Assessment of Smallholder Farmers’ Perceptions on Climate Change and Adaptations Strategies in Gombe State, Nigeria

Changes in precipitation, temperature, and wind patterns are just a few of the difficulties that the agricultural industry faces as a result of climate change and variability. Smallholder farmers who depend on agriculture for a living are particularly vulnerable to these developments. The study aims to assess smallholder farmers’ perception on climate change and adaptation strategies in Gombe State, Nigeria. The study’s specific objectives areidentify farmers perceptions of climate change and climate change adaptations strategies. Descriptive statistics was employed to analyse the data. The results indicated that majority (51.3%)smallholder farmers perceived climate change and some adaptation strategies were employed to cope the risk posed by it. About (56.4%) of the respondents perceived late onset of rainfall. Majority (78.46%) of the respondents perceived an increased in temperature in the study area. The most common adaptation strategies were crop-livestock diversification and good practices with (37.800%). Over 82% of farmers face poor soil fertility issues and early 78% struggle with high farm input costs. Smallholder farmers in Gombe State perceived a high level of climate change, that climate change is human-caused and a worrisome problem. It is recommended that government should promote conservation agriculture practices, such as crop rotation, organic amendments, and minimum tillage, to enhance soil fertility and reduce soil erosion.