Abstract
Aim: Adaptive capacity is the ability of the farmer to adjust his farm plans and programmes in the face of emerging risks, constraints and currently available information. In this study, the various constraints faced by International Fund for Agricultural Development-Value Chain Development Programme’s farmers (IFAD-VCDP) in North Central Nigeria in adapting to climate change challenges were investigated.
Study Design: A multi-stage sampling technique was employed in the selection of respondents.
Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in Benue and Niger States of Nigeria in 2018.
Methodology: Data were collected from a total of 483 respondents using interview schedule and questionnaire. The data were analysed using exploratory (principal component analysis) and confirmatory (structural equation modelling) factor analysis.
Results: The results of the analysis revealed the significant constraints the farmers faced in order to improve their adaptive capacity to climate change which were institutional and technical (49.45%) and climate information (26.62%) constraints, although the factors differ slightly within the two states under study. In Benue State, institutional (31.26%), personal (14.63%), land and farm inputs (12.54%) and population (11.73%) while in Niger State, public and institutional (22.34%), land and farm inputs (14.78%), and personal (10.75) were the constraints to adaptive capacity.
Conclusion: These constraints make it harder to plan and implement adaptation actions by restricting the variety and effectiveness of options available to the farmers to improve their productivity and cope with the vagaries of climate change. It was therefore recommended that government and NGOs should intensify efforts on public, institutional, educational and climate policies, assist in increasing the adaptive capacity of the farmers in order to employ more adaptation measures, land governance systems should be strengthened in Nigeria to provide tenure security for all, financial institutions should help facilitate access to credit by farmers and assist in making reliable climate information accessible to all farmers.