Authors: Sulaimon, O.I, Awolola, A.A., Olabimisi, A. D.
Abstract
The impacts of climate change on agricultural productivity and food nutrition security in Nigeria and especially for smallholder farming households is a major concern. This study investigates the adoption of Climate-Smart Agricultural (CSA) and their impact on food crop production and nutrition security in Southwest Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was adopted and 180 farm households were randomly sampled from Ogun, Ekiti and Oyo states. Descriptive statistics and qualitative analysis were used to evaluate the CSA adoption pattern, food security status and barrier to CSA adoption. The findings indicated that there was high awareness about CSA practices (86.67%) with 74.44% of the respondents implementing at least one of the CSA technologies. Improved crop varieties (88.89%), irrigation/water conservation (76.67%) and crop rotation (74.44%) were the most adopted practices. The outcomes of food and nutrition security were, however, highly vulnerable with 84.44% of the households expressing concern about food availability and 85.56% of households decreasing the size of their meals. Key factors identified as having an impact on adoption were access to finance (58.89%), extension support (52.78%) and access to inputs (43.89%). The poor extension services (83.89%) and high cost (77.78%) and lack of information (74.44%) were the major constraints. The results indicate that awareness of CSA is high, but that CSA adoption alone will not lead to better food and nutrition security unless accompanying efforts are made to tackle structural constraints. Policy recommendations include enhancing extension services, making credit more accessible, and encouraging farmer associations as a means of disseminating CSA. The study adds empirical evidence to support Nigeria’s commitments to SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 13 (Climate Action).
Keywords: Climate change; Extremes; Food security; Southwest; Sustainable farming