 1750 have resulted from deforestation in temperate regions:
when forests and woodlands are cleared to make room for fields and pastures, the albedo of the
affected area increases, which can result in either warming or cooling effects, depending on local
conditions. Deforestation also affects regional carbon reuptake, which can result in increased
concentrations of CO2, the dominant greenhouse gas Land-clearing methods such as slash and
17
burn compound these effects by burning bio matter, which directly releases greenhouse gases
and particulate matter such as soot into the air.
Also Agricultural practices cause climate change. Such practices like “slash and burn”
practice. This practice is associated with the farming systems of forest and savannah regions is
blamed for its enormous contribution to the accumulation of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide in
the atmosphere (Cleave, Kelvin, Schreiber, Goetz, 1994)
Overgrazing: Some vegetation are subjected to the threat of over-grazing of livestock. In
arid and semi-arid regions of sahelian countries of Africa, it is considered one of the chief factors
of desertification (Ebii, 2008). In addition to the issue of overgrazing, livestock contribute to
climate change by emission of methane gas through belches and flatulence (Durning, Brough,
1992). Domesticated animals such as dairy cows, goats, pigs, buffaloes, camels, horses and
sheep produce methane during cud-chewing process (Rosenwig and Hillel, 1993).
Fertilizer Application: A large amount of nitrous oxide emission has been attributed to
fertilizer application (Rosenweig et al 1993). This in turn depends on the type of fertilizer that is
used, how and when it is used and the method used. Agriculture accounts for roughly 14% of
global GHGs (IPCC, 2007). Human contribute everyday to climate change
(edu.een.teri.res.in/explore) itemized how we all contribute everyday to climate change.
Electricity is the main source of power in urban areas. All our gadgets run on electricity
generated mainly from thermal power plants. These thermal power plants are run fossil fuels
(mostly coal), and are responsible for the emission of huge amounts of greenhouse gases and
other pollutants cars, bushes and trucks are the principal ways by which goods and people are
transported in most of our cities. These are run mainly on petrol or diesel, both fossil fuels. We
generate large quantities of waste in the form of plastics that remain in the environment for many
18
years and cause damage or burnt in incineration. We use a huge quantity of paper in our work at
schools and in offices. Have we thought about the number of trees that we use in a day? Timber
is used in large quantities for construction of house, which means that large areas of forest have
to be cut down. A growing population has meant more and more mouths to feed. Because the
land area available for agriculture is limited, high yielding varieties of crop are being grown to
increase the agricultural output from a given area of land. However, such high yielding varieties
of crops require large quantities of fertilizers, and more fertilizer means more emissions of
nitrous oxide, both from the field into which it is put and the fertilizer industry that makes it.
Pollution also results from the run-off of fertilizer into water bodies.
2.5 Effects of climate change.
Rise in sea level: Global warming is predicted to lead to thermal expansion of sea water,
along with partial melting of land-based glaciers and sea-ice, resulting in a rise of sea level
which may range from 0.1 to 0.5 meters (4 to 20 inches) by the middle of the next century,
according to present estimates of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as
cited by (Rosenzwig and Hillel, 1995). Such a rise could pose a threat to agriculture in low- lying
coastal areas, where impeded drainage of surface water and of groundwater, as well as intrusion
of sea water into estuaries and aquifers, might take place. In parts of Egypt, Bangladesh,
Indonesia, China, the Netherlands, Florida, and other low-lying coastal areas already suffering
from poor drainage, agriculture is likely to become increasingly difficult to sustain.
Rise in sea level due to melting of ice sea (Anyadike, 2009). During the 20th
century, sea
level rose about 15cm (6inches) due to melting glacier ice
19
Rainfall Amount: Increased in rainfall in the other areas (flood) and decreased in rainfall
in other areas (drought) (Anyadike, 2009). Heavier rainfall cause flooding in many regions,
warmer temperatures have led to more intense rainfall events in some areas (Gardiner, 2009).
Drought is increasing, higher temperatures cause a higher rate of evaporation and more drought
in some areas of the world (Gardiner, 2009). It is expected that the availability of water in most
parts of Africa would decrease as a result of climate change (Boto and Peccerella, 2008).
Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture: Agriculture of any kind is strongly influenced by
the availability of water (Rosenzwig and Hillel, 1995). Climate change will modify rainfall
evaporation, run off and soil moisture storage. The occurrence of moisture stress during
flowering, pollination and grain-filling is harmful to most crops, particularly to corn, soya beans
and wheat. Increased evaporation in plants cause moisture stress, as a result there will be reduced
yield (Rosenzwig and Hillel, 1995). With increasing incidences of flooding, erosion, bush
burning, pests and diseases, increased temperature, erratic rainfall,, and drought, it is less
difficult to believe that agricultural productivity under these circumstances will be very low
(Ozor, 2009). In the long run, the climatic change could affect agriculture in several ways
(http://ideas.repec.org/p/fem/femwpa/2006.6.html):
1 productivity, in terms of quantity and quality of crops
2 agricultural practices, through changes of water use (irrigation) and agricultural inputs
such as herbicides, insecticides and fertilizers
3 environmental effects, in particular in relation of frequency and intensity of soil drainage
(leading to nitrogen leaching), soil erosion, reduction of crop diversity
20
4 rural space, through the loss and gain of cultivated lands, land speculation, land
renunciation, and hydraulic amenities.
5 adaptation, organisms may become more or less competitive, as well as humans may
develop urgency to develop more competitive organisms, such as flood resistant or salt
resistant varieties of rice.
Pests and Diseases: Conditions are more favourable for the proliferation of insect pest in
warmer climates (Rosenwig and Hillel, 1995). Longer growing seasons will enable insects such
as grasshoppers to complete a greater number of reproductive cycles during summer, spring and
autumn. Warmer winter temperatures may also allow larvae to winter. Over in areas where they
are now limited by cold, thus causing greater infestation during the following season
consequently reducing crop quality, market value and yield.
Soil fertility and erosion: Higher air temperature will also be felt in the soil, where warmer
conditions are likely to increase the rates of the other soil processes that affect fertility, additional
application of fertilizer may be needed to counteract these processes and to take advantage of the
potential for enhanced crop growth that can result from increased atmospheric carbon dioxide
(Rosenzwig and Hillel, 1995). This can come at the cost of environmental risk, for additional use
of chemicals may impact water and air quality.
High temperature rise: In all regions of the world, faster temperatures rise, the greater
the risk of damage (http:/www.ipcc.ch/). According to projections by the IPCC (1996) the
average global air temperature will be 100C higher by 2040 if no additional steps are taken to
reduce emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases.
Climate change and health: Climate change may directly affect human health through
increases in average temperature. Such increases may lead to more extreme heat waves during
21
the summer while producing less extreme cold spells during the winter. Particular segments of
the population such as those with heart problems, asthma, the elderly, the very young and the
homeless can be especially vulnerable to extreme heat(IPCC, 2007).According to Ola (2010 )
Maiduguri sun keeps shinning, with the temperature rising each day to between 42 and 48 degree
Celsius as a result of this many residents now suffer urinary problems due to dehydration, he
maintains that those who drink less than 5 litres a day are prone to painful urination known in
local parlance as “fzafi rana”
Increased health risk: Climate change is increasingly altering the distribution of
malaria mosquitoes and other carriers of infectious diseases (Boto and peccerella 2008)
Exposure of millions of people to new health risk vector-base diseases such as malaria and
schistomiasis water borne diseases as cholera typhoid and dysentery and increased cases of
cataracts especial in the Northern part of Nigeria because of increased solar radiation
(Anyadike 2009) patterns of infection insect and rodent- borne diseases and mortality will be
affected by changing weather, not only in development countries which already have
populations with poor health, but also in developed countries. For example, heat waves were
estimated to have killed up to 70,000 people in Europe in 2003 (European commission
Environment DG, 2009) Population and migration: Migration is likely to occur on a large scale
as people flee from inhospitable conditions.
