Associating farmers’ perception of climate change and variability with historical climate data
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Published:2022
Issue:3
Volume:67
Page:299-320
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ISSN:1450-8109
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Container-title:Journal of Agricultural Sciences, Belgrade
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language:en
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Short-container-title:J AGR SCI BELGRADE
Author:
Ezeh Jane1, Madukwe Edith1, Ezeh Christopher2
Affiliation:
1. Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 2. Department of Geography, Faculty of the Social Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka + WASCAL Centre, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Abstract
The farmers? perceptions of climate change (CC) and variability in Okpuje
were assessed and compared with historical climate data. They perceive an
occurrence of change that affects their farm activities, but lack the
scientific understanding of this change. While some do not know what causes
the change, others attribute it to God?s vengeance. The perceptions of
rising temperature and delay in the onset of the rainy season are
corroborated by the analysis of the climate data. The temperature is
significantly rising and it increased at the rate of 0.14?C per decade
between 1960 and 2019. The rainfall decreased at the rate of 8.5 mm per
decade. The rainy season tends toward late-onset and early cessation dates.
However, the perception of increasing rainfall in the area was not upheld by
the trend analysis of the rainfall data. The difference might be due to high
variability in rainfall in space and time. The high rainfall recorded lately
might have posed difficulty for the human memory as closer events are
remembered easier than distant events and hence can be unravelled via a
scientific approach. Nevertheless, since perception shapes adaptation, the
people?s indigenous perceptions and experiences should form part of
intervention measures and policies for CC adaptation to command greater
participation and wider acceptance. Thus, farmers? perceptions provide vital
information but would be more reliable if integrated with scientific data
analysis for policy and decision-makers in CC science, implying that none of
them should be relegated but integrated.
Publisher
National Library of Serbia
Subject
Plant Science,Soil Science,Agronomy and Crop Science,Animal Science and Zoology
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