Information Sources and Awareness of Climate Change by Citrus Farmers in Benue State, Nigeria

The need for information by farmers in this era of climate change is very crucial to their production. The study therefore examines the various sources of information available to farmers on climate change and their level of awareness. Multi stage sampling procedure was used to select 123 respondents out of the total number of 1230. Primary data were collected using interview schedule and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages and pie charts; while inferential statistics used were Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMS) and chi-square. Results revealed that 64.2% of the respondents were between the ages of 35-45 years, 94.3% were married and 45.5% had 10 - 20 years of farming experience. Thirty-seven percent have been noticing change in climate for between the periods of 6-10 years; while 91.9% stated that they were aware of general decrease in yearly amount of rainfall. Their major information source is family member (91.9%), followed by radio (86.7%). Analysis of data from FGDs revealed that respondents were aware that there has been less rainfall in the past 2 years when compared to 3-5 years ago. P=0.05, age (X-2 = 0.000), education (X-2 = 0.005) and experience (X-2 = 0.001) were significantly related to information sources. In conclusion, the study has shown that majority of the respondents were aware of the change in climate and their major source of information was family members and radio and not through extension agents. Therefore there is the need for an urgent strengthening of extension arm in Nigeria.