An Economic Study of the Effects of Climate Change on Food Security in Taraba State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT The study examined the climate change (climate change extreme events and household climate change adaptation practice) effects on the food security status of the households in Taraba State Nigeria. The primary data used in this work was collected using a random sampling selection of three (3) agricultural zones, 5 local government areas, 10 communities, and 120 respondents from the sample frame. The 3 agricultural zones selected were zing, Bali, and Wukari. Five (5) local government areas were proportionately selected from the 3 zones viz: Jalingo, Lau, Wukari, Kurumi and Bali. Data was collected using an interview schedule. Information were collected on the household socio economic characteristics, the climate change extreme event happenings in the area, the household adaptation practices of the area, food security, and food insecurity coping strategies of the households. The analytical tools employed in analyzing the data were descriptive and inferential statistics, simple and multiple correlation, multiple regression, Rasch model, percentages, mean, graphs, likert scale rating. Results showed that households in Taraba were faced with the problems of climate extreme events, and the households are making conscious efforts to adapt to the shocks of this events, mostly by using ecological adaptation and storage. The Rasch model analysis showed that majority of the households (77.85%) were food insecure with severe hunger, 20.4% were food insecure with moderate hunger, and only 1.9% were food insecure without hunger but no household was found to be food secure in the study area. The regression results showed that food insecurity increases with increase in the household experience of the extreme events. Events like heat wave, harmattan, pests and diseases, and drying up of streams and rivers were considered by the households as having serious impact on food security and this was confirmed by the regression result which showed that these events significantly affected food security of the households. The study also found out that the more adaptation strategies practiced by the households the more food secure they were. Market exchange and diversification classes of adaptation had an inverse relationship with food insecurity. Majority of the households (87%) relied on less preferred and less expensive foods as their food insecurity coping strategies. Only 17.6% employed sending household members to beg. The socio economic factor that had negative effect on the household food security were, having children in the home, household size, and having a civil servant as the head of the household. Rate of adaptation practices of the household and income had a positive effect on the food security of the household. Good weather forecast system was recommended and that government should make effort to enlighten their citizens on the dangers of these extreme event and proffer ways of improving the environment. People should be encouraged to embrace market exchange and diversification as a means of adapting to climate change as this will increase their resilience and reduce their vulnerability.