article · Frontiers in Climate
Traditional agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa faces severe threats from unpredictable and extreme weather driven by climate change. An assessment of 75 farmer group leaders in south-east Nigeria examined how rural communities adapt to these environmental pressures. The findings reveal that local communities rely heavily on peer-to-peer communication and radio broadcasts to obtain climate information. To counter climate impacts, farmers predominantly employ established practices including organic manure application, composting, afforestation, and agroforestry. These approaches are favoured because they conserve soil health, retain moisture, lower carbon dioxide emissions, and sustain crop yields. However, adaptation efforts remain constrained by climate-induced droughts, inadequate funding, and the high cost of acquiring weather updates. Strengthening resilience requires combining indigenous practices with continuous capacity building, collaborative research, and improved financial access for climate-resilient infrastructure.
Climate change poses direct risks to food security and rural livelihoods across sub-Saharan Africa. Documenting how farmers use indigenous methods to protect soil and crops provides vital context for designing supportive agricultural policies. Pinpointing major hurdles, such as costly weather updates and limited finance, helps researchers and policymakers direct resources toward interventions that genuinely address the operational realities of smallholder communities.
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Introduction Sub-Saharan Africa faces increasingly unpredictable and extreme weather patterns due to climate change, posing significant threats to food security and rural livelihoods. Traditional agriculture, deeply rooted in the region's history and culture, is particularly vulnerable to these changes. This study investigates the adaptation strategies of traditional agricultural farmers to climate change using southeast Nigeria as a microcosm of the broader challenges facing sub-Saharan Africa. Methods Multistage sampling procedure was used to select 75 farmer group leaders in the study region. Cross-sectional data were collected through semi-structured interview schedules and focus group discussions. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and principal component analysis using Varimax rotated matrix. Results Findings showed that farmers rely on face-to-face discussions with neighbors (76.0%), fellow farmers (66.7%), and radio (54.7%) as their primary sources of information on climate change. Results showed that traditional adaptation practices such as use of organic manure ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"><mml:mover accent="false" class="mml-overline"><mml:mrow><mml:mtext>x</mml:mtext></mml:mrow><mml:mo accent="true">¯</mml:mo></mml:mover></mml:math> = 3.89), traditional organic composting ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M2"><mml:mover accent="false" class="mml-overline"><mml:mrow><mml:mtext>x</mml:mtext></mml:mrow><mml:mo accent="true">¯</mml:mo></mml:mover></mml:math> = 3.80), afforestation ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M3"><mml:mover accent="false" class="mml-overline"><mml:mrow><mml:mtext>x</mml:mtext></mml:mrow><mml:mo accent="true">¯</mml:mo></mml:mover></mml:math> = 3.71), agroforestry ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M4"><mml:mover accent="false" class="mml-overline"><mml:mrow><mml:mtext>x</mml:mtext></mml:mrow><mml:mo accent="true">¯</mml:mo></mml:mover></mml:math> = 3.61) were the topmost traditional agricultural practices use to cushion the effect of climate change. Conserving the overall soil health, soil moisture retention, reducing CO 2 emissions and maintaining crop productivity were the major reasons for using the traditional approaches. Climate-induced drought and high cost of accessing weather information ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M5"><mml:mover accent="false" class="mml-overline"><mml:mrow><mml:mtext>x</mml:mtext></mml:mrow><mml:mo accent="true">¯</mml:mo></mml:mover></mml:math> = 1.93), and inadequate funding ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M6"><mml:mover accent="false" class="mml-overline"><mml:mrow><mml:mtext>x</mml:mtext></mml:mrow><mml:mo accent="true">¯</mml:mo></mml:mover></mml:math> = 1.92), among others were the key constraints to adaptation. Discussion Results showed that farmers prioritize agronomic manipulation and integrated research approaches as key strategies to adapting traditional agriculture to climate anomalies. Although farmers used their indigenous practices, continuous learning and improvement through capacity-building workshops and progress monitoring are essential for effective climate change adaptation. Policymakers should invest in promoting indigenous knowledge, provide access to credit for climate-resilient infrastructure, promote climate-smart agricultural practices and foster collaborative research as the cornerstone for sustainable rural development.
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DOI: 10.3389/fclim.2024.1272320
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