International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume VI, Issue VII, July 2022 | ISSN 2454–6186
Assessment of Awareness of Climate Change Among Subsistent Farmers in Gwagwalada Area Council, Abuja
EKPO, C. G. and HARUNA, I. O.
Department of Science and Environmental Education,
University of Abuja, Nigeria.
Abstract: This study assessed awareness about climate change among subsistent farmers in Gwagwalada Area Council, Abuja. The descriptive survey design was employed. From a population of subsistent farmers across the Area Council, a sample size of 180 was selected from six communities using the simple random sampling technique. Climate Change Awareness Assessment Scale (CCAAS), a questionnaire design on a 4-point Likert scale format was used for data collection. Descriptive statistics including frequency counts, percentage, and mean (x) were used for data analysis. Results of the study revealed that lack of awareness about climate change among subsistent farmers in Gwagwalda Area Council has impact on their adaptation mechanisms to climate change. It was recommended among others that environmental education either in formal or informal setting be employed in effective creation of awareness about climate change to subsistent farmers to boost agricultural production in Gwagwalada Area Council, Abuja.
Keywords: Agriculture, Awareness, Climate Change, Subsistent Farmer.
I.INTRODUCTION
An inevitable enterprise upon which pace of global population growth depends is agriculture. Agriculture is the art and science of cultivating the soil, growing crops and raising livestock. It includes the preparation of plant and animal products for people to use and their distribution to markets. It provides the world’s food and fabrics as well as cotton, wool, and leather (National Geographic, 2021). Agriculture also has significant contributions to socio-economic growth and development of every nation of the world.
Agriculture can be classified according to degree of commercialization into two namely: commercial and subsistence. Commercial agriculture is concerned with growing of crops and the rearing of animals for raw materials, food, or export, particularly for profitable reasons. This class is practiced on a large scale as the goal of the farmer is to maximize the profit margin. Hence, it solely focuses on the production of crops and farm animals for sale, using the most advanced, efficient, and recent technologies (Miller, 2020).
On the other hand, subsistence agriculture is the form of farming in which nearly all of the crops or livestock raised are used to maintain the farmer and the farmer’s family, leaving