ABSTRACT
This chapter examines climate change impacts and local adaptation options among rural farmers in southwestern Nigeria. Satellite climate datasets for rainfall and temperature from the 1980s to 2020 and a dataset including responses to a survey and focus group discussions were used. A case study of the impacts of climate change on cassava yields using correlation and multiple regressions is presented. The results show a relative increase in temperature, while rainfall showed large seasonal variations. Rainfall trends appear to be relatively upwards from the 1980s – early 1990s but below the normal trend from the period from 1997 to 2020. The results from the survey show that nearly 80% of the rural farmers perceived general changes in temperature and rainfall in recent years, while nearly 97% of them adopted changes in the planting date of some crops, as an adaptation option. The results further show a very strong relationship between cassava yields and rainfall in the growing seasons. The study concludes that there is a need for governments at all levels to encourage rain-fed agriculture and more agricultural research to improve crop yields as climate changes.