Water and sanitation: clean water, suitable sanitation and drainage will be threatened.
Increased droughts will cause water shortages and floods will increase the occurrence of water –
borne diseases, such as diarrhea (European commission, Environment DG, 2009) Climate
change may also contribute to social disruption, economic decline, and displacement of
22
populations in certain regions), due to effects on agricultural production, already-scarce water
resources, and extreme weather events ( Schwartz and Randall, 2003 )
Migration: climate change results in migration of individuals to non affected areas.
There would be huge displacement of people from coastal and densely populated low-lying
areas like the Mekong and Yangtze Deltas (Anyadike, 2009). The number of environmental
migrants will substantially increase in future due to the impacts of climate change (German
Advisory Council on Global Change WBGU, 2007) in (Ozor, 2009). In developing countries
like Nigeria, the increase in drought, soil degradation and growing water scarcity in
combination with high population growth, unstable institutions, poverty or a high level of
dependency on agriculture means that there is particularly significant risk of environmental
migration occurring and increasing in scale
Loss of life and properties: Intense heat and flooding cause loss of lives and properties.
According to Ola (2010) intense heat in Maiduguri has led to loss of birds especially poultry
and equally cause dehydration among the residents of Maiduguri.
2.6 Mitigation/Adaptation strategies of climate change
Climate change mitigation are measures or actions to decrease the intensity of radiative
forcing in order to reduce global warming (Wikipedia). Mitigation as being defined by the
Oxford Advanced learner’s Dictionary (2006) as a reduction in how unpleasant, serious
etc something is. Therefore mitigation strategies are the strategies taken to reduce the
effect of climate change.
23
1. Arresting today’s high level of deforestation and planting new forest could considerably
reduce emissions at low cost (Boto and Peccerella, 2008) The Stern Review on the
Economics of Climate Change commissioned by the UK Treasury and published in 2007
[27] highlights the fact that 18 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions (2000
estimate) comes from deforestation, and that putting a stop to deforestation is by far the
most cost-effective way to mitigate climate change,.
2. A major adaptive response will be the breeding of heat and drought- resistant crop varieties
by utilizing genetic resources that may better adapted to new climatic and atmospheric
conditions. A wide variety of adaptive actions may be taken to lessen or overcome adverse
effects of climate change on agriculture.
3. At the level of farms, adjustment may include the introduction of later – maturing crop
varieties, sowing earlier, conserving of soil moisture through appropriate tillage methods
and improving irrigation efficiency (Rosenzweig and Hillel, 1995).
Other options include improved management of crop and grazing lands (example improved
agronomic practices, nutrient use tillage and residue management); restoration of organic soil
that are drained for crop production and restoration of degraded lands land use change (e.g.
converting crop land to grassland) and agro-forestry; and livestock and manure management
(Boto and Peccerella, 2008).
According to Anyadike (2009), he identified the following measures to mitigate effects of
climate change:
1 massive electrification of the entire country to reduce the use of generating sets.
2 Re-build and re-introducing rail transport in order to reduce massive use of long distance travel
using lorries, trucks, buses et cetera.
24
3 Putting an immediate end to the present illegal practices of gas flaring in our oil fields in Niger
Delta. This can be achieved by gas re-injection and provision of very strict penalties to erring oil
exploring firms, establishment of nation-wide programme for re-aforestation. The harshest
effects of climate change will be felt most by the poor. Inadequate health care systems in
vulnerable and under-resourced countries must be strengthened and a greater efforts must be
made to address poverty. Many technological innovations need to be encouraged to address the
impact of climate change on health. More funding is needed for climate science and related
technological solution. Such as for food security, safe water supply and better buildings
(European Commission Environment- 2009). In 2004, Energy Research Institution of the
National development and reform commission was able to provide one estimate of 352 million
tons of CO2 for the total emission from the transportation sector in China ( Zhu, 2006).
The important mitigation strategy is to replace fossil- fuel based transportation sector
energy sources with alternative and renewable energy source such as ethanol which will result in
significant reductions in greenhouse gas emission (Wagner and Whitworth, 2006). IPCC (2007)
report on climate change mitigation strategies, recommends greater use of renewable energies
(e.g. solar or wind power) About 70 per cent greenhouse gas emissions are energy related
(Zhang, 2007) . Reports that, there is need for regional cooperation and partnership at a global
level. He went further to say that developing countries are in need of assistance in terms of
funding, capacity building and technology transfer to confront the challenges and opportunities
of climate change mitigation.
Nuclear power currently produces over 15% of the world's electricity. Due to its low
emittance of greenhouse gases (comparable to wind power) and reliability it is seen as a
25
possible alternative to fossil fuels, but is controversial for reasons of capital cost and possible
environmental impacts.
2.7 Conceptual framework
Knowledge is defined as the state of knowing about a particular fact or situation, in other
words it means the information, understanding and skills that one gains through education or
experience (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 7th
ed.). In this context the ” particular fact”
here is climate change. Climate change is a global phenomenon that is threatening the world
today. Many people are already aware of this through either information, observation or
experience acquired over time. Ibidun and Gbadegesin (2009), in their findings of the public
perception of climate change issues in Ibadan, showed that majority (92.0%) of the public were
aware of the dynamics of the local climate. Many people believe that climate change is caused
by natural phenomenon (de Wit, 2006) as cited by Umunnakwe (2011). Climate change is really
affecting African agriculture quiet heavily (Aklilu 2007). In Africa, majority of the people are
living on rain fed agriculture so due to climate change, rainfall patterns have changed in the past
few decades and rainfall has become unpredictable. Farmers used to have their own traditional
knowledge about rainfall but now, things happen which are beyond the traditional knowledge of
farmers, so they can no longer predict rainfall patterns, this has really affected the farmers
productivity. Some farmers still see climate change as something caused by God, those that have
adequate knowledge of causes of climate change will work towards cushioning the activities that
cause it. According to Bostrom, Morgan, Fischhoff & Read, 1994) the effectiveness to which the
society respond to this possibility depends on how well its understood by the individual citizens.
Block A presents the concept of climate change which is caused by various sources
which is block B. B1 comprises of those agricultural practices that contribute to climate
26
change. These practices include overgrazing, slash and burn system, deforestation, use of
herbicides/pesticides, use of fertilizers, waste decomposition and ruminant digestive system.B2
shows that industrial waste such as CO2 from generators used to generate electricity are sources
of climate change.B3 indicates that burning of fire wood used in cooking at homes is another
source of climate change. B4 shows that the transport sector is a source of climate change. It is
through burning of fossil fuel from vehicles such as cars and other automobiles. From the
above, Blocks B1, B2, B3 and B4 show the various sources of climate change. These sources
include agricultural activities, industries, homes and transport sector. Each of the sources have
various activities that eventually lead to change in climate. The extent of knowledge of these
activities with respect to them as causes of climate change is what is presented in Block C as
knowledge of causes of climate change. Block D gives a presentation of various effects /
indicators of climate change. Farmers’ knowledge of these indicators shows their knowledge
level which is what this study sought to find out. Block F shows the likely mitigation strategies
adopted by farmers to reduce the effects of climate change. Therefore farmers knowledge level
of climate change depends on their knowledge level of the various causes of climate change
presented in block B and the level of their knowledge of effects of climate change.
