ECONOMIC IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON SMALLHOLDER MAIZE FARMERS IN SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA: A STRUCTURAL RICARDIAN MODEL

Abstract

The study analysed the economics of climate change adaptation strategies among smallholder maize farmers in Southwestern Nigeria. These were with a view to improving maize production in the study area. A multistage sampling procedure was employed to select 330 smallholder maize farmers in three states (Osun, Oyo, and Ogun States) in the study area. Primary data were collected with the aid of structured questionnaire while secondary data were collected from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet). Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics, and Ricardian model. The results showed that most (70.10%) of the farmers were men, married with a mean age of 47.60±10.74 years and cultivating 1.34±1.49 hectares of farmland on the average. Also, majority (80.06%) of the farmers were aware of climate change but their climate change perception intensity was low (0.27 on the average). Furthermore, dry season temperature (p≤ 0.05), rainy season temperature (p≤ 0.01), dry season precipitation (p≤ 0.1), rainy season precipitation (p≤0.05), dry season maize farming (p≤ 0.05), soil types (Lixisols (p≤ 0.01), Luvisols (p≤ 0.01), and Nitisols (p≤ 0.01)), farmer's sex (p≤ 0.1), formal education (p≤ 0.1), access to credit (p≤ 0.01), distance from farm to a major tarred road (p≤ 0.05), access to climate-related information (p≤ 0.1), and usage of improved maize seed variety (p≤ 0.01) influenced the net revenue of smallholder maize farmers. In conclusion, smallholder maize farmer's use of climate change adaptation strategies improves their net returns to maize production in Southwestern Nigeria.