Determinants of choice of climate change adaptation strategies among rural farming households in Lokoja local government area, Kogi state, Nigeria

The study examined factors influencing the choice of climate change adaptation strategies among rural farming households in Lokoja Local Government Area, Kogi State, Nigeria. A total of 115 rural farmers constituted the sample size of this study. Descriptive and relevant inferential statistics such as the multivariate probit model were used. The perceived effects of climate change in the studied area included erosion/flooding, increase in rainfall, scarcity of resources, increase in temperature, and increase in pest and disease infestation. The major adaptation strategies adopted by the farmers in the studied area included change in planting date (72.17%), change in harvesting date (67.83%), construction of drainage around homes/farms (67.83%), income diversification (64.35%), and planting cover crops (58.26%). The results concerning the factors influencing the choice of adaptation showed that gender, age, years of farming experience, access to credit, and training on climate change were the factors that influenced the choice of adaptation strategies in the studied area. Major constraints to adoption of adaptation strategies in the studied area were also identified. The study concluded that selected socio-economic characteristics influenced the choice of rural farmers` adaptation strategies utilised in the studied area. Government policies should be sensitive to support trainings on climate change, education, credit access, farm and household size.