Perception of Climate Effects on Agriculture by Farmers in Damaturu Metropolitan, Yobe State

Background

Agriculture is one of the sectors most vulnerable to climate change impact in Africa (Falaki et al. 2012). Impact of climate is observed more where agriculture is rain-fed and essential for the daily subsistence such in Nigeria. Across Nigeria, millions of people are already experiencing changing seasonal patterns of rainfall and increased heat. There are projections of increases in rainfall in the humid regions of southern Nigeria, which are accompanied by increases in cloudiness and rainfall intensity particularly during severe storms (Ibebuchi, & Abu, 2023). Similarly, the savannah areas of northern Nigeria were projected to experience less rainfall, which coupled with temperature increases. The country’s coastline (about 853 km long) makes the large population of coastal communities vulnerable to increases in sea level and storm surges (Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 2013). Almost two-third of Nigeria’s land cover is prone to drought and desertification (Ahmed, Abba, Siriki, & Maman, 2020). Climate therefore determines to a large extent availability of water, which impacts health and ultimately the level of poverty amongst Nigerians. The country’s high population of over 150 million people depend primarily on their physical environment for food, livelihoods and survival. Unfortunately, Nigeria lacks the financial capacity and technological resources to address the postulated negative impacts of current and predicted climate change and has not yet fully established an institutional and legal framework, systematic approach or policies targeted mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change. Given the above factors, it is clear that Nigeria’s long-term development goal of poverty reduction and economic growth will be severely constrained if insufficient attention is paid to the issue of climate change in Nigeria IPCC (2014). Climate change or global warming has become a new reality, with deleterious effects: seasonal cycles are disrupted, as are ecosystems; and agriculture, water needs and supply, and food production are all adversely affected (Upadhyay, 2020). It also leads to sea-level rise with its attendant consequences, and includes fiercer weather, increased frequency and intensity of storms, floods, hurricanes, droughts, increased frequency of fires, poverty, malnutrition and series of health and socio-economic consequences. It has a cumulative effect on natural resources and the balance of nature (Dadzie, 2021). Climate change can be exacerbated by human induced actions such as: the widespread use of land, the broad scale deforestation, the major technological and socioeconomic shifts with reduced reliance on organic fuel, and the accelerated uptake of fossil fuels (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment). The most devastating adverse impacts of climate change in Africa includes frequent drought, increased environmental damage, increased infestation of crop by pests and diseases, depletion of household assets, increased rural urban migration, increased biodiversity loss, depletion of wildlife and other natural resource base, changes in the vegetation type, decline in forest resources, decline in soil conditions (soil moisture and nutrients), increased health risks and the spread of infectious diseases, changing livelihood systems, etc.  (Reilly, 2019; Abaje and Giwa, 2017). In many African countries, economies are largely based on weather-sensitive agricultural   and forest fruits production systems which are vulnerable to climate change (Aryal, Sapkota, Khurana, Khatri-Chhetri, Rahut, & Jat, 2020). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2014) reported that the Africa region is one of the major areas of the world most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Previous studies have shown that climate change has significant   impacts   on   crop   yields (Deressa et al. 2018). Climate change is increasingly one of the most serious national security threats which will have significant impacts on natural resources, ecosystems, and biodiversity, and at the same time, it is likely to trigger food insecurity and decrease plants’ productivity and availability.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

2.1 Study Area

Damaturu is the capital city of Yobe State, Nigeria, which lies between latitude 11^o 39′ 30″ - 11⁰ 47′ 00″ N and longitude 11^o 54′ 00″ - 12⁰ 02′ 00″ E, covering a land area of about 45,502 square kilometers (km²) (Fig.1). Damaturu is in the semi-arid region, with relatively flat terrain. It is a high land which is characterized by sandy plains (Adamu, & Taa, 2022). The annual temperature ranges from 39^?C to 40^?C with highs between February-May. The rainy season begins in June, with an average rainfall of 649mm which spread up to October, depending on the year and the onset. The vegetation of the area is predominantly Sahelian, consisting of savannah grasslands, scattered shrubs, and acacia trees. The landscape is generally open, with few forests or dense vegetation (Kurowska, Czerniak, & Garba, 2022). The people of the area are predominantly peasant farmers, livestock herders, and traders and produces a wide variety of crops, which include legumes (groundnuts and beans); Cereals (maize, millet, sorghum and rice), solanaceous crops (peppers, tomato, garden eggs) and reared animals like; camel, sheep, goats, and poultry among others. Damaturu local government has a population of about 88.014 in 2006 based on the census of the National Population Commission with a density of about 38 persons per km² (NPC, 2006) and 124,500 with a density of 52.62 persons per km² with Kanuri and Fulani are the two main ethnic groups of Damaturu coexisting with Kare-Kare, Bolewa, Babur, and Bade as well as other non-indigenous tribes.