Household Vulnerability to Climate-related Shocks among Rural Households Farmers in Akoko Area, Ondo State, Nigeria

Abstract

In Nigeria, agriculture operates mainly on a small scale and is almost entirely weather-dependent. Thus, farmers experience climate-related shocks whose consequences extend far beyond crop productivity to household income, welfare and livelihoods, making households vulnerable to climate variability. This study assessed the vulnerability of rural household farmers to climate change in the Akoko Area, Ondo State. Primary data were collected from 200 respondents from eight villages in two selected local government areas in Akoko using a multistage sampling method. Vulnerability was estimated as expected poverty. Feasible Generalised Least Squares (FGLS) was used to assess the determinants of respondents' vulnerability to climate change. Descriptive statistics showed that respondents experienced rainfall inconsistency, drought, erosion and flooding over the past five years. At the standard vulnerability threshold of 0.5, the majority (95.5%) of respondents had low vulnerability to climate change. Household size (P = .00), level of education (P = .00), income (P = .00) and the age of the household head (P = 0.028) reduced vulnerability, whereas a higher number of dependants (P = .00) increased it. Although vulnerability was low, respondents still experienced climate-related shocks. Therefore, households' adaptive capacity needs to be strengthened through an integrated approach that combines household-level adaptation with institutional and policy support. This study recommends that the three tiers of government provide irrigation facilities to enable year-round production and that farmers be given access to climate and weather information, especially rainfall information, to improve the timing of planting, harvesting and other farming activities.