27
Fig 1: A Conceptual Framework on farmers’ knowledge of climate change
Green house gases
such as CO2,
Methane, NO2, CFC
,CH4
D
Use of generators
to generate
electricity
Burning of
firewoods
• Overgrazing
• Slash & burn system
• Deforestation
• Herbicides/Pesticides
• Fertilizers
• Waste decomposition
• Ruminant digestive system
Burning of fossil
fuel from vehicles
such as cars
• Proper conservation of seeds
• Use of drainage system
• Afforestation
• Use of Organic manure
• Cover cropping
• Mixed faming practices
• Policy on deforestation
• Erosion
• Drought
• Flooding
• Lost of Soil Fertility
• High disease & Pest
infestation
• Low crop yield
• Migration
• Health risk
E A
F
C
CLIMATE CHANGE FARMERS
KNOWLEDGE
SOURCES
INDUSTRIES HOMES
AGRICULTURE
TRANSPORT
SECTOR
Knowledge
CAUSES
B1 B2 B3
B4
MITIGATION/
ADAPTATIONS
STRATEGIES
Knowledge
EFFECTS
28
CHAPTER THREE
3.0 Methodology
3.1 Study area
The study was carried out in Imo State, Nigeria. Imo State lies within latitudes 4°45'N
and 7°15'N, and longitude 6°50'E and 7°25'E ("http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imo_State"). Imo
State is bounded in the east by Abia State, in the west by Delta state, in the north by Anambra
State and in the south by Rivers State. Imo State covers about 5,430 squuare kilometers
(Onuekwusi, 2007) and has a population of 3,927,563 (National Population Commission, 2006).
Administratively, Imo State comprises of three senatorial zones namely: Okigwe zone, Orlu zone
and Owerri zone.
The rainy season begins in April and lasts till October with annual rainfall varying from
1,500mm to 2,200mm (60 to 80 inches) and average annual temperature above 20 °C (68.0 °F)
creates an annual relative humidity of 75%, with humidity reaching 90% in the rainy season
("http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imo_State"). The dry season experiences two months of harmattan
from late December to late February . The hottest months are between January and March. Imo
state has many rivers but the main rivers are Imo river, Otamiri and Njaba and lakes such as
Abadaba and Ugwuta Lake. Due to the presence of these rivers and lakes communities around
the riverine areas engage in dry season farming most especially vegetable production. Women
participate more in agriculture in the State than men. Men are basically concerned with yam
production while women engage in the production of various crops like cocoyam, okra, garden
egg, pepper, cassava, groundnut, maize, fluted pumpkin ,oil palm, citrus and also small livestock
production. The State is rich in natural resources including crude oil and natural gas.
Picture 1:An eroded site in Avutu of Imo state An eroded site in Avutu of Imo state
29
30
Source: www.Africatalksclimate.com/gallaries/imo-state-nigeria
31
3.2 Population and sampling procedure
The population for the study comprised farmers in Imo state. Multi-stage sampling
technique was used for the selection of sample. The first stage involved the purposive selection
of Okigwe senatorial zone out of the three senatorial zones (Orlu, Owerri and Okigwe) in the
State because of the proneness to ecological instability arising from the rugged terrain and
sandy soil. Okigwe zone is made up of six Local Government Areas (LGAs) namely: Isiala
Mbano, Ihitte Uboma, Obowo, Okigwe South, Ehime Mbano and Okigwe North.
The second stage involved random selection of four LGAs out of the six LGAs in the senatorial
zone. From each of the four LGAs two autonomous communities were randomly selected in the
third stage.
The fourth stage involved the selection of two villages from each of the 2 autonomous
communities using simple random sampling giving a total of 16 villages. A total of 15 farmers
were selected from each of the villages giving a sample size of 240 farmers.
Table 1: Population and sampling proportion for the study
4Selected
LGAs
Number of autonomous
communities
Total number of villages Respondents
Population Sample Population Sample Population Sample
Obowo 14 2 25 4 142,340 60
Ihitte 15 2 30 4 119,419 60
Isiala Mbano 14 2 29 4 197,921 60
Ehime Mbano 15 2 31 4 170,824 60
Total 58 8 115 16 630,504 240
NPC 2006
32
Map 1: Map of Nigeria showing Imo state
N
Source:www.enwikipedia.org/file:Nigeria_Imo_state_map.png
Key
Orlu senatorial zone
Okigwe senatorial zone
Owerri senatorial zone
Map 2: Map of Imo state in Nigeria (Study area)
Source:www.imgre?q=map+of+imo+state+Nigeria&hl=en&sa=x&
Map 2: Map of Imo state in Nigeria (Study area)
Source:www.imgre?q=map+of+imo+state+Nigeria&hl=en&sa=x&
33
N
Sampled
LGAs
34
3.3 Instrument for data collection
Data for the study were obtained from primary sources. This was achieved through the
use of structured interview schedule and questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed to
literate farmers while illiterate farmers were interviewed using the same instrument by the
researcher. The instrument for data collection was divided into six sections. Each section
contained relevant questions on each of the five objectives of the study for the purpose of
eliciting reliable information from the respondents. Two hundred and twenty questionnaire were
duly completed and returned.
3.4 Measurement of variables
Section A: The Socio-economic and personal characteristics of the respondents were
measured as follows: sex: sex was measured as female 1, male 2;
Marital status: The respondents were asked to indicate their marital status and nominal value
assigned to each of the categories were single 1, married 2;
Ages of farmers: The actual ages of the respondents in years were taken and later
grouped as follows: 20-29years, 30-39years, 40-49years,50-59years, 60-69years and 70years and
above; Educational level: Respondent were asked to indicate their educational level. The
categories of the educational level were scored as follows: no formal education 1, primary school
attempted 2, primary school completed 3, secondary school attempted 4, secondary school
completed 5,OND/NCE 6, HND/First degree 7, higher degrees (M.Sc.,Ph.D) 8.
.Number of years of farming experience: The respondents were asked to give the actual
number of years they had spent in farming. It was measured using the actual number of farming
35
experience in years and later grouped as follows:1-10years, 11-20years, 21-30years, 31-40years,
41-50years and51 years and above .
Household size: The respondents were asked to supply the actual number of persons that
constituted their respective households and it was later grouped as follows:1-3persons, 4-
6persons,7-9 persons and 10-12persons .
Number of organizational membership: This was measured by the actual number of
organizations which a farmer belonged to.
Type of farming: Farmers were asked to tick from the options the type of farming
practiced. The response categories were crop farming 1, livestock farming 2 and both 3.
Section B, determined farmers’ awareness of climate change. Respondents were asked to
indicate if they were aware of climate change by ticking against responses of “Yes” or “No”.
The respondents were asked to supply the source of awareness and were equally asked the local
name of climate change, if any.
In Section C, relevant questions were asked to ascertain farmers level of knowledge on
the causes of climate change. To ascertain the knowledge level of respondents, 15 questions on
the perceived causes of climate change were asked. The respondents were asked to tick either”
yes” or “No”, Out of the 15 questions on the causes of climate change, respondents were asked
to respond to each of the questions to ascertain their knowledge level on the causes of climate
change. Two marks were assigned to each question making a total of 30. Also, 2 each was
assigned for each correct answer while zero was assigned to a wrong answer; each of the
respondents was marked and scored over 30. Later the respondents were categorized into 4
groups based on their knowledge level, namely;
No knowledge ( for those respondents with 0 score),
36
low knowledge ( for those respondents with 1-10 scores),
moderate knowledge ( for those respondents with 11-20 score) and
high knowledge (for those respondents with 21-30 score ) .
Section D sought to ascertain farmers knowledge level of effects of climate change . To
ascertain the knowledge level of the respondents, 21 questions ranging from: Does climate
change lead to erosion problems; do you think climate change can cause flooding among other
questions were asked. A maximum of 2 points each was awarded to each question. The highest
score was 42 points and the lowest was 0. The respondents were then categorized into four
groups based on their knowledge level namely:
No knowledge ( for those respondents with 0 score),
low knowledge ( for those respondents with 1-14 scores),
moderate knowledge ( for those respondents with 15-28 score) and
high knowledge (for those respondents with 29-42 score )
Section E sought to identify the mitigation strategies used by the farmers to cushion the
effects of climate change. Respondents were asked to indicate from the list of variables
perceived as mitigation strategies of climate change that they had used to cushion the effect of
climate change.
