Socio-demographic influences on farmer’s climate change adaptation choices in Nigeria

Abstract

Effective climate change adaptation in agriculture requires understanding farmers' preferences. This study examined how farmers' socio demographic factors (age, sex, and education) influenced their choice of twelve crop management strategies across four rain-fed states in Nigeria (Benue, Edo, Niger, and Ondo). Using stepwise multiple regression analysis (SMRA), we identified the strategies most strongly associated with farmers' socio-demographics. The analysis revealed that late planting practice (LPP) was a consistently chosen strategy across all four states. Additional key strategies included building crop storage (BCS) and support for seed banks (SSB) in Benue; crop rotation practice (CRP) in Edo; and mixed cropping systems (MCS), changes in harvesting dates (CHD), and crop insurance (CI) in Niger. The SMRA models varied in explanatory power, with Niger showing the highest explained variance (R² = 0.254). The results highlight the importance of considering farmers' socio demographic characteristics in developing effective climate adaptation strategies, as these factors significantly shape their preferences for specific crop management practices.