RURAL LIVESTOCK FARMERS’ ADAPTATION STRATEGIES TO CLIMATE VARIABILITY IN YAMALTU-DEBA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, GOMBE STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study assessed the Adaptation Strategies of Rural Livestock Farmers to Climate Variability in
the Yamaltu-Deba Local Government Area, Gombe State, Nigeria. It sought to analyze the trend
of climatic variations, examine predominant practices of livestock farming, investigate livestock
farmers’ perception of the impact of climate variability on livestock production and assess the
adaptation strategies of livestock farmers to climate variability in the study area. Multi-stage
sampling technique was used to sample 9 communities for the study. Data for the study were
elicited via a structured questionnaire and Key Informant Interviews. The study used descriptive
statistics in the analysis. Results obtained showed that 63% of livestock farmers were males, 48%
had informal education and 35% were from Tera ethnic group. In addition, the trend analysis of
rainfall and temperature of Yamaltu-Deba indicated low and unpredictable rainfall and hightemperature fluctuations. The impact of climate change on livestock production in the study area
is generally perceived to be negative. Reduction in livestock numbers is the most widely used
adaptation strategy. The study concludes that though farmers in the study area are facing stiff
challenges due to climate change, various strategies have been adopted to cope with these
changes, which can help to reduce the negative impacts of climate change on livestock production.
The study recommends among others that policymakers should provide support to farmers in the
form of training, access to credit, and provision of inputs to enable them to effectively cope with
the challenges of climate variability and change