Perception of Climate Variability on Agriculture and Food Security by Men and Women Farmers in Idanre L.G.A, Ondo State. Nigeria.

Abstract

This paper focuses on how men and women farmers perceive climatic variability in Idanre Local Government Area of Ondo State. One hundred and eighty (180) questionnaires were administered using systematic random sampling on both male and female farmers in the study area. Climatic data on rainfall, relative humidity maximum and minimum temperature were collected for a period of ten years alongside data on crops such as cocoa, cocoyam, cassava, sweet potatoes maize and yam. The descriptive statistical techniques employed to analyze farmers’ responses show that climatic variables affect both men and women farmers’ productivity. 60% are male while 40% are female. 47% of the respondents perceived climatic variability as delayed in rainfall, 22% perceived it as high temperature, 6% says it is flood, 3% sees it as unusual rainfall while 22% perceived it as undefined season. Although both gender do not have the same adaptive capacity, women (100%) are more vulnerable to the impact of climate change despite the fact that they play an active role in adapting to its impact to secure food in the study area. The regression analysis reveals that 62%, 50%, 66%, 90%, 34% and 32% of the variance in cocoa, cocoyam, sweet potatoes, maize, yam and cassava can respectively be explained by the climatic variables examined. The correlation analysis reveals that rainfall is highly correlated with cocoa (0.534), cassava (0.481) and maize (0.822). Maximum temperature is highly correlated with cocoyam (0.660) and sweet potatoes (0.412). Minimum temperature is highly correlated with all the crops while relative humidity is negatively correlated with all the crops. These affect the farmers’ crop yield in the study area. The paper therefore suggests that both genders should grow crops that are more resilient to weather changes and also practice afforestation.

Keywords: Climatic Variability, Agricultural Production, Food Security, Rainfall and Farmers.