Effects of Climate Change on Food Security among Farmers in Some Selected Communities in Edu Local Government Area, Kwara State, Nigeria

International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) | Volume VII, Issue XI, November 2020 | ISSN 2321–2705

Effects of Climate Change on Food Security among Farmers in Some Selected Communities in Edu Local Government Area, Kwara State, Nigeria

Ayinla Lateefah Olajumoke*, Henry Olawale Sawyerr, Shegun Victor Oluwatuyi

Department of Environmental Health Science, Kwara State University, Malete, Ilorin, Nigeria
*Corresponding Author

ABSTRACT
Introduction: Food security is an essential element of overall wellbeing and sustainability of the wealth a nation. Several publications has discussed climate change and its general impact on local or rural farmers and their food security, global warming, health, etc. but relatively fewer studies has been done focusing on the better adaptation techniques and technology for rural farmers in developing nations like Nigeria.
Aim & Objectives: This study aim to assess the effects of climate change on food security with its objectives as; assess the knowledge of the farmers on the climate change issues; determine the impacts of climate change on food security and identify adaptations options that can enhance farmers and community resistance to climate change effects with reference to food security.
Methodology: Quantitative questionnaires were administered to Hundred and Sixty-Seven (167) respondent farmers across randomly selected community from a total of one hundred. The data were organized, sorted, edited, coded and analyzed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 with Microsoft Excel 2010.
Result: The farmers according to the result above are inaccessible to rain forecast information for the past 5 years for any rainy season, since the p-value (0.108) is more than α=0.05. The findings in this study revealed that most of the farmer adopted expansion of cultivated land as measure adopted to reduce exposure to the risk of climate change
Conclusion: It was concludes that climate change has impact on food security in the study area. It was therefore recommended that Predictions should be in place to help develop appropriate interventions

Keywords: Climate Change, Food, Food Security, Farmers, Global Warming, Health

Introduction

Food security is an essential element of overall wellbeing and sustainability of the wealth a nation (Zewdie, 2014). Increasingly, in the last decade, attention has been focused on means of eliminating food insecurity and hunger worldwide. According to World Food Summit of 1996, Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life (FAO, 1996). Agriculture is the main source of food, industrial raw materials in Nigeria. It is predominantly a rain fed system and hence vulnerable to climate changes (Ibrahim et al., 2010). Climate change is one of the environmental, topical and tropical life threatening issues facing the economic development and sustainability of man-kind worldwide (Zewdie, 2014).

Read More