In Section F, respondents were asked to tick either ‘yes’ or ‘No’ from the list of
indicators of climate change as perceived in their own community that is, the indicators of
climate change prevailing in their own community
37
To test the hypothesis which states that the characteristics of the farmers do not
significantly influence the knowledge of causes of climate change, a multiple regression analysis
was used.
The regression model was specified in the explicit form as follows; Y = b + b1x1 + b2x2 + b3x3 +
b4x4 + b5x5 + b6x6 +b7x7 +e
Where y = knowledge of causes of climate change,
b = constant
b1-b7 = coefficient of all farmers socio-economics characteristics
x1 = sex (female 1, male 2)
x2 = age (years)
x3 = marital status( single 1, married 2)
x4 = level of education (No formal education 1,formal education 2)
x5 = type of farming (crop farming 1, livestock farming 2 and mixed farming 3)
x6 =years of farming experience(years)
x7 =No of organizational membership (actual number)
e = error term
3.4 Data analysis
Percentage and mean statistics were used to describe the socio-economic characteristics
of the respondents. Objectives 1, 2 ,3 ,4 and 5 were analyzed using frequencies, percentage and
chart while the hypothesis was tested using a multiple regression analysis.
The statistical package for the social science (SPSS) and Microsoft Excel constituted the
soft package used for the analysis.
38
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
4.1 Socio-economic characteristics of the Respondents
Sex
Data in Table 2 show that majority (60.0%) of the respondents were female, while the remaining
40.0% were male. This implies that more women were involved in farming activities than men. .
This study is in support of Mafimisebi and Fasina (2009) who In their findings, observed that
most farmers in Africa are women and they produce more than three –quarters of the region’s
basic foodstuff. Also, this supports the findings of Economic Commission for Africa (1996)
which observed that women produce up to four fifth of essential foodstuffs which they process
and sell in large quantities.
Age
Entries in Table 2 reveal that about 24% of the respondents were within the age range of 60-69
years, while 20.9% were within the age range of 40-49 years. Those who were between the
ages of 30 and 39 years accounted for15.0%; while those that were between the ages of 20 and
29 years of age accounted for 10.0%. The remaining 9.6% fell within the ages of 70 years and
above. The mean age of the respondents was 50.63 years. This indicates that elderly persons
constituted the farmers population in the study area. This could be attributed to migration of
youths to urban centres in search of white collar jobs. This result confirms the findings of Imoh
(2002) that younger women migrate to the cities for greener pastures.
39
Marital status
Entries on Table 2 further show that majority (85.9%) of the respondents were married,
while the remaining 14.1% were single. This suggests that married persons predominated in
farming activities in the study area.
Educational qualification
About 18.0% of the respondents had no formal education and 32.3% of the farmers
completed tertiary (OND/NCE, HND and first degree) education. About 24% and 8.2% of the
respondents completed their secondary and primary education respectively while the remaining
18.2 % of the respondents did not complete their primary and secondary education. This implies
that greater proportion(82.3%) of the respondents have had a form of formal education at
different levels. This will further imply that the farmers will likely be able to access information
that could increase make their knowledge of climate change.
Household size
Table 2 shows that about 38% of the respondents had a household size of 7-9 persons
while 32.2% of them respondents had a household size of 4-6 persons. Also ,about 17 % of the
farmers had a household size of 10-12 persons while the remaining 12.3% had a household size
of 1-3 persons. The average household size in the study area was 7 persons. This indicates that
the farmers had fairly large household which could probably supply farm labour even cheaper
than hired labour. Mafimisebi and Fasina (2009) in their findings observed that children are
desired to increase family labour need for agricultural purposes. Also, this household size could
serve as a means of disseminating information.
40
Type of farming
Table 2 also reveals that majority (57.7%) of the respondents were involved in crop
farming, while 12.3% were involved in livestock farming only. The remaining 30% were
involved in both crop farming and livestock keeping. This implies that farmers in the study area
are more involved in crop farming than in livestock farming. This could be as a result of the
higher cost implication of livestock farming than crop farming. This is in agreement with the
findings of Umunakwe (2011) who observed that most farmers turn away from livestock
production due to the high capital requirements and the higher risk involvements. This finding
could further imply that these farmers will likely be more knowledgeable in the areas of climate
change that borders on crop production than most other areas.
Major crop grown
Entries in Table 2 show that the major crop grown in the study area was cassava (32.9 %)
and other crops grown included fluted pumpkin ( 22.2%), maize (19.1%), yam (16.0%) Okro
(1.3%), ground nut (0.4%) and coco yam (4,9%). This means that the most popular crop grown
in Imo state is cassava. This could be as a result of the fact that the crop (Cassava) is known to be
able to survive adverse weather and even poor soil conditions. This result is in consonance with
the findings of Nweke, Spencer and Usman (2002) who opined that the most widely cultivated
crop in the southern part of Nigeria in terms of area devoted to it and the number of farmers
growing it is cassava. This was further confirmed by Ozor, Madukwe, Onokala, Enete, Garforth,
(2010) that cassava is the major crop grown in southern Nigeria. The particularity of cassava
production in Imo State was also observed by Umunakwe (2011). This implies that the most
likely knowledge of farmers on climate change will be in respect to cassava production and as
41
such the best acceptable adaptation strategy for coping with climate change will be those that are
related to cassava production.
Years of farming experience
From Table 2, 30.8% of the respondents had 11-20 years of farming experience. The
remaining 29%,10.9%,18.6 9.1 and 0.9% of the respondents had been into farming for 1-10
years, 21-30 years, 31-40 years, 41-50 years and 51-60 years respectively. The mean years of
farming experience was 21.6 years. This result reveal that most of the farmers had engaged in
farming for a long time. Farming in rural areas is a livelihood activity and this will explain why
the respondents have been long in it and are continuing ,as a result they would have noticed the
changes in their climate.
Organizational membership
Majority (81.8%) of the respondents belonged to 1-2 organization while 15.9% belonged
to 3-4 organizations (Table 2). Also entries in Table 2 show that 2.3% of the respondents
belonged to 5-6. The mean number of organizational membership was 2.These organizations
could serve as a medium for the farmers to share their experiences or create awareness on
climate change issues . This corroborates Ekong’s (2003) assertion that rural inhabitants belong
to groups which would help them to satisfy their innate need for belonging and affiliation and
also in solving their problems through collective efforts. Some of these problems could include
the climate change challenge facing the farmers today.
42
Table 2: Distribution of Farmers’ by personal/ socio-economic characteristics (N=220)
Personal/Socio-economic characteristics Frequency Percentages (%) Mean (M)
Sex
Male
Female
Age (years)
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
70 -79
Marital status
Single
Married
Educational level
No formal education
Primary school attempted
Primary school completed
Secondary school attempted
Secondary school completed
OND/NCE
HND/First degree
Household size (Persons)
1-3
4-6
7-9
10-12
Type of farming
Crop
Live stock
mixed
major crop grown
Pepper
Ground nut
Okro
Cocoyam
Maize
Yam
Flueted pumpkin
Cassava
Years of framing Experience (Years)
1-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51 years and above
Number of organization membership (persons)
1-2
3-4
5-6
88
132
22
33
46
46
52
21
31
189
39
12
18
28
52
37
34
27
71
84
38
127
27
66
2
1
3
11
43
36
50
74
65
68
24
41
20
2
180
30
10
40.0
60.0
10.0
15.0
20.9
20.9
23.6
9.6
14.1
85.9
17.7
5.5
8.2
12.7
23.6
16.8
15.5
12.3
32.2
38.2
17.3
57.7
12.3
30.0
0.9
0.4
1.3
4.9
19.1
16.3
22.7
336
29.5
30.9
10.9
18.6
9.1
0.9
81.8
13.6
4.6
50.63
7
21.6
2
Source: Field survey, December 2010.
