Climate change perceptions and determinants of adaptation strategies among rural farmers in coastal communities in Delta state
Keywords:
Adaptation, Climate Change, Determinants, Rural farmers, Strategies, Delta stateAbstract
Climatic changes have been predicted to have a devastating effect on rural livelihoods particularly agriculture. These impacts will vary from one ecosystem to another and from one sub-population to another depending on the length of coastline, level of emergency preparedness and livelihood sensitivity to climate related elements among other factors. The study area (Delta state) is located in the Atlantic coast and structurally lying in a low land. The rural economy of area is closely tied to its natural environment and highly sensitive to climate related elements. This makes the area to be highly vulnerable to climate change. Recent studies in the area present mounting evidences of climate change. It therefore becomes imperative to assess how rural farmers in coastal communities in the area percieve climate change and the determinants of their adaptation strategies since
they actually bear the brunrt of climate change. A total of three hundred and thirty questionaires (330) were administered while two hundred and eighty-five (285) questionnaires were retrieved. Analysis of the questionnaire reveals that rural
farmers in the region are aware of climate change and have devised various strategies to mitigate the impacts. However, these strategies vary from one farmer to another depending on the level of access to different capital assets. This paper
calls for full integration and mainstreaming of local farmers perceptions and adaptation strategies into policies directed at mitigating the impact of climate change at the international, national and local levels.