Climate change has posed great risks to Nigeria’s national food security as it affects the rainfed agricultural activities in Southwest Nigeria which significantly contributes to the national food security. Southwest Nigeria is made up of six states, Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, and Lagos extending into two zones, Tropical rainforest zone and Southern Guinea Savannah zone. The region faces harsh weather conditions including prolonged dry spells, abnormal rain patterns, and heat waves among others as a result of climate change. These conditions are leading into land degradation, and desertification further affecting sustainable agriculture production. Small holder farmers in these regions have had to find ways to adapt to these inevitable impacts of climate change. Even so, they lack enough resources and support to effectively adapt and become resilient to climate change. To complement and accelerate their agriculture adaption efforts the AGNES, in partnership with Adaption Research Alliance and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation held a two-day subnational workshop in Ibadan Nigeria. The co-creation workshop identified locally led adaptation strategies and priority action-oriented research areas in bid to accelerate agriculture adaptation in southwest Nigeria.
Climate Risks and Impacts in Southwest Nigeria
Climate change has largely influenced the weather pattern in this region that relies on weather seasons for agricultural activities. The most common and frequent experience is flooding caused by heavy rainfall. Flooding causes erosion which in turn reduces the nutrient value of the soil affecting the quality and quantity of farm produce. Apart from causing floods, the rain season is irregular making it unreliable for agricultural activities and discouraging farmers as they continue to be uncertain on the best time of planting. Further, there are times when there is early and false onset of rain that disrupts activities during the planting season affecting growth of plants such as cocoa and yam.
Also, the region experiences a prolonged period of drought that inevitable causes scarcity of water. Further there is a notable increase in temperature throughout the year which affects both plants and animals. During these seasons, the cost of production goes higher than normal while the yields significantly drop hence farmers experience great losses. Lastly The region experiences very strong harmattan winds for an extended period. The winds are responsible for lowering the humidity of the region and preventing formation of rainfall.
Locally led adaptation practices that have been successful in Southwest Nigeria
Due to the unstable and unpredictable weather patterns in these regions, famers have adjusted and adapt their planting times to match irregular rainfall. They’ve also developed and effective rainwater harvesting techniques to support their agricultural actives during dry spells. Instead of using traditional fertilizers, many farmers are now using organic ones, which work better in dry weather. They’re also covering their plants with mulch to help keep the soil moist. To cope with droughts, farmers are increasingly using drought-resistant crop varieties to adapt with challenging conditions.
How to accelerate farmers adaptation in the region
According to Southwestern small holder farmers, the acceleration of their adaptation can be effectively done through need-based research. Farmers are at a better position of providing researchers with information about potential areas for research as they experience the challenges of climate changes directly. Furthermore, a participatory approach is encouraged especially when it comes to innovating technology that aims to boost their resilience to climate change. Lastly, building the capacity of all farmers is essential in speeding up their adaptation rate. However, it seems like women are left behind slowing down the adaptation rate of farmers in the region. Therefore, it is imperative to prioritize women when it comes to capacity building to bring them up to the same level as men.
Call to action
As mentioned, it is important to consider the needs of farmers before conducting any research in bid to provide intervention. Among the top priority research areas, pests and diseases comes first as the area is said to be experiencing a lot of infestation which they believe stems from climate change. Second, there is need for research to delve deep into better capacity building strategies that can reduce gender-based discrimination in agriculture as many men are dominant in this sector. This implies that there should be research focused on how to empower women without countering men’s productivity in the sector.