43
4.2 Farmers’ awareness of climate change
The result in Figure 2 shows that 75.0% (166) of the farmers were aware of climate
change. The high percentage of awareness of climate change could be as a result of the long
years spent in farming and as such they could have observed the changes in their various farms.
This implies that most of the farmers in the study area could have at one point or the other
heard of the concept of climate change. It could also be as a result of observed changes in the
weather condition over the years. This finding agrees with Ibidun and Gbadegesin (2009). In
their findings of the public perception of climate change issues in Ibadan they showed that
majority (92.0%) of the public were aware of the dynamics of the local climate. This was
further buttressed by the assertion of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference
(SACB), (2010) that most Africans are aware that weather and climate patterns are changing
but their understanding of global climate change is limited. Also, the findings of Ozor,
Madukwe, Onokala, Enete et al. (2010) further confirm the situation in southern Nigeria to be
in agreement with the fact that most farmers in Southern Nigeria are aware of climate change
issues. And more particularly in Imo state, Umunakwe (2011) also found that majority of the
rural dwellers in Imo state were aware of climate change.
Figure 2: Farmers’ Awareness of climate change
4.3 Respondents’ sources of awareness and local name given to climate change
It is evident that from Table
through self observation and experiences over the years while 24.2%, 29.1% and 4.2
aware through interaction with enlightened farmers, radio and television respectively. This
result implies that farmers in Imo S
observation and experiences over the years. T
respondents see farming as a means of livelihood
This also means that most of what these farmers may know about climate may also be the
Not Aware
25%
: Farmers’ Awareness of climate change
of awareness and local name given to climate change
Table 42.4% of the respondents became aware of climate change
through self observation and experiences over the years while 24.2%, 29.1% and 4.2
aware through interaction with enlightened farmers, radio and television respectively. This
plies that farmers in Imo State got awareness on climate change most
and experiences over the years. This could be as a result of
respondents see farming as a means of livelihood and have been involved in it for a long time
This also means that most of what these farmers may know about climate may also be the
Aware
75%
44
of awareness and local name given to climate change
aware of climate change
through self observation and experiences over the years while 24.2%, 29.1% and 4.2% became
aware through interaction with enlightened farmers, radio and television respectively. This
mostly through self
of the fact that
and have been involved in it for a long time.
This also means that most of what these farmers may know about climate may also be the
45
much they could observe and make meaning out of. The findings of this study agrees with a
study carried out in Imo State, Nigeria on adaptation strategies for sustainable climate risk
management by Umunakwe (2011) that farmers(62.3%) in Imo State were aware of climate
change through personal experience and observations while 9.4%, 6.6%, 1.9% and 0.9%
became aware of climate change through radio, fellow farmers, extension agents, agribusiness
operators and newspapers respectively. This also opined the assertion of Ekong (2003) that
local people take cognizant of changes in their immediate environment .
Table 3:Distribution of farmers sources of awareness of climate change (N=166)
Source of awareness Frequency Percent(%)
Self observation and experience
over the years 70 42.4
Interaction with enlightened
farmer 40 24.2
Radio 48 29.1s
Television 7 4.2
Source: Field survey,December, 2010
4.4 Local name given to climate change
Data in Figure 3 reveal that different names were given to climate change in the local
language. The names include; mgbanwe eluigwe (12.7%), ntughari ubochi (12.7%), and
mgbanwo ubochi (13.3%).Also, 5.5% called it mgbanwo urukpu. This result shows that there
is no definite name for climate change and that people had different names for it. Mgbanwe
eluigwe meaning “changes at the heavenly body”. This could imply that the farmers who call
climate change mgbanwe eluigwe have observed that there has been changes in the way the
heavenly bodies such as moon, sun and clouds function. These bodies are responsible for the
various weather. Utughari ubochi which means “changes of the day” this means that there are
changes in the days, which were not the ca
observations of the days are with respe
way attributed to climatic changes.
could imply the various changes in day length, raining seasons, dry
and harmattarn.. Mgbanwo urukpu
the best understanding of the concept of climate change. Even though the latter gives the best
description of the concept, only about 6.0% of the respondents see it that way.
The findings here show that 44.2% of the
change and can even express it in Igbo language.
Mgbanwe
eluigwe
Ntughari ubochi
12.7% 12.7%
Figure 3: Percentage distribution of farmers bythe names given to climate
change.
which were not the case many years ago and as such for farmers the best
observations of the days are with respect to their farming activities. This to them is in every
way attributed to climatic changes. Mgbanwo ubochi meaning “changes of
could imply the various changes in day length, raining seasons, dry seasons, onsets of rains
Mgbanwo urukpu which means changes of the clouds or of the climate
the best understanding of the concept of climate change. Even though the latter gives the best
description of the concept, only about 6.0% of the respondents see it that way.
that 44.2% of the respondents have an idea of the concept of climate
change and can even express it in Igbo language.
Ntughari ubochi Mgbanwo
ubochi
Mgbanwo
urukpu
No idea
12.7% 13.3%
5.5%
55.8%
Figure 3: Percentage distribution of farmers bythe names given to climate
46
e many years ago and as such for farmers the best
his to them is in every
meaning “changes of the days” this
seasons, onsets of rains
the clouds or of the climate, gives
the best understanding of the concept of climate change. Even though the latter gives the best
respondents have an idea of the concept of climate
No idea
55.8%
Figure 3: Percentage distribution of farmers bythe names given to climate
47
Farmers knowledge of causes of climate change
Results in Table 4 show that use of generator to generate power (52.4%), burning of
fossils by industries (50.6%), gas flaring from oil companies (45.7%), burning of bush
(43.4%), burning of fossils from vehicular machines (40.4%) were the most popular opinion
on the respondents’ knowledge on the causes of climate change while deforestation (30.7 %),
burning of firewood for cooking (30.7%). Gases such as CO2 released from industries
(27.1%), swamp rice production (25.9%), overgrazing by livestock (21.6%), use of pesticides
and herbicides (15.6%) and use of excess fertilizers in farmland (13.2%), were those causes of
climate change that the respondents had a percentage range of 10% to about 23% . The result
implies that most of the respondents do not have a good knowledge of the causes of climate
change, even though they were aware of the concept of climate change they had very little
knowledge of the causes. This further confirms the fact that these farmers became aware of the
climate change just by observations which was more of personal and as such they could not
have really traced any particular factor to be the cause of the changes observed by them.
These findings agree with Lohmann (2006) that climate change is closely associated
with the burning of oil, coal or gas. This was further confirmed by Egbule (2010), who
observed that natural gas is still flared in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria and farmers there
perceived it as a major cause of climate change.
The poor knowledge of climate change corroborates the findings of Akilu (2002) that
information on climate change is still confined to the academia and research institutes, while
Kelbessa (2003) as cited by Umunnakwe (2011), observed that the majority of the African
local people associate climate change to such issues as the violation of local customs, the
wrath of the gods, sinful generation and natural phenomenon. There is therefore a need for
48
sensitization of the farmers by the various extension agents as to help them guard against
practices that could cause climate change.
49
Table 4: Distribution of Farmers according to their knowledge of causes of climate
change(N=166)
Causes Yes Percentage
(%)
burning of fossil by industries 84 50.6*
Burning of firewood for cooking 51 30.7
Use of generator to generate electricity 87 52.4*
Burning of bush 72 43.3
Deforestation 51 30.7
Burning of fossil fuel from vehicle, machines. 67 40.3
Overgrazing of farm land by livestock 36 21.6
Use of excess fertilizer in farmland. 22 13.2
Use of pesticides and herbicides 26 15.5
Decomposition of organic waste 21 12.6
Gas flaring from oil companies 76 45.7
Gases such as CO2 released from industries 45 27.1
Swamp rice production 43 25.9
Source: Field survey, December 2010. Multiple response
Knowledge level of the farmers on the causes of climate change
Result on Figure 4 shows that about 55.0% of the respondents had no knowledge on the
causes of climate change, 16.7%, 16.8% had low knowledge and moderate knowledge of the
causes of climate change, respectively while the remaining 10% had high knowledge of causes
50
of climate change. It was observed that farmers perceived climate change as a natural
phenomenon that is being caused by God. This agrees with BBC research which revealed that
many Nigerians think that climate change is caused by God. The reason cited for this view was
that divine punishment was being meted out for the basket of sins of the world (Imisim, 2009).
