Analysis of Climate Change Perception and Adaptation among Arable Food Crop Farmers in South Western Nigeria

Agriculture places a heavy burden on the environment in the process of providing humanity with food and fibres. It is recognized that agriculture has positive externalities such as the environmental services and amenities that it provides, for example through the creation or maintenance of rural landscapes which is given high priority by some developed countries. Trade-offs between food security and the environment is what is being practiced in most developing countries. There are strong indications and already evidence that the agricultural and food system as well as the rural areas across the world are experiencing major change. This change has drastically reduced soil fertility and poor agricultural outputs particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is evidenced in some notable towns and communities in South Western Nigeria that are noted for the production of a peculiar agricultural commodity. Recently, these commodities are gradually going into extinction and the community involved cannot explain why this is so, majority of the respondents attached this incidence to spiritual dimension and not changes in climate. This study therefore examined the people’s perception about climate change and strategies employed to adapt. This study conclude that there is a need for agricultural economists and other stakeholders in environmental management and agricultural sustainability in developing countries to come to terms with negative impacts of climate change and likely positive and beneficial response strategies to global warming.