Sources of Information and Awareness of Government Programmes on Climate Change among Rural Households in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria

Climate change is a clear threat to all sectors of the Nigerian socio - economic development including the natural ecosystems. This study ascertained the available sources of information and awareness of government  programmes on climate change among rural households in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The region is Nigeria's largest wetland region and the third largest wetland in the world. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used in an interactive manner to collect data from 400 rural households selected through multistage random sampling technique. The findings revealed that majority of the rural households received climate change  information mostly through mediated and non-professional inter-personal sources. Also, majority of the rural households were aware of the ban on indiscriminate tree felling, bush burning and gas flaring as well as   government’s efforts in promoting afforestation. They however, perceived these programmes to be poorly  implemented. Though the people of Niger Delta were aware of the existence of legislative committees on climate change in the National Assembly, they asserted that their impact were poorly felt in the region. The study therefore points to the need to strengthen communities’ capacity to manage their resources, raise awareness of climate  change problems among the populace and build the capacities of local institutions to support disaster management policies. There is also the need for government to partner with private telecommunication providers to send short messages services on climate change to their clients at regular intervals.Key words: Climate change, Niger Delta, Awareness, Information sources, Legislative committee

Availability and Use of Mobile Phones for Information Dissemination by Public Extension Agents in Delta State, Nigeria

The study assessed the availability and dissemination of information to farmers using mobile phones by public extension agents in Delta state, Nigeria. Data were collected from 64 randomly selected public extension agents from the three agricultural zones in the state. Majority (98.4%) of the extension agents were not provided with institutional mobile phones to aid information dissemination to clientele. However, about 97% of the respondents affirmed that they possess personal mobile phones, which they (92%) use to disseminate information to farmers. Interactions with farmers were mainly through phone calls (84.4%) and short message services (SMSs) (71.9%). Mobile phones were frequently used in disseminating information on availability of new crop varieties (M = 2.1), and available markets for sale of crop produce (M = 2.0). The study points to the need for the public extension service to collaborate with network providers in dissemination of short programmed messages or calls that are beneficial to the farmers as well as creating a hotline desk that will readily provide answers to the immediate needs of farmers. This will facilitate the achievement of the agricultural transformation agenda (ATA) of the federal ministry of agriculture which aims at reaching the farmers with innovative agricultural information as well as agro inputs.Key words: Availability, Use, Mobile phone, Extension agents and Delta state agricultural development programm

Farmers’ Adaptation Initiatives to the Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture in Northern Nigeria

The study ascertained the innovative adaptive measures used by farmers in northern Nigeria to cushion the harmful effects of climate change. Quantitative and qualitative approaches (Rapid Rural Appraisal, focus group discussions, and semi – structured interview schedule) were used to elicit information from a total of 500 farmers, which were selected using multistage random sampling technique. Findings revealed that 84% and 79% of the farmers were aware and knowledgeable of climate change issues, respectively, while 81% of them noted that they had at various times experienced climate change incidences. Farmers reported that factors which informed their perception of climate change incidence were: unusual early rains followed by weeks of dryness (M= 2.84), erratic rainfall pattern (M= 2.66), drought (M=2.68), reduction in farm yields (M=2.68) and high rate of disease incidence (M= 2.67). Adaptive measures used by the farmers in northern Nigeria included: changes in planting dates (88.4%) and harvesting dates (85.4%), multiple cropping (81.8%), intensive manure application (69.2%), shift to different sites (56.8%) and use of wetland/river valley (fadama) for farming (52.6%). The study concludes that there is need for government to make concrete efforts to enact appropriate policies on climate change adaptation and assist local farmers in the short and long term to improve their resilience to climate change impact

Linkages among Key Actors in the Climate Change and Food Security Innovation System in Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Liberia

The study used the innovation system approach to ascertain the intensity and trends of linkages among key actors in the climate change and food security innovation system in Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Data were collected through the use of semi structured interview schedule, key informant interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) and analyzed using percentages, mean scores and trend analysis. Only 1.8% of the farmers from Nigeria, 2.5% from Sierra Leone and 0.7% from Liberia possessed special training on climate change adaptation and food security issues. The presence of local collaboration among actors was higher in Nigeria than in Sierra Leone and Liberia. There was nonexistence of overseas linkages with majority (89.0% for Nigeria; 98.0 for Sierra Leone and 96.8% for Liberia) of the farmers across the three countries. The intensity of linkages / collaborations existing among actors in the enterprise domain, in the three countries, outweighs that with other domains, with higher collaborations existing among the small-scale farmers and famers’ associations. However, there was a perceived increase in the trend of linkage between farmers and R & D institutions in Nigeria between 2007 and 2009, with a linkage index of more than 2. There was also an increasing higher linkage index (of more than 2) between farmers and technology delivery institutions in Nigeria than in Sierra Leone and Liberia, but a low linkage index of less than 2 between farmers and policy making bodies for all the countries. Poor generation of innovations over the past ten years and poor domestic support for climate change adaptation and food security in the West African sub-region were identified. The study points to the need to intensify the collaboration efforts, between local and foreign partners, as this will bring about the generation of better and improved innovations on food security and adaptive measures