Also, Ibidun and Gbadegesin (2009) confirm that 70% of the respondents have heard of global
climate change but less than 25% know the causes. Umunakwe (2011) in his finding observed
that respondents perceived climate change to be as a result of the violation of local customs. This
is a common belief system in the rural areas where people attribute any disaster in the
environment to the anger of the gods. They hold the view that certain evil deeds make the people
incur the wrath of the gods which sometimes can persist for generations. According to them such
wraths can alter the usual pattern of climate which can impact adversely on agriculture which
constitute means of livelihood for most rural people. For instance, some communities in Imo
State normally appease the gods each time one commits incest. The finding of this study also
agrees with the findings of Kelbessa (2003) that the majority of African local people associate
climate change to such issues as the violation of local customs, wrath of the gods, the end of a
sinful generation and natural phenomenon. The implication of this is that despite the fact that
farmers are aware of climate change they still lack knowledge on the causes
51
Fig 4: Knowledge level of the farmers on the causes of Climate change
Farmers’ level of knowledge of the effects of climate change
Data presented in Figure 5, revealed that 41.8% of the respondents had high knowledge
of the effects of climate change while 25% ,24.10% and 9.10% had moderate knowledge, no
knowledge and low knowledge, respectively of the effect of climate change. This could be as a
result of farmers’ personal observations and experiences over the years. These observations
could have been basically as the affect their agricultural/ farm practices which they have been
engaged in for many years. The reason for this could be attributed to the fact that the
respondents see farming as a means of livelihood over the years and in the course of that would
54.6%
16.7% 16.8%
10.0%
No Knowledge Low knowledge Moderate Knowledge High Knowledge
52
have been observing the effects in their various farm activities. This also agrees with Egbule’s
(2010) findings that 94.8% of farmers have knowledge of the effects of climate change and
this knowledge is more from personal observation and experience over the years. This could
also be the reason for the changes in the farming and cropping systems being practiced by the
farmers, many of whom now practice mixed farming as well as mixed cropping as to allow
room for diversification and a security against any failure in yields.
This finding also shows that farmers might be faced with the challenges of coping with
the effects of these changes. This is in agreement with Apata (2008) who asserted that fall in
temperature, change of timing of rains, among others are also significant factors that influence
adaptation negatively and thus diversification from farming to non-farm is the most common
practice and knowledge about the impact of climate change on agriculture is still a mirage. This
was also further buttressed by the International Food Policy and Research Institute (IFRI) (2008)
by stating that Africa is particularly vulnerable to climate change because of its limited ability to
adapt owing to its dependence on rain-fed agriculture.
Figure 5:Respondents distribution base
Knowledge of effects of climate change
Results in Table 5, indicate
following as effect of climate change : flooding (
(84.9%), excess soil moisture (
diseases (68.7%), high rain fall (
migration of the vulnerable (92.1
Anyadike’s , (2009) opinion that i
rainfall in other areas (drought)
cause flooding in many regions, warmer temperatures have led to more intense rainfall events in
No knowledge
24.1%
:Respondents distribution based on the knowledge level of effect of climate change
of effects of climate change
, indicate that majority of the respondents (more than 50%) saw the
of climate change : flooding (76.5%), increased erosion (8
%), excess soil moisture (66.2%), decrease in crop yield (77.1%), increase in pest and
%), high rain fall (71.1%), heavy wind (86.7%), increase in health risk (
92.1%) and over population (67.4%). This result agrees with
opinion that increase in rainfall in the other areas (flood) and decrease
as well as Gardiner, (2009), who asserts that
cause flooding in many regions, warmer temperatures have led to more intense rainfall events in
Low knowledge Medium knowledge High knowledge
9.1%
25.0%
41.8%
53
nowledge level of effect of climate change
respondents (more than 50%) saw the
(84.9%), drought
%), increase in pest and
%), increase in health risk (86.7%),
result agrees with
ther areas (flood) and decrease in
that heavier rainfall
cause flooding in many regions, warmer temperatures have led to more intense rainfall events in
High knowledge
41.8%
54
some areas. He further said that drought is increasing, higher temperatures cause a higher rate of
evaporation and more drought in some areas of the world (Gardiner, 2009). It is expected that the
availability of water in most parts of Africa would decrease as a result of climate change (Boto
and Peccerella, 2008). The result also agrees with German Advisory Council on Global Change
(WBGU), (2007) in (Ozor, 2009) who opined that the number of environmental migrants will
substantially increase in future due to the impact of climate change. Boto and Peccerella (2008),
stated that climate change is increasingly altering the distribution of malaria mosquitoes and
other carriers of infectious diseases. This opinion agrees with the response on Table 5. The
result implies that these effects as perceived by the respondents agree with literature on the
various effects of climate.
55
Table 5: Respondents’ distribution on the knowledge of effects of climate change(N=166)
Effects Yes Percentage (%)
Flooding 127 76.5*
Deaths of aquatic organisms like fish in recent times 78 46.9
Increase in erosion 141 84.9*
The incidence of drought 110 66.2*
Excess soil moisture. 120 72.28*
Decrease in yield of crops 128 77.1*
High humidity. 65 39.1
Decreasedin soil moisture 103 62.7*
Low fertility of the soil 102 61.4*
Increase in pests and disease infestation 114 68.7*
The high incidence of weed 49 29.5
Drying of rivers, lakes and soil water 104 62.7*
Low productivity of animals 83 41.5
Low rainfall intensity 96 57.8*
High rainfall 118 71.8*
Destruction of field crops by heavy wind 144 86.7*
Increased in health risk. 144 86.7*
Migration of the Vulnerable 153 92.1*
Over population of non affected areas
Loss of life and property
112
40
67.4*
24.1
Source: Field survey, December 2010. * Multiple response
56
Mitigation/Adaptation strategies used by farmers to cushion the effect of Climate change
Results from Table 6 show that 91.6% of the farmers used electrification of houses to
reduce the use of generating set as a mitigation strategy, also 89.1% of the farmers used crop
rotation, 86.7% of the respondent used mixed cropping ,83.7% of farmers used drainage system,
80.7% used mulching,80.1% used regular weeding and 77.1% used conservation of soil water
through appropriate tillage. This results reveal that the farmers have devised various ways to
reduce the effect of climate change. These strategies must have been tested by the farmers and
found to be effective and as such reflect in their perception. Land management practices such as
improved rotation, improved fallows, improved grazing and reduced tillage could serve as
mitigation strategies (Guardian Environment Network, 2009). This was also confirmed by
Rosenzweig and Hillel (1995) who found that conserving soil moisture through appropriate
tillage methods and improving irrigation efficiency could serve as mitigation strategies. This
supports (Anyadike, 2009) ”massive electrification of the entire country to reduce the use of
generating sets could serve as a mitigation strategy of climate change.
Those strategies with very low frequencies such as afforestation, use of train, planting of
drought resistant varieties, use of renewable energies such as solar power are strategies that
require much finances and much of which government interventions are usually needed to enable
farmers enjoy them.
