Influence of farmers’ knowledge of climate change on production of citrus and tomato in Nigeria

Abstract

Production is the basis of value-chain which is a key factor in Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) in Nigeria. Thus, for successful production of horticultural crops the importance of climate cannot be overemphasized. Therefore, in this era of climate change there is the need to study farmers’ knowledge of climate change and their production level. The study was carried out in Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique was used to arrive at a study population of 441 tomato and citrus farmers. Data were collected using Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), structured interview schedule and secondary data (FAOSTAT). It was analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentage and pie charts) and inferential statistics (Pearson Product Moment Correlation). There existed no significant relationship between knowledge level of respondents and change in production of both crops. The reason for this could be that no matter what the level of knowledge one may have on the subject of climate change it does not have anything to do with production, adaptation strategies is the key. Citrus and tomato farmers’ adaptation strategies to climate change includes among others crop management, use of varieties resistant to pests and diseases, altering the timing or location of cropping activities, different planting dates and shortened length of growing period. In conclusion climate change has affected the production of horticultural crops therefore for ATA to have a good footing there is the need to focus on the adaptation strategies that can combat the effect of climatic changes.