Assessment of Attitude–Behaviour Dynamics in Climate Change Adaptation among Wheat (Triticum Aestivum) Farmers in Kaduna State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated wheat farmers attitude behaviour gap in climate change adaptation in Kaduna State, Nigeria. It used 159 farmers selected through multi-stage random sampling technique. Descriptive and inferential (Binomial test and Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC)) techniques were used to analyse data of the study. Results revealed that most (79.25%) of the farmers practiced mixed cropping system and majority (45.91%) of them had a negative attitude toward climate change adaptation strategies. Some adaptation strategies effectively used include: changes in planting dates of crops (91.82%), changes in harvesting dates of crops (89.94%), fertilizer application (86.79%), alteration in timing of land preparation activities (83.65%) and cropping adjustments systems (79.25%). While some of the interventions to bridge attitude-behaviour gap of adopting climate change adoption strategies were: strengthening agricultural extension system (3.25), improving access to credit facilities (3.13), provision of incentives to farmers (3.06) and adoption of a model farmer approach (2.93). Binomial test revealed that majority of farmers (58.49%) held an unfavourable attitude toward the climate change mitigation strategies they were familiar with, while PPMC revealed that farming systems predominantly practiced by wheat farmers are significantly influenced by their attitudes toward climate change adaptation strategies. The study thus recommended that: Government bodies, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders must invest in agriculture by strengthening agricultural extension systems; and given the widespread use of mixed cropping and mixed farming as strategies to stabilize farm income, government policies should actively support and strengthen these practices.