57
Table 6: Distribution of farmers by mitigation strategies used to cushion the effect of
Climate change ( N=166)
Mitigation strategies Yes Percentage
(%)
Afforestation 14 8.4
Use of water channels as drainage system 139 83.7*
Use of organic manure 101 60.8*
Planting of cover crops 70 42.1
Mixed cropping practices 144 86.7*
Planting of pests and disease resistant crops 54 32.5
Mulching 134 80.7*
Crop rotation practices 148 89.1*
Regular weeding to avoid breeding of some insect pest 133 80.1*
proper conservation of seeds 118 71.1*
Avoiding deforestation 26 15.7
Breeding of drought and heat resistant crop varieties 61 36.7
Conserving of soil moisture through appropriate tillage operation. 128 77.1*
Reduced the use of generating sets as a result of electrification of
house
152
91.6*
Source: Field survey, December 2010. * Multiple response
58
Farmers’ perception of the indicators of climatic change
Data on Table 7 show that farmers in Imo state recognized the following as the factors
that made them to know that there is climate change: increase in incidence of pest and disease
infestation (88.5%), increase in flood (97.5%), increase in erosion (90.9%), low crop yield
(92.1%), change in rainfall patterns (72%), high humidity (74.1%), loss of soil fertility (52.4%)
and changes in temperature (55.4%). This result implies that farmers perceive climate change
indicators as occurrences that have effects on the soil moisture which eventually affects the farm
production. This result agrees with the views presented by Egbule (2010), as extreme weather
events such as heavy downpours and droughts are likely to reduce crop yields because the water
has negative impact on plant growth. This is in line with the findings of
(http://downloads.climatescience.gov/usimpacts/pdfs/agriculture.pdf), which shows that the
effects of climate change is being experienced both as an excess and decrease of soil moisture. It
was further stressed by the findings of Ola (2010 ) who found that at Maiduguri in Borno state
Nigeria, sun keeps shinning with the temperature rising each day to between 42 and 48 degree
Celsius. As a result of this many residents now suffer urinary problems due to dehydration.
According to projections by the IPCC (1996) the average global air temperature will be 100C
higher by 2040 if no additional steps are taken to reduce emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse
gases. Soil fertility would be affected by global warming (www.wikipedia.en.com,2010). This
agrees with the findings of the study.
This calls for innovation that will enhance adaptation by the farmers for the sustenance of
the agricultural productivity for the future generation.
59
Table 7: Farmers perception on the indicators of climatic change in their respective
communities
Items Yes Percentage
(%)
There has been increase in pest and diseases infestation on
farms
147 88.5*
In recent time, floods have increased 162 97.5*
There has been changes in temperature in recent times 92 55.4*
There is increased incidence of erosion in recent times 151 90.9*
There has been low crop yield 153 92.1*
There has been loss of soil fertility 87 52.4*
There has been excessive heat 80 48.1
There has been incidence of drought 45 27.1
There is low humidity 52 31.3
There has been change in rainfall patterns 121 72.0*
In recent times there has been high humidity 123 74.1*
Source: Field survey, December 2010. *Multiple response
60
Factors Influencing farmers knowledge level of the causes of climate change
The regression result in Table 8 reveals that there was a significant influence (F = 31.789;
p < 0.05) of the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers on the level of knowledge of the
causes of climatic change in the study area. The R Square (0.554) value indicates the proportion
of variability in the level of the knowledge of farmers of the causes of climate change (that is the
dependent variable) which accounts for the multiple regression equation. The adjusted R square
(0.536) is an estimate of R2
for the population. This implies that about 54% (adjusted R square)
of the variance in the level of the farmers knowledge is as a result of the personal /
socioeconomic characteristics as included in the model. The socio economic characteristics were:
Sex, age, marital status, level of education, house hold size, types of farming, years of farming
experience, number of organizational membership.
The level of education (t= 10.420; P= 0.000), house hold size (t= 3.008; P= 0.003), type
of farming (t= 4.139P= 0.000), had positive and significant influence on farmers’ level of
knowledge of the causes of climate change. Sex (t= 1.096; p< 0.275), age(t= 0.215; p< 0.830),
marital status (t= 0.420; p< 0.675), years of farming experience (t= 0.039; p< 0.969), and number
of organizational membership (t= 0.809; p< 0.420) had no significant influence on the farmers’
level of knowledge of the causes of climate change.
This means that the higher the level of education, the higher the respondents’ knowledge
of the causes of climate change. Education of an individual could enhance knowledge of causes
of climate change. This could be as a result of the fact that the educated people have been
exposed to a lot of areas in the course of learning, observation and experimentation and such as
get to know more things than those not educated. This is in consonance with the views of Obinne
(1991), that it has been established that the educational level of farmers determine their adoption
61
behaviour to a large extent. The higher the farmers involvement in farming activities, the higher
their the level of knowledge of the causes of climate change . Also, the higher the household size
of each respondent the higher the knowledge level of climate change causes. This could be
attributed to the different members of household serving as sources of information on the causes
of climate change
Table 8: possible Factors influencing farmers level of knowledge of causes of climate
change
Variables Unstandardized
coefficients
Standardized
coefficients
B Std. Error Beta T Sig.
(Constant) -1.797 .570 -3.153 .002
Sex .171 .156 .061 1.096 .275
Age .003 .012 .028 .215 .830
Marital status .132 .314 .031 .420 .675
level of education .445 .043 .664 10.420* .000
house hold size .095 .032 .177 3.008* .003
Type of farming .351 .085 .227 4.139* .000
Number of farming experience .000 .011 .004 .039 .969
Number of organizational
membership
.034 .042 .046 .809 .420
a. Dependent Variable: knowledge level of farmers on the causes of climatic change
R Square = 0.554; R2 = 0.536 ; F-value = 31.789 ; p < 0.05
Source :field survey, December 2010
62
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Summary
The overall purpose of the study was to ascertain the knowledge of climate change among
farmers in Okigwe senatorial zone of Imo state, Nigeria. Specifically the study sought to
determine the farmers’ awareness of climate change; ascertain the farmers’ level of knowledge
on causes of climate change; examine the farmers’ knowledge level of the effects of climate
change; identify the mitigation strategies used by farmers in the study areas to cushion the
effects of climate change and equally identify the climate change indicators prevailing in their
various communities.
The study was carried out in Imo state, Nigeria. The present study was purposefully
carried out in Okigwe senatorial zone of the state. The zone was selected for the study because
of the proneness to ecological instability arising from the rugged terrain and sandy soil. Four
local governments areas were randomly selected from six LGAs in the zone and a total of 220
farmers were used for the study.
(Farmers constituted the sample size for the study). Structured interview schedule and
questionnaire were used for collecting of data from the respondents. Percentage, frequencies
mean score and regression analysis were used in data analysis.
Results of the study show that 23.6% of the farmers were between the age range of 60
and 69 years and mean age was 50.63 years. Majority of the farmers (60% ) were female and
married ( 85.9%). In terms of educational qualification 32.3% of the farmers completed tertiary
(OND/NCE, HND and first degree) education while about 23.6% of the respondents completed
their secondary school education showing that they were moderately educated. Those without
63
formal education were about 18%. Also, the average years of respondents farming experience
was 21.6 years ,This indicates that they had engaged in farming for many years and probably
would have noticed the changes in climate. Mean household size in the study area was 7
persons. This indicates that the farmers had fairly large household which could probably supply
farm labour and equally cheaper than hired labour. The farmers in the study areas engaged more
in crop farming (57.7%) and the major crop grown was cassava and others included fluted
pumpkin, maize and yam.
The study showed that 75% of the respondents were aware of climate change and their
sources of awareness were through self observation and experiences over the years (42.4%),
interaction with enlightened farmers (24%), radio(29.1%) and television ( 4.2%). The local
names given to climate change were mgbanwo ubochi , mgbanwo urukpu, ntughari ubochi and
mgbanwe eluigwe.
The result from the study reveals that about 54.6% of the respondents had no knowledge
of the causes of climate change while about 41.8 % had high knowledge of effects of climate
change and 25%, 24.10% and 9.10.% had moderate knowledge, low knowledge and no
knowledge respectively on effects of climate change.
