Socio-demographic and Economic Dynamics of Climate Change and Adaptation: A Study on Rural Farmers in Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study explored the relationship between key socio-demographic and economic variables on climate change adaptation strategies of rural farmers in Oyo State, Nigeria. Three hundred (300) rural farmers were randomly selected from six (6) farming communities for the study. Multiple regression analysis was utilized to enrich understanding of relationships between socio-demographic variables and climate change. These variables: age, sex and marital status, size of households, religion, educational level, income source and social group belongingness were examined independently against the 16 adaptation strategies. The results showed high significance between some socio-economic variables and the adaptation strategy among farmers. The study revealed that age, gender, religious affiliation and social group belongingness showed significant relationships with coping strategies of the farmers. The study therefore recommends governmental and non-governmental activities directed towards enhancing capacities of agricultural extension services to address climate change susceptibility of rural farmers.