SOCIO-ECONOMIC DETERMINANTS OF FARMERS LEVEL OF INVESTMENT IN CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION IN IKWERRE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA. 1

• H. Unaeze

  Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.

  Author

This study examined the socio economic determinants of farmer's level of investment on climate change adaptation in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State. A total of 60 farmers were sampled using a simple random sampling technique, simple descriptive statistics and multiple regression models were used for data analyses. Results show 36 years as the mean age of the respondents and their mean household size was 5persons while the number of years spent in schooling was 6 years among others. The study attested that the most adopted adaptation and mitigation strategies adopted by the respondents were the use of organic manures (15.49%), good cultural practices or operations (14.7%) andproper preservation of seeds. From the result of the multiple regression analysis, it was discovered that household size and annual income of the farmers were statistically significant in increasing the farmers' level of investment on climate change adaptation strategies. The major constraints encountered by the farmers in adapting to climate change are high cost of planting materials, poor government attention to the climate change issues and inadequate extension services. Government should design programmes that are capable of addressing the issue of climate change and adequately funds extension programs on adaptation to climate change. Key Words; Climate adaptation, level of investment, Nigeria. making Nigeria one of the highest emitters of greenhouse gases in Africa (Akinroet al., 2008). Introduction Climate change refers to any change in climate overtime, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activities (IPCC, 2007). Climate change is one of the most serious environmental threats facing the world today. It is a massive threat to human development and in some places it is already undermining the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the international communities' effort to reduce extreme poverty (Egbule, 2010). The Niger delta is highly susceptible to adverse environmental changes, because it is located in the coastal region of the world. Coastal regions of the world are already experiencing flooding due to the rise in sea level. Amid the impacts of climate change, the region is also faced with myriads of environmental problem, resulting from oil exploration and exploitation activities (Etiosa andMatthew, 2007).The primary direct effects of climate change are increase in droughts and floods, more seasonal peaks in river flow, and a higher probability of more tropical storms (Muthukumara, Anil &Viju, 2008). Nigeria like all the countries of sub-Saharan Africa is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change (NEST, 2004; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2007 and Apata, et, al(2009). A major factor responsible for this change in climate is the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gas emission; these greenhouse gases include carbon IV oxide, nitrous oxides, and chlorofluorocarbons such as methane, ozone, aldehydes and water vapour into the atmosphere. As humans emit more carbon IV oxide into the atmosphere, global warming becomes stronger. This causes the earth to change unnaturally (BNRCC, 2008). Nigeria is reported to have 123 flaring sites in the Niger Delta region of the country, Climate change is a threat to agriculture and nonagricultural socio-economic development, though agricultural production activities are generally more vulnerable to climate change than other sectors (kurukulasuriya, et al., 2006). This is because agricultural production in most of its sectors is dependent on weather and climate. NEST (2004) asserted that climate plays a dominant role in agriculture having a direct impact on the productivity of physical production factors, for example the soil's 29

1. H. Unaeze, Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.

   Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.

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