Respondents identified the following: crop rotation (89.1%), mixed cropping (86.7%),
mulching (80.7%), use of water channel as drainage systems (83.7%), regular weeding (80.1%),
use of organic manure( 83.7%), proper tillage to reduce soil water loss ( 71.1%), reduced the
use of generating set as a result of electrification of houses 91.6% as the mitigation strategies
used in their community to cushion the effects of climate change.
The respondents perceived the following among other variables of indicators of climate
change as the indicators prevailing in their community: changes in temperature (55.4%), changes
64
in rainfall pattern(72%), increased in flood (97.5%) increased in pest and diseases (88.5%),
incidence of erosion (90.9%), low crop yield (92.1%) and high humidity (74.1%).
Conclusion
Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions were made:
1. About 75% of the respondents were aware of climate change
2. The sources of awareness of climate change in the study area were from personal
observations and experiences over the years, radio, interaction from enlightened farmers
and television.
3. Majority( 54.6%) of the respondents had no knowledge of the causes of climate change
while 46.4% of the respondents know the causes.
4. About42% of the respondents had knowledge of effects of climate change.
5. Respondents used mixed cropping, crop rotation, drainage system, electrification of
houses to reduce the use of generating set, organic manure etc as mitigation strategies to
cushion the effects of climate change.
6. The indicators of climate change include changes in temperature, changes in rainfall
patterns, increase in floods, high humidity, incidence of erosion, increase in pests and
disease infestation and low crop yield
7. Climate change does not have one definite local name rather respondents have different
interpretation of itwith close meaning to the concept of climate change.
65
Recommendations
Based on the findings of this research work, the following recommendations were made:
1 Awareness on the causes of climate change should be created by the extension agent.
2 The government should implement a policy on afforestation as a mitigation strategy.
3 Information on causes of climate change should be made accessible to farmers through public
awareness campaign using radio programmes, workshops, seminars, etc organized in local
dialect.
4 Extension personnel should organize seminars for the farmers on climate change issues and
should equally be discouraged from practicing indiscriminate burning of bush as a way of
clearing their farms.
5 Proper mitigation strategies should be used such as afforestation program.
6 Awareness on the causes of climate change to the farmers should be created to enable them
stop their activities that contribute to climate change.
66
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71
APPENDIX
QUESTIONNAIRE
UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION
Dear Sir/Madam,
Please this is a questionnaire intended to be used as an instrument for data collection on a
masters degree topic” knowledge of Climate change among farmers in Imo State, Nigeria”. You
are required to answer where appropriate as your responses shall be treated confidentially.
SECTION A: Personal and socio-economic Characteristics
Instruction: Please tick appropriately
1. Sex: (a) Female (b) Male
2. Age:
3. Martial status: (a) Married (b) Single (c) Divorced
(d) widow
4. Level of education: (a) Primary school attempted (b) primary school completed
(c) secondary school attempted (c)secondary school completed (d) OND/NCE
(e) HND/first degree (f) Ph.D (g)No formal education
5. Household size ?
6 type of farming (a) crop farming (b) livestock farming (c) both
8 Number of years of farming experience?
9. Major crops grown
10. Organizational membership (Number)
72
SECTION B: Awareness level relating to climate change phenomenon.
1 Are you aware of climate change (a) yes (b) No
2 if YES, what is your source of awareness___________
3 what is the local name of climate change _____________
SECTION C: knowledge level of causes of climate change
Answer the following questions by ticking “yes” or “no”
1 Does burning of fossil by industries contribute to climate change (a) No ( )(b) Yes ( )
2 Burning of firewood for cooking contribute to climate change(a) No ( ) (b) yes ( )
3 Can Climate change be caused by the use of generator to generate electricity(a) No (b)
Yes ( )
4 Can burning of bush results to climate change (a) No( ) (b)yes ( )
5 Does deforestation results in climate change (a) No ( ) (b)Yes ( )
6 Climate change is caused by burning of fossil fuel from vehicle, machines (a) No ( )
(b).yes
7 Can overgrazing of farm land by livestock causes climate change (a)No ( ) (b)yes ( )
8 Also, does the use of excess fertilizer in farmland contribute to climate change(a) No( )
(b) yes ( ).
9
Does the use of pesticides and herbicides contribute to climate change (a)No ( ) (b)yes
( )
10 Do you think Decomposition of organic waste contribute to climate change( a)No (b)yes
( )
73
11 Can Gas flaring from oil companies contribute to climate change (a) No ( ) (b) yes ( )
12 Can Gases such as CO2 released from industries cause climate change (a) No ( ) (b) yes
( )
13 Can Swamp rice production contribute to climate change (a) No ( ) (b)Yes ( )
14
15
High use of irrigation results to climate change (a)No ( ) (b) yes ( )
Does oil spillage cause climate change (a) No ( ) (b) yes ( )
SECTION D:knowledge level of effects of climate change
Answer the following questions by ticking “yes” or “no”
1 Do you think Flooding is as a result climate change (a)No ( ) (b) yes ( )
2 Climate change has led to the deaths of aquatic organisms alike fish in recent times (a) No
( ) (b) yes ( )
3 Can climate change lead to increased in erosion (a) No ( ) (b) Yes ( )
4 The incidence of drought is a result of climate change (a) No ( ) (b) yes( )
5 Can Climate change result in excess soil moisture (a) No ( ) (b) yes ( ).
6 Climate change can lead to Decrease in yield of crops change( a) No ( ) (b) Yes ( )
7 Climate change has resulted in high humidity (a) No ( ) (b) yes ( ).
8 The decreased in soil moisture is as a result of climate change (a) No ( ) (b)Yes( )
9 Climate change has led to low fertility of the soil (a) No ( ) (b)Yes ( )
10 Increase in pests and disease infestation is as a result of climate change (a) No ( )
(b) yes ( ).
11 The high incidence of weed is caused by climate change (a) No ( ) (b)yes ( ).
12 Do you think that Climate change can leads to high weed growth (a) No( ) (b)yes
74
13 Does climate change leads to drying of rivers, lakes and soil water (a) No ( ) (b) Yes ( )
14 Climate change leads to low productivity of animals (a) No ( ) (b) Yes ( )
15 Climate change results to low rainfall intensity (a) No ( ) (b) Yes ( )
16 Does climate change result to high rainfall (a) No ( ) (b) Yes ( )
17 Destruction of field crops by heavy wind is as a result of climate change (a) No ( )(b) Yes
( ).
18 Climate change results to increased in health risk (a) No ( ) (b) yes ( ).
19 Climate change leads to migration of non affected areas (a) No ( ) (b) yes ( )
20
21
Does climate change lead to over population of non affected areas (a) No ( ) (b) yes ( )
Does climate change lead to loss of life and property (a) no ( ) (b) yes ( )
SECTION D: mitigation strategies used by farmers in Imo to cob the effects of climate
change.
Which of the following mitigation strategies do you use to cushion the effects of climate change
in your community please, Indicate by ticking” yes” or” no” .
s/n Strategies No Yes
1 Afforestation
2 Use of drainage system
3 Use of organic manure
4 Planting of cover crops
5 Mixed farming practices
6 Planting of pests and disease resistant crops
7 Mulching
8 Crop rotation practices
9 Regular breeding to avoid breeding of some insect pest
10 proper conservation of seeds
11 Avoiding deforestation
12 Breeding of drought and heat resistant crop varieties
13 Conserving of soil moisture through appropriate tillage operation.
14 Massive electrification of the entire country to reduce the use of
generating sets
15 Use of train
75
SECTION E:please indicate the indicators of climate change perceived in your community
from the table below
s/n Items No Yes
1 There has been increase in pest and diseases infestation on
farms
2 In recent time, floods have increased
3 There has been increase in temperature in recent times
4 There is increased incidence of erosion in recent times
5 There has been low crop yield
6 There has been loss of soil fertility
7 There has been excessive heat
8 There has been incidence of drought
9 There is low humidity
10 There has been change in rainfall patterns
11 In recent times there has been high humidity
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