Rural Households’ Response Pattern to Climate Change and Poverty in Surulere Local Government Area, Ogbomoso, Nigeria

Abstract

Against the background of surreptitious impact of climate change on rural communities, where living and livelihood construction are farm-based or related, and the generally observed asthenic adaptive responses of rural households to poverty, this study examines the response patterns of rural households to climate change and poverty in Surulere, local government area of Oyo State, Nigeria. Thirty-eight years of temperature and rainfall data, were obtained from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, Lagos, and projected till 2045AD. The ten constituent geopolitical ward headquarters were purposively selected, and 355 questionnaires proportionally administered to household heads to elicit information on their socio-economic characteristics, and, expenditure on basic necessities of life. Descriptive statistics and Likert scales were employed to measure multidimensional and monetary poverty and household response patterns. The analysis shows that minimum temperature increased with time (r=0.43), while maximum temperature decreased with time (r=-0.21). Rainfall exhibited fluctuations that tended towards low increase (r=0.08). Further results reveal a similarly high pervasiveness of multidimensional and monetary poverty with over 90% of respondents earning and spending less than $13.3 per month on food, children's education, health challenges, among others.The response patterns to impact of climate change and poverty are mainly reactionary, involving a combination of livelihood diversification and traditional agricultural adaptation strategies. However, long-term adaptive measures such as access to climate information, improved seed varieties, and financial services are lacking.. Addressing these challenges requires a combination of community-based and regional efforts centered on adaptation, resilience, and tailor-made policies and programs to protect rural households and communities.