Effects of climate change on agricultural production and rural livelihood in Nigeria

Abstract

There is need for sustainable agriculture to meet the increasing demand for food for the growing population in Nigeria. In order to ensure food security, we need to understand the climatic changes around us and how it affects agricultural productivity and rural livelihood. Climate change and global warming is the current global problem many countries are facing. Emission of green house gases is responsible for global warming and subsequent climate variability. The emission of greenhouse gases from gas flaring, open burning, vehicle emissions, deforestation, and use of solid fossil fuel for cooking are some of the causes of climate change in Nigeria. Nigeria is still practicing rain fed agriculture which renders her vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. Extreme climatic events such as flooding, extreme heat, and drought has led to soil degradation which results in low crop yields. Decline in agricultural productivity discourages the farmers and may lead to change in livelihood especially in the rural settings. This can also lead to migration from rural to urban regions thereby affecting development of rural regions in the country. This paper has discussed the causes, effects and mitigation of the effects of climate change in Nigeria.

Keywords: Climate change; food security; soil degradation; livelihood; agricultural Productivity